Disgraceful! Where's NAACP and ACLU when you need them?

And will there ever be a point in my lifetime when someone doesn’t tell a South Asian American to go back to where they “fucking came from”?

Unlikely, thanks to the rise in "nationalism" courtesy 911. In fact, our future generations have to put up with the same crap (albeit and hopefully on a lesser scale) simply because of the fact that their forefathers did not arrive in the Mayflower.

wew!

The photograph -- is that mr. Nag?

What a horrible event!! My heart goes out to Mr. Nag and his family.

The photograph -- is that mr. Nag?

It was part of the SALDEF press release, so I assume so until told otherwise.

This makes me want to beat somebody's a$$. I wish someone had surreptitiously filmed this on their celly....

Wow.

*stunned*

Fucking motherfucking pig.
These shitheads give the whole force a bad name.

The poor kid witnessed something that he will bear for the rest of his life. I am just so sorry for the Nags.

Whoa!!! Simul blog by Anna and Ennis

Has this made it into any news reports yet? I searched on Google and Kuldip Singh Nag doesn;t turn up anything

six year old son was a witness to this violent assault.

i think that's more sick than the violence and the racial slur. the kid just grew up 10 years in those few minutes. realizing how it really is in the real world. and how it is going to be.

This is just horrible... a crime of pure, evil bigotry. The uniformed perpetrator must be severely punished. How could such a psycho become a police officer? (Or was it an impostor??)

It's a cop:

Kuldip Nag , 49, of 3574 Buck Ave. was arrested by Joliet police and booked into the county jail Tuesday on a charge of aggravated battery. [Link]

SALDEF connected him to local counsel, and will be helping him fight the case.

Some officers don't want to hear any argument, especially from a non-white. I hope Mr. Nag sues their pants off.

And will there ever be a point in my lifetime when someone doesn’t tell a South Asian American to go back to where they “fucking came from”?

Only if you live to be 204.

Some officers don't want to hear any argument, especially from a non-white. I hope Mr. Nag sues their pants off.

First he has to defend himself in court - he was arrested on charges of aggravated battery.

Why did the cop take out pepper spray? Did the press release say anything about it Anna?

Voice your opinion directly to the Joliet Police department here

he was arrested on charges of aggravated battery.

I don't get it. Some details are missing. How can they charge him from aggravated battery, when the cop hit him?

Also, I believe cops are supposed to give warnings before they resort to physical violence. Did the cop give any such warnings? Are they claiming that Kuldip Singh Nag assaulted the cop?

Kuldip Nag , 49, of 3574 Buck Ave. was arrested by Joliet police and booked into the county jail Tuesday on a charge of aggravated battery

I'm confused. How did Nag get arrested for aggravated battery? (The link did not have details).

this is the very predictable symptom of the illness plaguing the American polity: thinking that racial profiling is an acceptable and necessary security instrument of the state.

i'll not speak for the caliber of beat cops in Joliet but most cops operate under the probable cause doctrine--apparently this guy thought being a swarthy male constituted PC.

When a cop hits and arrests somebody, they will claim that the other person attacked first, and then press charges. It's not uncommon to see a report from somebody saying that they were hit by the police while doing nothing, and at the same time for that person to be charged with some violent felony.

Why did the cop take out pepper spray? Did the press release say anything about it Anna?

The majority of the press release is quoted in my post, I wish I had more information. I'm frustrated by this too, which is why I wrote:

I can't find anything beyond a useless mention of Nag's arrest on a "police blotter" type of article, so if any of you know of further developments, please let us know.

Anytime you commit battery against a cop its automatically "aggravated battery," a more serious charge.

That it's battery and not assault means that Mr. Nag must have allegedly not merely threatened the cop or made him believe he was in physical danger, but have actually (allegedly) struck him.

We really need more details.

We really need more details.

Hopefully they'll come out soon. But I imagine the newspapers saw no reason not to believe the cop until now.

Just remember the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.

To answer all your questions about aggravated battery

It varies by state, but the acts most often defined to entail aggravated battery include:

use of a deadly weapon

battery in which serious bodily injury occurs, and

battery against a child, woman or police officer.

So if Mr. Nag approached the officer / said something in a manner that was perceived as a threat, I assume it counts as aggravated battery.

I am have no legal knowledge, but the law experts here should be able to tell us if his wife and kid could act as witnesses in court.

When a cop hits and arrests somebody, they will claim that the other person attacked first, and then press charges.

Yes, that's fairly typical treatment for assault by police officers. I was just wondering if there were additional details that were not in the original post.

So if Mr. Nag approached the officer / said something in a manner that was perceived as a threat, I assume it counts as aggravated battery.

No, that's only assault. Battery means the cop (allegedly) got physically attacked.

Could be what Ennis is saying; there are bad cops out there, maybe the cop escalated.

That is absolutely disgusting. I found the "F***** Arab" bit to be especially dispicable; it would be horrific enough if Mr. Nag *were* an Arab, but the fact that this Nazi can't even get his ethnicity right makes it even worse in my eyes. Hate crimes are apalling enough, but when you commit them against somebody in the wrong group....how *ignorant* can you get? What the hell is this country coming to? This SS shit is absolutely sickening. The Nag family and desis all over the country have my sympathy. This is absolutely terrible.

I'm very near Joliet -- what is the best course of action to show support? Send a letter to the police force, or an email via the link provided in #15? Send a card or letter of support to Nag and his family? Get a group of people together and stand outside the police station with signs?

Let me know, because I've got an organizational brain and can get things done. Thanks.

Here is the press release from the saldef site. Incident occurred on March 30th (!)

http://www.saldef.org/content.aspx?a=1682

who took the picture? Did Mrs. Nag have the foresight?

...i linked from my ScienceBlogs blog. i encourage anyone with a blog to link, as this might be able to break out of the brown blogosphere....

He's a vet, so if you want it to break out of the brown blogs perhaps contacting the vet sites would be a good idea, too....they can mobilize like no-one's business.

Not just a vet, a decorated one at that. MD, any ideas as to what might be a good blog to forward this on to? I don't know the vet blogs ...

This is just horrible... a crime of pure, evil bigotry. The uniformed perpetrator must be severely punished. How could such a psycho become a police officer?

I agree. before this, there's never been a single incident of police brutality against anyone. The evil ooga booga demon must have taken over this upstanding member of society, who so valiently threw away his chance of true financial success to serve and protect.

Let me check around and send some exploratory e-mails first. Also, and please forgive me for this, but what else to we know about this incident? It sounds really horrible, but I'm always loathe to jump on band-wagons before I know more specifics.

MD - I don't know anything more about it than that, but I can put you in touch with somebody at SALDEF if you like (email me). I can also direct you to his legal counsel.

My attitude is that asking for a fair and thorough investigation is never a bad thing, so giving an incident some publicity is a safe thing to ask for, even if the event later turns out to be different.

Hey, I'll look for that e-mail. He should contact the local veterans organizations in Illinois.

Tried to search blogs dedicated to track police brutalities but couldn't find one. Anybody aware of such blogs? We could get them highlight the incident.

In a way, the 6 year old was given a gift, A taste of what the lies beneath the superficial, doily mounted, sugar coated version of America we see on a daily basis.

I wonder if some of the skills of targeted aggression that earned Mr Nag his Bronze Star played any role in what happened. I haven't the faintest doubt that the cop is a first-class asshole, but it's additionally possible that our Sikh brother wasn't in the mood for any bullshit.

If someone came up to my driveway and started spewing xenophobic venom, I know for sure I'd be aggravated. Did Mr Nag open have an opportunity to open up the proverbial can of whoop-ass?

A sickening incident, by any standards. At the very least, it should get the cop fired and fined. Looking forward to more details.

Not sure about one devoted only to police brutalities, but there's a large number of human rights blogs listed here.

In a way, the 6 year old was given a gift, A taste of what the lies beneath the superficial, doily mounted, sugar coated version of America we see on a daily basis.

:(

Did Mr Nag open have an opportunity to open up the proverbial can of whoop-ass?

We don't know the whole story yet, but it would be foolhardy for a 49 year old to attack an armed officer who, from the photo, looks at least 20 years younger. Furthermore, Nag was a navy vet, not in the marines or the infantry. Unless he was in the SEALS, he's unlikely to have had extensive experience in hand to hand combat. Simply because he's a decorated veteran doesn't mean that he was any more likely to get aggro with a cop than you or I.

f*cking disgusting. makes me sick.

Simply because he's a decorated veteran doesn't mean that he was any more likely to get aggro with a cop than you or I.

True. No libel intended.

Then again, you have no idea how likely I am to get aggro with a cop.

:)

If Mr Nag assaulted the cop like he claims, there would have been some sort of marks left. Not necessarily a bruise, but SOMETHING?

ugh.. why is always suburban backwater cops who seem jump at chances to live out their macho fantasies? Seriously, it's like they kneel by their beds at night at chanting crap about thin blue lines, predetors, three strikes, pedophiles, gangs, drugs, keys of coke, and of course, terrorism, terrorism, terrorism....just to be able to face another morning of expired registrations and treed cats.

(oh, wait...whassup NYPD?! holla!!)

society needs to demand for public servants to be given racial sensitivity training prior to taking positions with power. ignorant assholes like this should never be given the opportunity to act as such.

society needs to demand for public servants to be given racial sensitivity training prior to taking positions with power

My understanding is that police forces all over the country provide extensive training in racial/religious sensitivity. I won't castigate all of society, or even the Joliet police force, for the actions of one cop.

why is always suburban backwater cops who seem jump at chances to live out their macho fantasies?

I don't think this sort of thing is limited to "suburban backwater cops." Happens in bigger (allegedly more diverse) places fairly frequently too.

Quid custodit ipsos custodes? -Juventus
In other words, who will guard the guardians?

Yes, Hema. Hence the NYPD shoutout.

I think this incident should be thoroughly investigated, but I think the tone with which you bring things up makes a difference as to how people initially will view your demands for an investigation. What I mean is: this is serious, this is a decorated war vet we are talking about (has this been confirmed?), we (as a community) have great respect for the police-force and the difficult work they do, but feel this incident deserves a thorough investigation. One, because the truth matters and justice matters. Two, we can't let one bad apple taint the good efforts of the whole police force. Three, it makes it more difficut to recruit Asians to the military and or police force, which is healthy for society as a whole.*

*I realize the last two points are not important to everyone on this board and people may not agree with the last two points, I just think you are more likely to get people to listen to you and take you seriously if you do it this way and don't go all CAIR-like, if you see what I mean.

I'm a desi from Illinois and I AM SHOCKED that this happened. There are so many desis all over the Chicagoland area...but with all the police brutality going on, I'm sure this will get a lot of attention and be addressed. This absolutely disappoints and disgusts me.

Yes, Hema. Hence the NYPD shoutout.

Er, yes. Sorry, I didn't notice that until after my knee-jerk post. Mea culpa.

I lived in Chicago a long time ago, but remember some racial issues popping up in Joliet back then. Didn't the KKK parade throught the town once?

Anyway, don't mean to distract from the main point of the post. It would be great to get more information and definitely figure out what we can to do bring attention to this.

why is always suburban backwater cops who seem jump at chances to live out their macho fantasies?

this is a decorated war vet we are talking about (has this been confirmed?),

That's hard to do, innit? I mean every year you hear a story about some public figure who either lied about their service or about their decorations.

Two, we can't let one bad apple taint the good efforts of the whole police force. *

How many bad apples have to fall before we realize the tree itself may be rotten?

This is fucking sick. I think it would be good to take this up with the American Gulf War Veterans Association as well. Hopefully, with the help of ASATA and SALDEF, this can at least receive enough national attention to stop (or at least...substantially alleviate....) this for ALL immigrants who have been treated this unjustly for FAR too long. I can't believe this...I have family around there...this is so disturbing...I pray that family gets through this....

http://www.gulfwarvets.com/contact.htm

I lived in Chicago a long time ago, but remember some racial issues popping up in Joliet back then. Didn't the KKK parade throught the town once?

this is so horrible and wrong on so many levels.

But, sadly, I know one thing for sure, this event WILL NOT make any mainstream media news. It would have made the national news if Mr. Nag was Latino, African, or even an East Asian immigrant, but because he is south asian (brown = terrorist = worthless)this horrible event won't get any mainstream news coverage.

Do you guys think its wrong that I'm not surprised this happended?

I'm not, but not I feel bad for not being surprised or outraged. Of course, it is a horrible event no doubt and my heart goes out to the Nag Family, but hate crimes and disrepect against browns does not surprise me. Should I be angrier?

Should I be angrier?

Honey, you're the only one who can answer that...

What next? His tires were not inflated right???

There is something surreal about the picture. The green is ominous.Reminds me of some famous photographer who took strangely lit pictures of suburbia. Anyone know who i am talking about?

This is sad. It would be nice if we could believe this was an isolated incident. But the reality is that in an environment where politics is driven by fear, stories like this will continue.

As inflammatory as this may appear, this comment is not a troll: I continue to be disturbed by minorities who vote Republican. In the past few years, sections of the Republican party have brandished their racial hatred on their sleeves. Yet the party continues to attract minorities. What am I missing?

I care deeply about economic freedoms, free markets, private enterprise, low taxes and small government. But all are irrelevant in the face of racism. If we are to believe the report, Mr. Nag's patriotic service was worth exactly nothing in this incident. Racist attitudes did not die in the US in the sixties. They just went underground. It isn't a big stretch to guess which party attracted the largest share.

Some minority Republicans argue that policies that support growth and wealth are the solution to all problems - including those of race. Others argue that it is better to change attitudes from within. Although both of these points have some truth to them, they fail to capture the core attitude of racists: race trumps all.

I pose the following sincere questions to Republicans on this board: how do you reconcile your political goals with your minority status?

Brownie - not right now, please. It will degenerate pretty rapidly if we go off topic that much. I hear what you're asking, but it's not clear that this has anything to do with partisan matters. That is, there are racist cops in Democratic administrations too, and those mayors support them as well.

Somebody has to bring this up, but there seems to be a rush to judgement in this case. There is not enough info to make such quick judgement[just look at the Duke rape case].

-Would the camera in the police car have footage of the incident
-Also does this cop have a record of police misconduct complaints filed against him.
-Has Mr.Nag even been in trouble with the law before
-Would the cop and Mr.Nag both take a lie detector test to see who is telling the truth, and if the cop really said what both Mr.Nag and Mrs Nag said, he said.
-Also if you look in the background of the picture is that another police car coming to scene[would that mean the cop already called for backup]

The stereotyping of all cops, for the action of this one, by some of the posters here is weird. Since many here don't like it when all desi or brown's get stereotyped for the actions of few. We can't have it both ways.

If we are to believe the report, Mr. Nag's patriotic service was worth exactly nothing in this incident.

This infuriates me.

No doubt there are many ways to demonstrate one's dedication or loyalty to one's country. We could debate that. In my humble opinion, military service is one of the hardest ones - and one of the truest tests of one's character. It just kills me that someone who defended this country abroad would be subject to physical violence and racist humiliation at home by an officer of the state. It disgusts me. It makes me sad and depressed about the possibility of ever getting past race and skin color and preconceived notions of ethnicity or nationalism. I know 9/11 changed everything. But when will its lingering effects of xenophobia end?

This is so tragic. I am stunned. I am forever harping about how friendly midwesterners are and then some asshat does this. I've lived in Chicago for 8 years. There are thousands of desis in the city and plenty more in the suburbs. We hear about bigotry in some of these parts (most notably that Naperville is homebase for the modern-day KKK) but nothing like this. I kept quiet for a long time because I didn't know what to say. I'm not much of an organizer but I take direction really well! Point me in the right direction and I'll call/write/protest.

It would have made the national news if Mr. Nag was Latino, African, or even an East Asian immigrant, but because he is south asian (brown = terrorist = worthless)this horrible event won't get any mainstream news coverage.

Really? I'm sorry to tangent off the original point here but I don't think hate crimes make national news unless they're extremely sensational -- even more than this. It's such old hat in this country.

-Would the cop and Mr.Nag both take a lie detector test to see who is telling the truth, and if the cop really said what both Mr.Nag and Mrs Nag said, he said.

Clueless - many of those will be useful bits of information to have, and they'll come out sooner if somebody in the press looks into it, which only happens when noise is made. However, I disagree with you about polygraph machines:

In 2003, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) issued a report entitled “The Polygraph and Lie Detection”. The NAS found that the majority of polygraph research was of low quality. It is interesting to note that, so far, no scientific study has been published that offers convincing evidence of the validity of the polygraph test. [Link]

National security professionals I've heard speak on this topic generally think it's unreliable, they trust it even less than the NAS does.

N.W.A. said it best..

Concur with #66.
It would not surprise me if the allegations turn out to be true, but we don't know yet if they are.
And, yes, police officers carry their own burden of assumption and stereotypes...

It just kills me that someone who defended this country abroad would be subject to physical violence and racist humiliation at home by an officer of the state. It disgusts me. It makes me sad and depressed about the possibility of ever getting past race and skin color and preconceived notions of ethnicity or nationalism. I know 9/11 changed everything. But when will its lingering effects of xenophobia end?

Well said. When I hear things like this it mostly fills me with sorrow instead of anger, which I thought was the "weaker" response but the older I get the more I understand that anger might fuel some fire but it won't generate change. I do not believe in "wait and see" but Clueless you are right -- it would be prudent to hear the information first. I hear this and in my heart of hearts think it's a hate crime perpetrated by an individual who's paid to protect society but none of us actually know what happened.

I do not believe in "wait and see" but Clueless you are right -- it would be prudent to hear the information first.

I guess my attitude is that information doesn't come out on its own. Cops are given a great deal of trust and leeway, especially if they haven't fired their weapons and there are no third party witnesses around. If Nag was seriously hurt as the press release said, and if there's any chance that there was racism involved, it's worth making some noise about the need for investigation. That doesn't mean condemning and sentencing the officer before all the facts are out, it's just a practical statement about the balance of power between the state and the individual.

Look. I grok the whole, "let's be cautious and doubt shit"-bit...I am a St. Thomas xtian, after all. Having said that, I really don't think an org as wonderful as SALDEF would publicly get behind this unless it were true. This is now a lawsuit and sometimes that limits what can and can't be disclosed.

I'm all for critical thinking and weighing everything, but fuck...where is your outrage? And why is Razib the only one who has linked to this? All of you have blogs-- plenty of you ache for memes and stupid personality quizzes in order to generate content because, like, posting is hard. HERE IS YOUR CONTENT. Update your sites, please. If we don't make noise, who will?

amitabh (#47) is not ME, the Amitabh that's been commenting here for quite a while now. Dude, get a different handle!

Mr. Nag obviously did nothing to provoke the idiot who disgraces the police force. If the "police officer" called him racial slurs, it is obvious that he just wanted some flimsy excuse to beat up a non white.

Too bad that so called policeman doesn't patrol the streets of Chicago near the projects/higher crime areas. He needs to do some real work and not beat innocents to a pulp.

omebody has to bring this up, but there seems to be a rush to judgement in this case. There is not enough info to make such quick judgemen

You forgot one. the guy on the ground has the police officers hand trapped between his left forearm, and body, causing him excruciating pain, in fact, he's using a traditional ayurvedic pressure point, if you crush a hand that way, it could be fatal.

That's why he's on the radio, getting help.

Seriously why rag on the cops? They're white, they deserve at least one racial incident as a gimme.

amitabh (#47) is not ME, the Amitabh that's been commenting here for quite a while now. Dude, get a different handle!

Verified and so amended.

Verified and so amended.

Mr. Bachchan is going to be pissed...

There is something surreal about the picture. The green is ominous. Reminds me of some famous photographer who took strangely lit pictures of suburbia. Anyone know who i am talking about?

HMF you are right all white cops are racist.

Oh now c'mon, don't sound so optimistic.

Shodan,
Bingo!

The suburbs I've been to (outside Phoenix, Lansing, and Indianapolis) are pretty diverse; a big change in less than 10 yrs from what long-time residents said. Some people just CAN'T deal with reality!!!

This reminds me of a case that was big when I was living in Chicago. A black guy was walking through neighbourhood. He got hassled by white cops. The black guy happened to be an off-duty cop. He sued the city etc. etc.
If a police can get this treatment from his "brothers", I guess everyone else is fair game.

Where's Al M when we need him?

What happened to Mr. Nag was despicable and I hope that the cop will be punished to the full extent of the law.

How many other South Asians and Arabs are out there who have been profiled by the police who have no way of retaliation against the injustice that has been done to them? Mr. Nag was relatively lucky (if I can use that term) to have been a suburban, middle-class family-man (not to mention a distinguished veteran). All of that helps in his case. However, what if he was an immigrant cab driver living in a poor urban area with no connections, and was too intimdated to get legal help? I'm willing to bet that we never hear about many of these cases.

I think racial profiling of minorities is not just a black problem, or a latino problem, or a South Asian problem. Its partly caused by the same things; people become more susceptible to it as a result of poverty, and a lack of community resources. We should all be working together to erase minority profiling in the states once and for all. I mean, no matter how different we percieve ourselves to be, a racist cop will only see someone with dark skin.

In 1990 I went through a similar experience in North Carolina while driving a car with Panamanian tags (several days after the deadline to change them) with military stickers. In this case was ordered out of the vehicle, grabbed and forcibly positioned up against the car, and roughly searched by a police officer obviously on some secret mission to indimidate me. When I complained that the administrative nature of this offence hardly merited the "dangerous criminal" handling, he just got more authoritarian and aggressive. Makes you wonder about the recruiting and training of local police. And I'm a white American. Wasn't it Thomas Jefferson that said that petty tyrany was the worst sort? I later went through a rough, testicle twisting search by Bolivian police agents, but you expect that kind of behaviour from third world police forces. I hope your post mobilizes action against Mr. Singh's abuser.

Ronak, thank you so much for blogging about this story. More people need to hear about what happened. Where the rest of you at?

This is horrible.

Poor kid, he must be devastated. How can somebody come up and do at AT YOUR HOME!

And just for some stupid tag?

There is enough crime in the City to keep that cop busy if he really likes to use tag spray and assault people.

what a asshole!

thanks ANNA for posting this-- i'm so tired of this ridiculous behavior on the part of law enforcement everywhere. this harassment by police officers that targets people of color HAS TO STOP!!!

I don't blog anywhere, but I cross-posted the story to a number of (slightly random) places, and e-mailed it along to organizations that can make some noise.

I live in a city where the police force is frequently called out by the local media for racial insensitivity (particularly with respect to Native Americans). Sadly, this isn't a one-off thing for racial minorities. Happens altogether too often, if you ask me.

Clueless seems bent on ignoring the power differentials between an armed man with racial privilege and an unarmed man who does not. Oh yeah, and the entire history of police brutality in this country.

I don't blog anywhere, but I cross-posted the story to a number of (slightly random) places, and e-mailed it along to organizations that can make some noise.

Hema, go you! I appreciate all you've done. :)

Some minor points on Mr. Nag's veteran status. A bronze star for service is highly respectable, but does not render him a "decorated" veteran in the general meaning of that term. To consider him one, his bronze star would have to been "with V Device" for valour. Within combat veterans circles, the term "decorated" normally refers to receipt of the Bronze Star with "V" Device, the Silver Star, or equivalent or higher awards for valour, not awards for exemplary service. The important matter here is that Mr. Nag is a loyal American citizen who willingly went to war for his country. The supreme irony is that he is from a segment of the Indian community likely to enter military or police service, and is thus generally favorable to persons in such occupations.

Thanks for the correction.

Gm - yeah, like low income communities need to be targeted even more by the police! This country has one of the highest numbers of incarcerated people and an extensive prison-industrial complex. How's that working for us?

BG in post #94 give me a break. Yes this country has history of police brutality. But I don't like the stereotyping that is going on this post about all cops. Maybe I didn't get the memo that its ok to judge the action of few cops and say that all cops are like this.

I'm sorry but I can't make a judgement in this case, because I don't have enough info. Just look at the Duke lacross rape case. I bet there was a black website like this, that said those 3 players were guilty and the media coverage made it seem like those guys were guilty. Yet after all the info came out, it turned those 3 men were not guilty.

It is never wrong to be cautious: in fact, going ahead without getting all the information may ultimately hurt your cause. I'll do my searching, get my information, and go from there. The first point of posts like this is to inform people and now you SM'ers have. Good for you. The second point is this: Do you want to really want something real to happen? My idea about contacting veterans organizations and veterans blogs will do more than simply linking this post on my inactive, 20 hits a da, chump-change blog. If you really want change, than you think carefully about how you are going to do it. And of course you can verify his veterans status: a vets group will do it for you.

That's just sickening.

MD, I guess if it's that easy, I don't understand cases like this:

Joseph A. Cafasso, former Fox News military analyst who claimed to have been a highly-decorated Special Forces soldier and Vietnam War veteran. Wes Cooley, a US Congressman who claimed to have fought in the Korean War. Brian Dennehy, a famous American actor who claimed to have fought in the Vietnam War. Joseph Ellis, American professor and historian who claimed a tour of duty in the Vietnam War. [Link]

I mean, wouldn't Fox have checked the background of its "Military Analyst" ?

One would think Ennis, and you're just underscoring my point. That is exactly why I'm suggesting going forward but getting all the information you can beforehand. Sheesh. Isn't that just common sense? I have no trouble believing this happened the way the guy said it did: I'm just saying, you want to go forward, get it right from the beginning. Why is that so hard to understand?

Shorter MD: Outrage is fine. Winning is better.

MD, let me redirect. How does one go about verifying the status of somebody who is claiming to be a veteran? Is there a national database? What information does one need to identify the person in question?

I have to go off-line soon, but I think there are data bases you can check. I e-mailed you some websites that post a lot of veterans stuff and I think milblogs.com (I think that's the url) has, like, hundreds of them linked.

Ennis (#105). Yeah: http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/topics/indigent/index.htm. We should be dignified and thorough about this if we really want to see it through.

Focus, please my beloved, wise elders. :) MD makes a valid point-- but I don't think it hurts to drum up awareness, either.

Say that this guy did hit the officer, by all mean's go ahead and arrest him and spray him with pepper spray, but if your screaming, “You f****** Arab! You f***** immigrant, go back to you f****** country before I kill you!”, while you are doing it then you need to be fired and the guy being assulted should be compensated with money for what his son had to listen to. This kid will never trust a cop in his life and it's thank's to this douche.

I didnt hear about this at all, until now and I read the paper's everyday and I live about 20 min from Joliet,AKA the asshole of the Chicago land area. I could go to this guy's house tomorrow and do some reporting, but I will need to be compensated for the pain and agony of having to enter Joliet.

I bet my parent's somehow know this guy since the Punjabi community is tiny in Chicago. I'll snoop around and see if I can come up with anything.

the story is on boing boing. they got the link via someone rumored to be a registered republican ;-)

From the Joliet police blotter, April 5, 2007:

Kuldip Nag , 49, of 3574 Buck Ave. was arrested by Joliet police and booked into the county jail Tuesday on a charge of aggravated battery.

...i need to change my handle....

If indeed events have happened in the manner described....This is just pathetic !

It makes me wonder what kind of feelings will be going on in Mr. Nag's (and Mrs Nag's) mind after the incident. Being a citizen (born and/or raised in the US) and then having to go through such blatant racial discrimination in your own country after serving for your country this long is hard to digest/fathom. As a first generation desi and an immigrant I am curious to know how a 2nd generation ( or a gen X )desi would feel if they were subject to this .. ??

Would you feel disillusioned ?
Would you feel like an outcast ?
Would you cry and slowly get over it/move on with life thinking it was just a bad experience ?
Would you feel revengeful and/ or fight for justice ?

More importantly will such a personal incident dent your patriotic feelings even slightly ?

I am curious to know.

Whoops, here's the link to the Joliet police blotter regarding Mr. Nag's arrest.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/police/328306,4_1_JO05_COPS_S1.article

We don't know the whole story yet, but it would be foolhardy for a 49 year old to attack an armed officer who, from the photo, looks at least 20 years younger. Furthermore, Nag was a navy vet, not in the marines or the infantry. Unless he was in the SEALS, he's unlikely to have had extensive experience in hand to hand combat. Simply because he's a decorated veteran doesn't mean that he was any more likely to get aggro with a cop than you or I.

Bronze Stars are given for non-combat related actions, too. For example a Navy doc was a recipient for his actions in saving wounded in Fallujah. I know of another officer who got one for doing a job very, very well done (logistics). When the "V" along with a Bronze star is given, you know it's for combat (V for Valor).

This isn't a case of profiling - if the report is accurate it's a boor headed local policeman going on a powertrip. For a something extremely benign. In most cases, the police leave a ticket on your windshield and move on.

It's hard to verify Veteran status, though the Dept of Navy if sent a request will provide very basic information. I wound up working with a big time poser, for whom it took a year to get busted. He was outed by other veterans when their spidey sense of a poser went off.... Larry Gugle was the poser's name. Generally, most veterans are low key and don't advertise. They just go around doing their business.

Also, be wary of most publicly claiming SEAL, SF, or any other 'high speed' status. Those guys are generally quite professionals and don't advertise their professions, either.

Sad to see a Veteran be treated as such. Though based upon the report, this is clearly some cop on a sadistic powertrip, not some grand conspiracy. Tact is a policeman's best ally. Very poor professional conduct and judgement here. He should be fired and the department needs to take care of the victim here.

GET THE LOCAL CONGRESSMAN AND POLITICIANS INVOLVED. Obama and Durbin are Senators, too.

Slutty or not, you done good Razib. Thanks, man.

And THIS is why I think desis are crazy, stupid, or both to fight in this country's military.

Ennis,

Ennis is right. I do not think you can easily verify anyone's veteran status, unless you have the authority/ permission to do so by the Government. It is strictly protected by privacy laws. Therefore, you see a lot of murkiness in people's claims about service, valor, etc. in public space.

Comment #. 107 just takes you to US Govt. Veterans Affairs website, but will not let you let access any of their databases.

Veteran or no-Veteran.......any person (1st gen, 2nd gen, visitor) should not be assaulted/ abused by government servants, like cops.

So Imus makes international news (the BBC even picked it up) for using some racist language, gets fired from MSNBC, and this has not hit the pages of CNN or MSNBC?

A waterfall starts with a single drop of water, hopefully this story will pick up speed and this man can get the justice and respect he deserves. Nice job Anna Sinclair.

And THIS is why I think desis are crazy, stupid, or both to fight in this country's military.

Really? THIS is why? My little sister is a veteran and she is neither crazy nor stupid. Your comment is disrespectful, hurtful and it accomplishes nothing. Desis shouldn't serve because ONE asshole rogue cop might go on a power trip later? What the fuck.

Where's the solidarity? Or is it only there for those whose actions aren't "crazy or stupid"? Shame on you.

Couldn't keep away.

Seriously, it's that hard to verify Gujudude? Sheesh. That's the government for you.....

Your suggestion re: local politicians is excellent.

Razib: good going on the Boing Boing link, you internet star, you. I'd say the story is out now.

Does anyone happen to have the name of the policeman involved? It's a little weird to be going to the press without a name or badge number of the arresting officer.

Kush: Oh, I see why for privacy issues you can't verify veteran status. That makes sense.

What about awards given out? *Unrelated to this post, just curious how you would know.

I think getting on top of things like this is very important for the very reason that you don't want minorities afraid to enter the military or police force, you know? Plus, as stated, no one should be treated this way, for any reason, by the cops.

Also, didn't Radley Balko (CATO) do a whole series on no-knock raids and the like? Wouldn't someone like that be interested in this story? Part of the whole drumming up more publicity, er, if that's the correct word.

i wonder if conservative blogs will jump to his defense like they did with matt sanchez a darling of that 'spitfire' michelle malkin, among others.

oh wait...he never led a double life as a gay escort and porn star. aw shucks--no conservative revving of the perpetually patriotic outrage engine means no exposure for Nag.

And THIS is why I think desis are crazy, stupid, or both to fight in this country's military.

You know, if this was the weak attitude Tuskegee airmen had, African American's would have never earned the ability to participate in the military as full fledged members (not just cooks or truck drivers) before rest of America was integrated. They fought for it, within the system, and by being absolutely EXCELLENT. Nothing shuts people up better than being at the top of your game.

AMERICANS, should do what they want. Which means if they want to be a hippie smoking weed legally, they should be allowed to. If they want to join the military and participate in a function of government, that in modern day is despised for it's 'image', yet when reality seeps in is absolutely a necesssity, they should be allowed to.

Seriously - other veterans have got the shorter end of the stick, too. There is no goddamned stamp that one walks around on their forehead with, that says "ARMED FORCES VETERAN". Veterans screw up, do well, are normal, and everything in between. The military is a microcosm of society. Policeman have shit on veterans - black, brown, and actually more often white for reasons that can only be described as "My daddy has a bigger car than you" or some stupid dick contest Mr. LEO (law enforcement officer) has to prove his 'worth' in.

Seriously, it's that hard to verify Gujudude? Sheesh. That's the government for you.....

Quickest way to verify is to ask for a veteran's DD-214 from the vet or somehow request records. I just googled this website.

Now posted here too...

The blogger there makes a good point, video is what makes the evening news.

I have to say it but welcome to my world,police are hell on minorities even if you did serve in the military. I support this man as a fellow vet.

Sigh...why does this have to turn into a right versus left thing, always? I'm so tired of filtering everything through the R vs D light. Although, as a conservative-minded type myself, I have to admit I sort of think it might be a story on some of the vet blogs, but I can't see it being a big story on Instapundit or anything like that. And I like Instapundit.

Dheerjai you comments were very stupid to say the least. Racism is a problem in the United States. But it also problem in every other country on the planet.

I may be a clueless canadian, but my mom's whole family other then her, lives in the United States. Most of them came in the mid 80's from Punjab to live in the United States. They are all sikh's and in the last 20+ years they have enjoyed there life in the United States.

A desi's being a minority in the United States, is alot better then being a desi minority in most other places in the world.

Because I've rarely seen a conservative news source side with a citizen against a cop, even though being wary of state power is indeed a conservative tenet. For example, the big stories about police abuse, like the one in Tulia Texas, seemed to get little traction from the right side of the media. Similarly, some of the bigger wrongful arrest stories also seem to get little traction there. Each sphere has issues it cares more about than others.

don't really care what side of the madhouse revs the outrage engine--only for america to see a humanized brown face (and not some Apu-like monstrosity) with which other veterans can identify (and possibly support/have warmer feelings towards in the future?)

Sigh...why does this have to turn into a right versus left thing, always? I'm so tired of filtering everything through the R vs D light. Although, as a conservative-minded type myself, I have to admit I sort of think it might be a story on some of the vet blogs, but I can't see it being a big story on Instapundit or anything like that. And I like Instapundit.

Ditto. Hopefully this story gains traction in the community. Problem is, many veterans are also in law enforcement post military careers. As a result of the media dynamics, most are very reluctant to take similar reports seriously. I think this case has some strong potential for action against the department considering the context of the confrontation (it's not like this was a drug or hard crime case).

Ennis: yes and know :) When it comes to guns and homeowners, the conservative sites tend to side with the homeowner with the gun....in my probably inaccurate rememberings. But, it's true you can be blinded by your ideology. I suppose the best way to stay honest is to make sure you engage with, and pay attention to, the arguments on the other side.

*Also, I wonder if my natural (maybe too much) caution toward all of this is due to the fact that it's my day job to be cautious...I mean, literally, I have to generate a differential and think of everything that could create the biopsy results I am looking at before 'jumping' to an anwer.

um, if his story checks out, this guy didn't just suffer a bruised ego or feel as if his professor tripped the criticism-of-Israel/antisemitism switch in class--he actually got the whole new-age police takedown: pepper, pressure points and the involuntary curbside face-plant.

So Imus makes international news (the BBC even picked it up) for using some racist language, gets fired from MSNBC, and this has not hit the pages of CNN or MSNBC?

Imus had long been a media cancer that needed to be removed. It's about time that racist got called out, and I don't think international attention was inappropriate. (I'm not saying that you're saying it's inappropriate.) I think any and all international attention to American racism in all its manifestations is a healthy thing, and I would be happy to see this story make BBC or some other major international headlines. I'm with ShallowThinker on the point that, regardless of whether or not the cop needed to get physical, he was screaming “You f****** Arab! You f***** immigrant, go back to you f****** country before I kill you!”. THAT is what's particularly fucked up. This is a post 9/11 issue; Islamophobia and racial profiling for what most people think an Arab inherently looks like (brown), and it is relevant worldwide because the United States isn't the only country that has this attitude to browns, Arabs and Muslims.

This isn't a case of profiling - if the report is accurate it's a boor headed local policeman going on a powertrip. For a something extremely benign. In most cases, the police leave a ticket on your windshield and move on.

Are you seriously going to try and prove that this is random? Because if it were, then why didn't he pick on somebody else? Why the xenophobia? Why the racism? I know he was on a powertrip; that's what these fools do. But to go on a really good powertrip you need to pick on who you know is the weakest and most vulnerable, and this guy knew that he wasn't going to get away with it if it were some rich white guy whose car was parked with expired tags outside his mansion, know'm sayin'? This guy is not a "bad apple". If anything, a good cop is a "good apple" on a rotten tree. Police brutality and racial profiling are not sanctioned, they're straight up institutionalized.

Yeah, agreed, if it went down that way the cop just needs to go, period.

Gujudude: That's a good point about post-military careers, but I've seen a bunch of stories on some vet blogs where they've got badly treated by a cop and the main thrust of the story is to support the vet. So, I don't know.

*If this happened to me, I'd hate it and hate the cop and really hate it if the cop didn't get fired, but I don't think it would change my basic feeling about this country. Might change how I feel about cops in general, though....although I know some really good guys who are cops, so, it's hard for me to know.

Shurti you said A good cop is good cop on rotton tree. Police brutality and racial profiling are not sanctioned, they are straight up institutionalized.

Maybe I should start judging everu group by the action of a few.

Copwatch is an organization dedicated to tracking police brutality.

Are you seriously going to try and prove that this is random? Because if it were, then why didn't he pick on somebody else? Why the xenophobia? Why the racism? I know he was on a powertrip; that's what these fools do. But to go on a really good powertrip you need to pick on who you know is the weakest and most vulnerable, and this guy knew that he wasn't going to get away with it if it were some rich white guy whose car was parked with expired tags outside his mansion, know'm sayin'? This guy is not a "bad apple". If anything, a good cop is a "good apple" on a rotten tree. Police brutality and racial profiling are not sanctioned, they're straight up institutionalized.

Um, I'm not trying to prove anything here. WE DON'T HAVE THE DATA on whether this police officer or the Joliet PD's conduct was random or institutionalized. I don't have their freaking track record. Police Departments are local, so a PD in Joliet isn't the same as NYPD or LAPD or SFPD.

To me, this seems like a bigot exercising his bigotry as an opportunist. He talked to the wife at first, not the man who was beat. Why didn't he flag anyone else? I don't know. You don't either. Was he on a patrol through the neigborhood looking to show his boss he did some work? Was he premeditating the beating? What conclusions can I draw about all PDs across the country (Not just NYPD or LAPD or CPD)? None.

An officer violated the trust of the public and he should be punished. Lets start there before going on a jihad against the fascist, babykilling, racist, bigot pigs that are uniformed personnel. Frankly, you don't know if this guy was a bad apple on a good tree or a good apple on a bad tree since you have freaking clue on that department's staff, record, OR history. If you do, please enlighten us.

MD,

If you follow Gujudude's links to see the iron clad that is in place for information gateways is or the privacy act of 1974 or special procedures in place for anyone other than next of kin seeking information, I do not think Veterans records are littered all over.

Here is some info from US Government Veteran's Affairs Webpage:

Who Has Access to Veteran Information?

Is it a common practice to allow data of this nature to be accessed by private contractors?

VA sometimes contracts with companies to provide certain services that enable VA to provide better service to veterans. Some of these VA contractors have veteran information on their computers. All contractors are bound by regulations that limit their use of this information to what they need to provide their service. We are working with our contractors to insure our veterans' data receives the highest standard of security and privacy protection.

I do not know how much information is even readily available for medals. I guess the list might be easy to get but not the details, internal reports, citations, etc.......John Kerry, and his military records.........or data stolen in 2006.

Please, everyone...the passion is good, but let's focus: this is about the actions of ONE xenophobic cop, not "how all cops suck" or anything else. No matter where you stand I would hope that you would agree that this incident needs to be investigated, either to find justice for Mr. Nag or to exonerate the police officer involved.

All I want is exposure for this case, since MSM didn't cover it. What really happened? We all want to know-- for that to happen, we need to spread the word, for THAT to happen...we need to focus.

Wow, people actually responded to me? I wasn't expecting that . . .

I dunno, in light of the imperialist bullshit this country's military has been involved in for the last 50-80 years, it seems to me that even a superficial understanding of history would make it pretty clear that it's very much against the interests of any of us "minorities" to take up the cause of the plutocratic kleptocracy that's been "in control of things" for longer than most (if not all) of us posting here have even been alive.

Today, India is a "friend" of the US. Past performance is not an indicator of future results. Most of us have probably seen the picture of Donny Rumsfeld shaking hands with the late Saddam Hussein, for instance. I will put MONEY on the US government deciding India is an "enemy" some time in my lifetime (I'm 32, FYI). An empire that is past its peak and has begun its decline -- like this one -- will, like a cornered, rabid dog, start lashing out at anyone and everyone it can. Until and unless there are significant changes 38 miles to my southwest in DC (my hometown), I don't expect my prediction to be proven false.

Damn, Anna. I always thought you were cool, and I'd be lying if I said I haven't ventured into Tryst a time or two with half a thought in the back of my head that it'd be kinda neat to run into you, but . . . I dunno. It seems to me we're destined to never see eye to eye. (Would've been weird to run into you with a date, though.) I guess I don't think it's so much . . . stupid or crazy that you've a veteran in your family as I think it's just . . . sigh. Sad, frankly.

I say this not just as some rabid anti-American nut, but as a pacifist overall, and a person who's been rudely awakened early in the morning TWICE by the shithead FBI and/or Homeland Security, or whatever those dipshits call themselves these days. So you'll excuse me if I'm not such a goddamn flag-waving Johnny Patriot, I hope.

Ultimately, nationalism of any sort is a disease, and war just fucking sucks.

If this country's military really WAS just about defending the country -- not taking offensive moves to benefit an imperialist fraction of the top one percent of the populace -- then I'd see some merit in joining the military. But as it stands, the very notion of proud Indian folk joining this military . . . fuck it, I'm sorry. It's not "politically correct" to say, and I know it, but goddammit it, it's not very "model minority" behavior, in my view.

I expect to convince no one, but . . . shrug. Just sharing my view.

By the way, Police go through hundreds of thousands, if not millions of encounters with the public in a year (my guess, numbers from anyone would help) and the pool of police officers is a very large one, varied, with different funding, training, and facing different local challenges.

NOTE: I AM NOT DEFENDING THIS DOUCHEBAG. Just trying to keep an even keel before I go condemning LARGE groups for the behavior of a minority or significant minority. Using this same half baked logic, I can say Islam is institutionally a terrorist religion, too. RIGHT???? Oh wait. That's stereotyping. Not good.

This is awful, but unfortunately not to far from home. A similar thing happened to my GORA bf. In Philly, he was attacked by 2 plain clothed park rangers (which happen to be federal officers). Even though he asked to see I.D. they took it personal, and beat the shit out of him. They accused him of using drugs and attacking an officer. He was charged with TWO counts of Assault and Battery, reckless endangerment of a police officer, and resisting arrest (which means 2 felonies). And then on top of that the city charged him with stuff. After he spent 24 hours in jail, they took him to traffic court for unpaid tickets...too bad he doesn't have a car and is from MD. There just happened to be someone in Philly with the same name but they're too stupid to figure it out. We tried to fight it, but all we could do is have everything expunged and HE had to do community service and go to anger management!!

The point is cops are assholes and can do ANYTHING they want. One of them even told my bf that he thought his neck would hurt in the morning...F them all. I hope the Nag's fare better and get this guy.

Damn, Anna. I always thought you were cool, and I'd be lying if I said I haven't ventured into Tryst a time or two with half a thought in the back of my head that it'd be kinda neat to run into you, but . . . I dunno. It seems to me we're destined to never see eye to eye. (Would've been weird to run into you with a date, though.) I guess I don't think it's so much . . . stupid or crazy that you've a veteran in your family as I think it's just . . . sigh. Sad, frankly.

Damn, Dheeraj. I AM cool. And I would have been happy to meet you, at Tryst or elsewhere despite your regrettable views about people in my family, who mean the world to me, whom you have never met. You are allowed to find my sister's life "sad", just like I'm allowed to feel that you're an intolerant person who needs to think before he types.

I'm sorry that you've had terrible experiences, but they don't give you the right to look down on me or my sister for being clueless patriots. Your way isn't the only way, nor is it necessarily right. I stand by what I wrote earlier: Shame on you. Now please don't derail this thread any further-- I want justice for Mr. Nag, not a pointless debate with you.

Gentlemen don't kiss and tell-- you're out of here.

Just dropped off the news tip at Drudge Report.com
While I'm all for more information because there are a few things in this press release that seem 'off', I'm hoping this will make it on there.

It's simple human psychology that when we have a great investment in something -- be it large financial investment in a material item, long-term emotional investment in a spouse, or (as in this case) great attachment and love/respect for the decisions of a sibling -- we are naturally very, very inclined to fight to the death to defend the position, point of view, decision that we've made. So it is with one who has a sister in the US military.

Anna, I think your idealism and your belief in The Great American Experiment is laudable, but in 2007, it's beginning to be anachronistic and something less than appropriate. All great empires have fallen, and this one will be no different.

No, my experiences with jackbooted government thugs invading my private property don't give me the "right" to "look down" on your sister, but they do give me some perspective, as does my lifelong history of having a critical eye always pointed at "my" government. I know a little too much history to be Pollyanna-ish about the current state of affairs (where "current" means "much of the last century"), or to have romantic notions about what the real purpose of the military is, and who really calls the shots and tells the military where to go and what to do, and for whose interests to sacrifice their lives.

You don't show love for a child by letting him/her do whatever he/she wants, then throwing up your hands and saying "well, he/she's my child; love it or leave it!" You get mad and discipline the kid as needed, to make sure he/she becomes a good person later in life. The same applies to any country we call home.

But instead, I'm the narrow-minded, ungrateful, "unpatriotic" asshole. (shrug)

I know it must thrill you to no end to paint yourself the martyr even as you patronize me in so many smugly condescending ways, but enough. In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to create awareness for something here and it's not your views on the military. Stop it.

Take it offline if you must, but I refuse to engage you further-- either stay on topic or please keep it off this thread. Your views about me, my sister, whether desis should be in the military? OFF-TOPIC. Thanks.

Dheeraj,

The FBI came to your house early in the morning twice? Why?

As a reminder, people so interested in doing so can post this article on MySpace/Facebook as well as send the press release to their Alma Mater's desi student organization mailing lists...

After I read about this on brownsugar's blog and here, I emailed a friend. Her response:

"Actually a friend of mine from the Indian American Bar Association was just talking about this incident today. We are contacting the local media tonight"

And will there ever be a point in my lifetime when someone doesn’t tell a South Asian American to go back to where they “fucking came from”?

Anna - I am sorry to say that this will not happen in our lifetimes. Not even if "desis" get to about 25% of the population. And not in a 100 years. Sikhs got murdered by the hundreds in 1984. What we can do is clamp down on such behaviour.
I live in a far more racist country and am very aware that my kids will hear these comments and be hurt. I have occassionally heard these comments but I just laugh and respond - how about you go back to the country you came from. That response leaves the offender dumbfounded ( in most cases)

The behaviour of this cop is outrageous. I think cops all over the world are the same. I have never met a "good" cop. They kiss up (the powerful) and kick down (the weak).

There are two ways to deal with such cops

1) Give him a sound kicking preferably silently. Four strong desis would be enough to jump him at night and beat him to within an inch of his life - put him in hospital for 1 year. Maybe even cut his tongue out. Bullies understand violence better than any language.

2) Non violence. A "name and shame" campaign. All desis around USA wear a black armband protesting this high handed behaviour. Light candles and march in silent procession to his neighbourhood. Leave his printed picture with his crime on a pamphlet and spread them all around the city where he works.

My preference is to use the second method first but be prepared to use the first one if there is no benefit.

Speak softly but carry a big stick with you.

A sikh mate of mine who now works for "The Firm" once said that the 1984 riots would never recur again coz the Sikhs are now prepared to fight back.

Make life so hard for this cop that he will run from that town - never to return.

I for one would never trust a cop and would never get on their wrong side - in any country.

African Americans and the feminists have learnt that unless you get onto the streets it is hard to get any respect.

Nada: I'm not allowed to respond, lest I be "off-topic." I suppose we can chat offline if you're interested. (Your name isn't e-maily clickable.)

Anna: I started on-topic, in that Nag's veteran status was deliberately emphasized in the story to call attention to the further outrageousness of all this. (I tend to think it's just outrageous that it happened, period.) And because I'm a former "Illinois desi," and you DID ask "where [we] at."

I'm going to leave now, having been reminded of why I normally lurk here (and it's getting late, anyway). Eventually I'll run out of IP addresses and servers to remote-desktop to to post from, and I can't afford to have them ALL banned in one night.

Oh, by the way -- to "Clueless," above: I'm also Punjabi, and my family came here -- to the USA -- from Punjab/HP from 1967 to 1987. So I do know a little something about what it's like to be a Punjabi living here, thanks. And Canada's a great place -- why call yourself "clueless" solely on that basis? ;-)

Okiedoke. Night night.

So once again you chose to not wait out the facts to emerge but instead rushed to rage about an allegedly racial incident. Remember that Iranian guy at UCLA or the Leela Lounge incident? What about the Sikh youths allegedly getting their heads forcibly shaved by White supremacists? All those incidents turned out to be either hoaxes or not racist incidents. But of course you painted them that way and never did a follow up post when finally the facts did come out. It's unbelievable that the cop pulls out his pepper spray and baton just because a resident verbally refused to park his vehicle in his garage. And he is yelling racial epithets in the front yard where the nighbors and any passersby could be easy witnesses? What is this - Saudi Arabia? But the unexplainably touchy and the perpetually victim SM community doesn't care for reason when it comes to matters of race. And yes the hate for America and for the White race in general has predictably begun to trickle in.

Folks, make no mistake; the anglosphere, current numero uno on earth, has been racist and xenophobic from the beginning. In Australia even greeks and italians are called wogs and there is racial tension between the anglos and the mediterranean types, though both are "caucasians". And we all know what the anglos did to the australiaqn aborigines, whose phenotype is desi; and to the native american "indians" whose phenotype is mongoloid; and to the africans.

Until the Civil Rights Movement of Martin Luther King Jr, who was inspired by Gandhi, desis as a colored race would have been treated far worse than this. Perhaps like they were in South Africa under apartheid. The only reason America changed in the 60s was because it was loosing the global battle for hearts and minds against it's arch enemy of the time: the communists. External pressure is important as you can see. Similarly, perhaps only external pressure will force India to change its own caste based discriminations. Take this opportunity to feel empathy for the lot of the "untouchable" hindus of India as well, and for all victimized peoples anywhere on earth.

This is outrageous. We should definitely spread the word.

Generalizing this to include "all the cops" is going a bit over-board.
Having been in the US for last 7 yrs, I've never been subjected to any racial behavior by a cop.

#155:

Why don't you enlighten us with some links?

Some of you people that think all cops are bad. So what do you people say about the 60 cops who died on 9/11 in the World Trade Center, were they bad cops too.

Dheerjai if you hate the United States so much, where do you think a great place would be for punjabi person to live.

So once again you chose to not wait out the facts to emerge but instead rushed to rage about an allegedly racial incident

How the fuck are the facts going to emerge if no one knows this even happened? THAT is why I wrote this post; that silence, that darkness surrounding something so disturbing. All I'm asking for is awareness, attention and hopefully an investigation. That's the only way we'll get those precious facts.

How the fuck are the facts going to emerge if no one knows this even happened? THAT is why I wrote this post; that silence, that darkness surrounding something so disturbing. All I'm asking for is awareness, attention and hopefully an investigation. That's the only way we'll get those precious facts.

Here, Here!

I'm an idiot.

HEAR, HEAR!!!

joliet is not exactly the prefect suburb one imagines when mentioning american suburbia. i've been there a few times and have heard and seen things that obviously makes it seem like a typical "redneck" town.

the people aren't that educated and the population is primarily working class white, with some percentage of blacks and latinos. i'm surprised there's any desis living there at all, we rarely venture out of cook and dupage counties. to people in illinois, i don't think that this happening in joliet of all places is going to be a huge surprise.

Please, everyone...the passion is good, but let's focus: this is about the actions of ONE xenophobic cop, not "how all cops suck" or anything else. No matter where you stand I would hope that you would agree that this incident needs to be investigated, either to find justice for Mr. Nag or to exonerate the police officer involved.

Point taken. I do stand at a different place, but I'll refrain from writing the treatise because you're right about the strategic importance of keeping focused on this particular incident. I'm sending the story out on my listservs. Onwards...

the people aren't that educated and the population is primarily working class white, with some percentage of blacks and latinos. i'm surprised there's any desis living there at all, we rarely venture out of cook and dupage counties. to people in illinois, i don't think that this happening in joliet of all places is going to be a huge surprise.

You'd be surprised where you can desis. I've talked with white folks about desis they know from McAlster, Oklahoma to the deep south. Most are usually pretty enthusiastic to talk about desis with me, seeing a brown person. Many may not be the brightest, and I've got the standard "Are you related to so and so, you're last name is Patel". Nothing insidious, though. Having lived in the burbs a long time, I'm actually not surpsied at all that Joliet at desis. Makes sense that as communities expand out of the Chicago metro area, they expand to places like Joliet (along the spokes of the major highways).

Not saying shit doesn't happen, because it does. Gotta say though, you'll find desis tucked away in the most odd places of this country and world.

This is a horrifying incident. I hope the facts come to light quickly and justice is swift for the aggrieved couple. No matter who was rude first, I guess the take-away from this situation is that cops need sensitivity training. I find it hard to believe that the cop in question would have allowed the situation to escalate if the owner of the vehicle was a regular-joe white guy. The fact that he is brown, and looks "arab" to this man caused him to behave offensively towards Mr. Nag, and thereby escalate the situation.

Verbal abuse of any sort does not warrant pepper-spray and assault. I have seen crackheaded pimps on COPS do that without suffering any consequences. I would assume that a vet deserves similar treatment at the very least.

Joliet has a NASCAR track, a major prison closed in '02 and a couple of riverboat casinos. Median income $48K, 70% white, 18% black.

Shruti (#164):

I'll refrain from writing the treatise because you're right about the strategic importance of keeping focused on this particular incident.

Right on. I was in the middle of writing something to back up your #135 but it requires so many stories...

Manish (#167):

Joliet has... a major prison closed in '02

Yup, Jake Blues was incarcerated there.

Prema - From your comment I take it that you are "down under" not "up over" or atleast have great familiarity with the issues down here.
I had half a mind to call myself "wog boy" :)
Abos really do get the short end of the stick in Oz.

A cop is someone who seeks to enforce the rules of the establishment by using physical force or the threat of physical force. They may not be bad persons. Try not to confuse the two.

What about awards given out? *Unrelated to this post, just curious how you would know.

Technically, no. From National Archives website:

Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act (FOIA)

The public has access to certain military service information without the veteran's authorization (or that of the next-of-kin of deceased veterans). Examples of information which may be available from Official Military Personnel Files without an unwarranted invasion of privacy include:

* Name
* Service Number
* Dates of Service
* Branch of Service
* Rank and Date of Rank
* Salary *
* Assignments and Geographical Locations
* Source of Commission *
* Military Education
* Promotion Sequence Number *
* Awards and decorations (Eligibility only, not actual medals)
* Duty Status
* Photograph
* Transcript of Court-Martial Trial
* Place of entrance and separation

If the veteran is deceased:

* Place of birth
* Date and geographical location of death
* Place of burial

Dheeraj,

If this country is so bad to you why don't you self-deport?

Gazsi

A cop is someone who seeks to enforce the rules of the establishment by using physical force or the threat of physical force. They may not be bad persons. Try not to confuse the two.

Right aussie desi, so you think when that cop yelled "You f****** Arab! You f***** immigrant, go back to you f****** country before I kill you!" he was merely seeking to enforce "the rules of the establishment"? Maybe in your book that does not make him a "bad person", but in my book it does.

Gaszi, what an inane comment. There are problems in every country, why shouldn't we try to work for progress in the country where we are in?

Clueless' comment: "I'm sorry but I can't make a judgement in this case, because I don't have enough info. Just look at the Duke lacross rape case. I bet there was a black website like this, that said those 3 players were guilty and the media coverage made it seem like those guys were guilty. Yet after all the info came out, it turned those 3 men were not guilty."

Um...just because charges are dropped doesn't mean they are innocent. Ooh, big surprise, a bunch of rich white guys got off. How unusual.

This "support your country even if it doesn't treat you like an equal citizen" nonsense disturbs me.
Blind nationalism towards any country is problematic, destructive, moronic and has nothing to do with justice.

Clueless said: "Dheerjai you comments were very stupid to say the least. Racism is a problem in the United States. But it also problem in every other country on the planet."

Why do people always use that trite line? What a nonsensical deflection. Again, how about we work for progress in the country we happen to be in? If everyone had such a lazyass attitude like that, there would be no positive social change.

Oops I may have created some confusion. I dont like cops - period. A cop to me symbolizes power of the establishment by suppressing the marginalized. Thus, I dont like cops any more than I like slave owners. Hence, the cop yelling obscenities is doubly evil - if that is possible.

Prema - I concur.
My comment was more in response to the various comments that asked not to generalize about cops. I am generalizing about the behaviour of cops not the persons. Subtle distinction.

Replace establishment and marginalized with Bourgeoisie and Proletariat and I could be a commie :)

There are private investigator firms that specialize in veteran's databases but they are "unofficial", and will be first to claim their incompleteness.

The story is no.2 at reddit right now

Ennis is right. I do not think you can easily verify anyone's veteran status, unless you have the authority/ permission to do so by the Government. It is strictly protected by privacy laws. Therefore, you see a lot of murkiness in people's claims about service, valor, etc. in public space.

Comment #. 107 just takes you to US Govt. Veterans Affairs website, but will not let you let access any of their databases.

Yeah. That's how privacy works. However, it was a first step in learning how to go about and verify his veteran status. Things aren't just lying about the internet for everyone to see. But I agree, even if he wasn't a veteran, this is absolutely unacceptable. I'm glad it's progressed to other blogs and become a bigger story. The system can work!

I'm a bit late in the discussion. This news is a total shock to me because my hometown is Plainfield(right next to Joliet). I called my parents and they didn't hear a thing about it. Particularly, since my dad is a doctor at the two major hospitals in Joliet. There is a small desi community in the Joliet area for a while now and it has being growing, but not as fast or large as Naperville. A little history about racism in the area that I know of: Before our family moved there in the early 90's a black school teacher was run out of town by the KKK a few years earlier in Plainfield,IL. That being said the size of Plainfield at that time was around 4,000. Today it is somewhere about 30,000. Joliet itself is about 150,000. The huge growth I have not nor has my family ever experienced any overt racism in the last 10+ years of living there. I'm going to see if I can get a hold of few more family friends and see if they have heard anything about this.

Why is this not in the media?? The African-American community did not take Don Imus's comments sitting down. Anyone makes an anti-semitic slur, it's headlines.

Let's get mad and get vocal! Why are we saying Joliet is redneck so what can you do? At least educate them! Show them a map and where India is and where Saudia Arabia is. (Maybe Sanjaya should hold up a map of the world since he gets the biggest audience)

If Don Imus can lose his show, this cop should lose his license.

At least educate them! Show them a map and where India is and where Saudia Arabia is. (Maybe Sanjaya should hold up a map of the world since he gets the biggest audience)

Ashi

That Mr. Nag is not from the Middle East is not the issue. The way he was treated would have been unacceptable for any Arab man as well. Showing racists a map doesn't quite remove their racism.

1 day has passed and not a blurb on a MSM site. Astonishing and sickening.

The sad fact is that for all the hullabaloo in the desi media outlets on how desis are becoming more and more relavent in mainstream Amrika, we're politically irrelevant. You can bet if the same thing happened to a black guy or Latino, it would've raised a firestorm that would've at least resulted in that officer getting canned.
It goes back to the apathy among the community and lack of political leadership at the grassroots level.

The "closest" thing I found in google news:

A Redding man accused of stealing a 25-ton front-end loader last month and ramming it into a Sikh temple in Anderson [CA] was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on multiple charges, including committing a hate crime.

Michael Benjamin Rafferty, 39, is scheduled to be arraigned April 25 in Shasta County Superior Court. A tentative trial date may be set at that hearing....

...Under questioning Wednesday by Deputy District Attorney Stacy Larson, Anderson police officer Tim York testified at Rafferty's hearing that the Redding man told him he had vandalized the temple because it was owned by foreigners.

"He thought they were Arabs," he said. "He said they didn't believe in Jesus and didn't belong there."[LINK]

Do we have any assassins/ninjas in the group here? Your services may be required by the Indian community.

This story is on Digg. The more you digg it, the more relevant it will become and more people will read it. If you dont have a digg account please get one and digg this story.

I updated the story to reflect that fact that his legal counsel has seen the appropriate paperwork (the DD-214 form) and can indeed verify that he is a veteran. Hopefully you all would support him just as much if he wasn't a veteran, but since people had asked, I thought I would let you know that there appears to be documentation supporting his status.

I doubt I have that many readers but it's up on my blog now with links.

Brother just can't catch a fuckin break can he?

This is not the first time a Desi veteran has been racially abused by law enforcement in the US.
Sepia Mutiny covered the case of a Navy Dr. Bob Rajkoomar racially abused and mis treated on a plane.

Why do Desis have to prove whether or not they were veterans?? Do veterans have MORE RIGHTS than regular citizens??
How about asking for police that does not racially attack minorities ?? Is it too much to ask?

Why do Desis have to prove whether or not they were veterans?? Do veterans have MORE RIGHTS than regular citizens??

They don't; the fact that Mr. Nag was a vet just adds an extra layer of heartbreak to the story. It also underscores that no matter how patriotic we might be, we're still seen as outsiders.

Thanks Coach, and all those who are linking this story. This story MUST not go away quiety.

How can we get a higher profile on search results on google for this story?? Experts, let us know.

Oh dear, I think my initial comments might have lead the thread astray :) And not the first time, I may add...

My point wasn't anything other than: this is terrible as it is reported and I would like to know more about what happened and get to the bottom of it. In doing that, I suggested that veterans groups be contacted to publicize this incident. In suggesting that course of action, I thought it was good to verify a thing or two. Nothing more than crossing t's and dotting i's. No one should be mistreated, and my point wasn't to harp on his veteran status, but to use it to publicize this incident.

#187 Ritam, what do you mean by your comment? Confused....

"1 day has passed and not a blurb on a MSM site. Astonishing and sickening."

they're probably more interested in covering ludicrous conspiracy theories about "indian" sanjaya malakar than they are about reporting incidents where ethnicity could be more important to the story.

NO comments involving assassinations / death threats / even Ninjas please, even when clearly meant in jest. Making such comments is a serious matter.

Apologies if I restate something - I read through the comments, but not super super closely, so I may have missed something.

I got this story in my inbox yesterday and my heart just sank. [an aside: I can't believe I had to find out about this on email - I have family in Illinois who didn't even know this had happened!] I don't know how to convey the amount of pain and despair I feel every time I hear about yet another (violent) anti-Sikh incident. Honestly, I don't know the details, but I doubt that Mr. Nag instigated something with the cop. As Ennis mentioned, many cops are notorious for using excessive force and then explaining it away as being a defensive move. While there are witnesses (his wife and child? Disgusting!), they are both family members. It is super hard to prove that cops are liable in civilian-cop encounters like this one. It's mad frustrating.

As some folks alluded to, though, this could be an awesome opportunity for strategic alliances. I don't think the Sikh community (or desi community at-large) does enough to create long-standing nation-wide alliances with other people of color organizations, particularly not African-American or Latin@/Latin@-American organizations. This is a great time to say, "We are experiencing the same thing! Let's back each other up!"

#37

Tried to search blogs dedicated to track police brutalities but couldn't find one. Anybody aware of such blogs? We could get them highlight the incident.

Shruti you said A good cop is good cop on rotton tree. Police brutality and racial profiling are not sanctioned, they are straight up institutionalized.

Maybe I should start judging everu group by the action of a few.

I don't know, I guess what I most take away from this is that the Sikh community and desi community at large have a lot of potential in this moment, and in the general context of increased post-9/11 profiling, to do strategic work with other communities and to be better allies. It's not like this is the first time for Sikhs or desis that we have been racially profiled or harrassed, and it's not like 9/11 was the only catalyst. I know my father (who then lived in Phoenix when it was even less diverse than it is now) was harassed every single day of the Iran hostage crisis, and afterwards, by local police. They never beat him up, but things absolutely came close. Even when he was living in Wisconsin and in Chicago he harassed, threatened, or verbally abused on a daily basis.

Ok, enough with the rant. Heartfelt sympathies and support for Mr. Nag and his family.

I'm sorry, I left a broken link for Bay Area Police Watch.

they're probably more interested in covering ludicrous conspiracy theories about "indian" sanjaya malakar than they are about reporting incidents where ethnicity

The cable news talking heads were giving air time to the ridiculous theory of "Indian Call center employees behind Sanjaya". A talking head on MSNC and a nut job on CNN both were mouthing this quasi-racist rant under the guise of entertainment/news. I dont have any hope of real journalism from the cable TV nut jobs. Only hope is mainstream papers of record of devote time and resources to covering real stories, such as NYT and WaPo.

RC, wrong thread, perhaps? (the Papaya is further up the page)

I don't think the Sikh community (or desi community at-large) does enough to create long-standing nation-wide alliances with other people of color organizations, particularly not African-American or Latin@/Latin@-American organizations. This is a great time to say, "We are experiencing the same thing! Let's back each other up!"

There have been efforts by Sikhs. Without going into details, I was disappointed in the big ethnic groups. After 9/11, the NAACP wouldn't even come out and condemn profiling in the broader security context, even though they had spent years trying to discredit it as a crime fighting tool. Honestly, the one ethnic community that has responded most has been Japanese Americans who are very concerned about the shrinking sphere of civil liberties. However, in general, it's not African-American, Latino, or Asian-American groups have been very interested in supporting Sikhs when incidents like this have arisen, it's mainly been religious civil liberties groups (the ADL has done good things in cases I know about) instead.

The problem there, Ennis, might be that alliances built on ethnicity concern themselves with just that: ethnicity. So, rather than seeing themselves as foremost a civil rights organisation, the NAACP might be more concerned with living up to its name. It's the shadow-side of identity politics. The identity ends up trumping everything else.

I think there is a great deal of work yet to be done in getting ethnic minorities to recognize that they have common cause in America. What happened to Mr Nag should shock any right thinking African-American. Sharpton and Jackson should be in Joliet taking names and kicking ass.

And, beyond ethnicity, all marginalized groups (the poor, the disabled, gays, Indian-Americans, women, whomever) in America need to see that they have something in common: a system that's often too eager to make them suffer.

Camille # 201,
NO not a wrong thread. I was just expanding on "Whose God is it anyway"'s comment about whether or not MSM will pick up this story, which is a lot more important than American Idol.
BTW I had never watched American Idol before and I dont give a rats ass who wins or loses.

"Do we have any assassins/ninjas in the group here? Your services may be required by the Indian community."

He told myself he would never go back to that lifestyle again. He though he put it behind him, but now when push comes to shove, the brown ninja is back and is thirsty for blood!

ShallowThinker stars in "The Brown Plague"

Coming to a theater near you!

It's now in the Times of India:

"Ex-Navy American Sikh faces police racism"

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ex-Navy_American_Sikh_faces_police_racism/articleshow/1900260.cms

Isn't Manmohan Singh's daughter an attroney at ACLU? Maybe someone should bring this to her attention.

Yes, let's all read one side of the story and jump on the bandwagon, just like we did with those lacrosse players.

Rediff has a piece up now. And like most articles on Rediff, it has attracted its share of trolls and the comments have seemed to have taken a "desis are more racist than anyone else" angle. One commenter who seems to be leading the discussion has this viewpoint.

RE:Rediff.... you are again presenting one side of the story by Superman aka who last crashed into a tree on Apr 12, 2007 06:59 PM

You picked the message that isn't intended here. It is not about race.

It is a case of one person who probably argued with the police and was beaten up. It is a question whether Nag was right, or Cop was right. IT IS NOT ABOUT RACE.

Most apartment properties do not allow cars with expired or no plates to stand on their properties. So there is definitely some written law that rediff hasn't mentioned here.

In all fairness, the article SALDEF's press release only partially and does not mention the racial slurs that Mr.Nag was subjected to. So if I did not know the background of the case via SM, I would look at it with some suspicion. I do not have a valid Rediff email id, so I can't respond there, but if someone here can post a link to the SALDEF press release on the Rediff comments section, that would be a good step going forward.

Ooops.. the Rediff.com article is here. But like I mentioned above, it's an incomplete description! The otherwise TOIlet rag seems to have done better, though!

There have been efforts by Sikhs. Without going into details, I was disappointed in the big ethnic groups. After 9/11, the NAACP wouldn't even come out and condemn profiling in the broader security context, even though they had spent years trying to discredit it as a crime fighting tool. Honestly, the one ethnic community that has responded most has been Japanese Americans who are very concerned about the shrinking sphere of civil liberties. However, in general, it's not African-American, Latino, or Asian-American groups have been very interested in supporting Sikhs when incidents like this have arisen, it's mainly been religious civil liberties groups (the ADL has done good things in cases I know about) instead.

Nifong really created some problems, didn't he? I mean, this is the problem with high profile cases that are badly handled.

The thing is, I read the press release and I still have some questions. I agree with ANNA and Ennis when they state that what people want is an investigation and for the truth to come forward: No initial rush to judgement for anyone.

Also, the readers at DailyKos have gone through the relevant local laws and think it's pretty unlikely that the cop could tell somebody to move a car from his driveway simply because it had expired tags.

Yes, let's all read one side of the story and jump on the bandwagon, just like we did with those lacrosse players.

Enough. They were exonerated and the cop might be, too ONCE THERE IS AN INVESTIGATION. All we are asking for is that this incident be looked in to-- and there is no harm or shame in that. No one here fancies themself judge or jury.

You are not witty or snarky with the Duke refs. Further comments about lacrosse players? Deleted. Stay on topic.

I have submitted a Digg notice about the news item, linking to this blog.
Call me stupid or naive... dirty cops must be rooted out, but I do not support blanket statements that all cops are inherently dirty/racist. Such smears won't help Mr. Nag's case.

Labelling the whole country as racist because of this incident, isn't that a bit premature. People of all colors get abused by the police, let's wait and see what happened and if this story is correct what happends in the court.

Saying that, cops. Why am I not surprised? It's not that cops automatically have bad character, it's the nature of their job and the society they live in. So aggressive, so paranoid. Anyway, I've ran into cops many times, this is not my general experience.

and then, the racism that we desis experince, it's almost laughable. It's because we look like arabs. How the hell do you tackle that!?

and then, the racism that we desis experince, it's almost laughable. It's because we look like arabs. How the hell do you tackle that!?

I suggest skin bleach and t-shirts which say "Don't beat me, I'm not an Arab!"

dirty cops must be rooted out, but I do not support blanket statements that all cops are inherently dirty/racist. Such smears won't help Mr. Nag's case.

That's a good point. Blanket statements make it easier for others to dismiss us. Yes there are larger issues at play here, but right now let's focus on THIS particular case, please.

"It's because we look like arabs. How the hell do you tackle that!?"

Well... a while ago I created an "Anti-Paranoia T-Shirt" on CafePress, with this slogan printed in back and front:

That I look "Arabic" to you doesn't mean that I carry a bomb in my bag. Please show a little bit of common sense.

Nobody's dared to wear it yet... ;-P

I have submitted a Digg notice about the news item, linking to this blog. Call me stupid or naive... dirty cops must be rooted out, but I do not support blanket statements that all cops are inherently dirty/racist. Such smears won't help Mr. Nag's case.

Agreed. Also a precedent must be set so people will think twice before indulging in this kind of behavior.

Why just a shirt? Go for the whole kit:

www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2670145

Ennis

Wouldn't skin bleach make us look even more like arabs? :-D I suggest we all put a tip on our foreheads or something and at the department store we all buy pork and tell it out loudly.

Long time lurker here. Off-topic request. I find Sepia Munity to be a good website for receiving desi related news. Wondering if it's possible to implement a rating systems like slashdot.org uses for the purposes of filtering responses?

Also is it possible for someone to consolidate links on the ways to help Mr. Kuldip Singh Nag as an update to the main article?

A hearty thanks to the people who run the website. I appreciate your energy and time to making it a worthy normal read-site.

This story is on Digg. The more you digg it, the more relevant it will become and more people will read it. If you dont have a digg account please get one and digg this story.

It is now top 10 on digg...

Might be a good idea to circulate (along with the press release) a "What you can do" type list. Lessee, what's been said so far:
- contact your senator, police dept, mayor, newspaper
- contact the relevant ones in Illinois (senator, police dept, mayor, newspaper) -- put their phone numbers, email addresses, websites here as appropriate
- blog it and digg it
- email all your lists and friends
- anyone with journalism/pr experience? how to get it on the newswires so that the major news organizations notice it?

Guys, stick to one Digg article and keep digging it instead of dividing your diggs on a dozen articles of basically the same story.

This one has about 874, so DIGGIT

Jeet: This is the description on that article! The emphasis (bold text) is mine...

US Gulf War veteran of Arabic descent assaulted by cop for not moving his inoperable van from his driveway into his garage. Proof that all it takes is 1 bad seed to make life hell for minorities.

*sigh*!

US Gulf War veteran of Arabic descent assaulted by cop for not moving his inoperable van from his driveway into his garage. Proof that all it takes is 1 bad seed to make life hell for minorities.

Whaaat?
My head is in my hands.

Here is something else you can do besides digging the story.

Quoted from a friend.

I will talk to my colleagues about what they suggest. I'm thinking that the best bet now would be to flood the Chicago Public Radio(WBEZ) newsroom with requests to cover this story. Here's the number: 312.948.4650 . WBEZ is where Ira Glass works/hosts/produces This American Life.

If you've listened to this program you know it is one that closely examines this kind story.

Also Chicago Public Radio is doing much to cover immigrant issues in Chicago.Their web address is http://www.wbez.org.

So get off your Kundis, make some calls. We are not saying that Mr.Nag was right or wrong, but until the mainstream media picks this up and an investigation happens, we will never find out.

karthik: that's probably the most constructive comment I've seen yet.

Try the national Media - CNN.

Try the national Media Nancy grace show on CNN.

for the nancy grace show (i'm not a big fan, but she does have a big mouth and would bring this out onto the national light) call 1-888-GRACE-01 and/or email the show here

i think if we all cohesively bombarded them with calls and emails, it would get some airtime..

i say we do it.

I know we chastise the NAACP for not saying anything about profiling, but at the same time, where were Sikhs and what were we saying when African Americans were being racially profiled? It's a two-way street.

Exactly right. Such selfish apathy leads to this:

"First they came for the Socialists, and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me, and there was no one left
to speak up for me."

Any victim of any race or religion has to be defended by all who wish to preserve their rights and their dignity, else things go rapidly down the slippery slope. Too many desi-americans try to distance themselves from the discriminations and humiliations endured by african-americans, foolishly imagining they are a "priviliged community" with "high SES". It was the black civil rights movement that even allows desis the rights they currently enjoy in America. We even see many sikhs/punjabis trying to distance themselves from the rest of desis who are seen by them as darker, inferior, less middle-eastern looking, less martial etc.

One lesson that should be clear is this: never argue with a cop no matter how wrong he is. That will only escalate the abuse. You can always report him later. Nag by the account was at the very least objecting to the cop's demand that he move his car. How hotly he was objecting is unknown at this point. Chances are that he was angry and showed it. The cop, clearly a racist, which shouldn't be surprising in America, saw that as an opportunity/justification to assault a despised non-white.

I just spoke to a woman at the Chicago Pubic Radio # that Karthik left. She said no one had called in the story before me, but she also said it's better to email them the info at:

news@chicagopublicradio.org

i just called the nancy grace show.. their mailbox is full..so i sent the email instead.. and will try again later to call...

I just spoke to a woman at the Chicago Pubic Radio # that Karthik left. She said no one had called in the story before me, but she also said it's better to email them the info at: news@chicagopublicradio.org

Its better to call than to email. That way its more personal. Plus if dozens of angry sounding folks call in someone is bound to notice.

Its better to call than to email. That way its more personal. Plus if dozens of angry sounding folks call in someone is bound to notice.

Is it really in our best interests to ignore what they requested, when we're trying to get them to cooperate with our wishes for exposure? Besides email = paper trail. Let's not annoy those who can help us, IMO. Emails can be just as personal, if not moreso. And they do get noticed.

Good point, Intern. I guess I'm not thinking too clearly when i'm angry. Delete my previous comment or something.

Prema writes: >>One lesson that should be clear is this: never argue with a cop no matter how wrong he is. That will only escalate the abuse. You can always report him later.

You said it. This has worked for me everytime.

M. Nam

It doesn't look like the Joliet Herald News is covering the story. You could write them. I have a hard time believing that a cop would go straight to violent abuse. If something that flagrant happened, he likely has escalated to it and a local newstory could flush out a history of abuse.

I'm not sure how many of you are in Illinois or have contacts in the media, but I do know for a fact that multiple S. Asian interest groups have already contacted the Joliet Herald as well as various print and broadcast media outlets in the Chicago area. I'm not sure why it isn't being reported.

"A talking head on MSNC and a nut job on CNN both were mouthing this quasi-racist rant under the guise of entertainment/news. I dont have any hope of real journalism from the cable TV nut jobs. "

i try to avoid cable news like the plague. i don't have much faith in channels that salivate over the "eagerly awaited" decision over who anna nicole's "baby's daddy" is. in the u.s. i stick to bbc world news and pbs. am disappointed that bbc world hasn't gone full-time in the u.s. as announced several months ago. it's not perfect but it's much better than cnn (cnn international is better than it's u.s.counterpart) and fox and the rest.

never argue with a cop no matter how wrong he is. That will only escalate the abuse. You can always report him later

Then it would be your word against the Cops. Other good hearted Cops will not cross the blue line in such situation. What you are suggesting is accepting that Police have to be unreasonable or that Desis will always be abused because some how they are second class citizens. Both of those sentiments are bogus. One MUST resent wrong doing by law enforcement or any other party for that matter, when it happens.

A lot of Desis have this mentality of living invisible lives. That is no way of achieving respect.

Not arguing with cops is a matter of fact for white people too. That has nothing to do with being a second class citizen.

You could write them. I have a hard time believing that a cop would go straight to violent abuse.

Yeah, but regardless of whether the cop's actions might have been justified, the cop's racist rant was not.

(...And if the amount of violence alleged was truly used, then it's hard to imagine what Mr. Singh would have been doing which could justifiably provoke the cop's response, but that's a digression.)

[quote]Why is this not in the media?? The African-American community did not take Don Imus's comments sitting down. Anyone makes an anti-semitic slur, it's headlines. [/quote]

Ignoramuses like Ashi LOOOOVE to incite anti-semitic rancor of their own making by holding those darn Jews (and the media they obviously control, right?) up as standard bearers of the hypcorisy of the world. So, Ashi is free to spout generalizations like the above comment without even knowing that Imus once called CBS management "Jewish money-grubbing bastards," and once called Howard Kurtz a "boner-nosed, beanie-wearing Jewboy." And guess what? They didn't make headlines! In fact, you never knew of it until today! Right?

But don't let me interrupt your concentration camp building project.

I don't think this has been posted: the news was reported on abc7news in Chicago.

You get a slightly different angle from ABC News. Note how they caption it "Officer Accused" rather than, say, "Gulf war veteran assaulted".

Emails can be just as personal, if not moreso. And they do get noticed.

i can attest to emails getting noticed..
emails get things done.

hopefully we can all contribute and make more noise of the issue, and hopefully it will make a difference.

Imus once called CBS management "Jewish money-grubbing bastards," and once called Howard Kurtz a "boner-nosed, beanie-wearing Jewboy." And guess what? They didn't make headlines! In fact, you never knew of it until today! Right?

wow pissed, you read slate?

that's like some way cool, under-the-radar blog right? OH....what? It's owned by an old establishment shoe-rag, WaPo.

but, please, do go on in your quest to label all who dare to address any subject involving Judaism as anti-semites--that's sure to lessen the power of anti-semitic language in public discourse. Brilliant strategy.

SM Intern:

" Enough. They were exonerated and the cop might be, too ONCE THERE IS AN INVESTIGATION. All we are asking for is that this incident be looked in to-- and there is no harm or shame in that. No one here fancies themself judge or jury.

You are not witty or snarky with the Duke refs. Further comments about lacrosse players? Deleted. Stay on topic."

In case you are implying so, comment # 208 wasn't made by me. You make a good point - we should make news in order for this incident to be further investigated but until then we should reserve judgment. However, contrary to your own admonishment, you seem to have accepted SALDEF's/Nags' allegations at face value:

" And will there ever be a point in my lifetime when someone doesn’t tell a South Asian American to go back to where they “fucking came from”?"
and,
" this xenophobic police officer screamed at him"

I think it's clear to everyone that the officer's ' alleged ' racist rant is the most incriminating part of his conduct. Since you don't seem to consider the racist language just ' alleged ' but instead something that in fact happened, what other facts are we waiting for to emerge before we burn down townhall?

As much as there's a history of police brutality in this country, there's a history of people lying and using racism to deflect their guilt. I have given examples of the latter in comment # 155 in the form of incidents which by the way have been subject of your blog's posts. The aggrieved in those cases concocted choice racial abuse that they claimed was hurled at them. Why lean on one kind of history? Why not stay neutral until the facts emerge?

Note to intern - In the following few sentences I am responding specifically to a couple of comenters but generally to the tone this thread has adopted. So I'll appreciate if you let the comment stay in its fullness.

Santosh:

" Disgraceful! Where's NAACP and ACLU when you need them? "

NAACP was busy lusting for Imus' blood. The questions should be where was NAACP when DJ Star ( Troy Terain ) used much more vile and racist language while talking to an innocent Indian call centre worker at the other end. That bastard got away with something like a week's diversity training. What's more pathetic? None of his hundreds of thousands of mostly Black listeners called in to complain or report the matter to the media.

Shruti:

" It's about time that racist got called out"

Just to let you know a couple of things about Imus; He championed Harold E. Ford Jr. during his run for U.S. Senate in Tennessee, and bitterly decried the slow government response to Hurricane Katrina. The former while enduring a death threat and in the latter case while pointedly asking if the slow response was because most victims were Black. His enormous charity work has benefited minorties just as much. He was an equal opportunity insulter with mostly powerful Whites being the butt of his jokes. In this case he went too far because he targeted a group of private individuals and used racist language. He apologized profusely for it but it was not enough for some hypocrites ( don't get me started on Sharpton and Jackson ). But I'll tell you one thing - this is a watershed event for many people in this country. Thousands upon thousands of moderates are very angry at the double standards at play in this country. In the next few weeks watch out for a sudden swell in conservative-talk-show audience.

Shruti again:

" this guy knew that he wasn't going to get away with it if it were some rich white guy whose car was parked with expired tags outside his mansion, know'm sayin'? This guy is not a "bad apple". If anything, a good cop is a "good apple" on a rotten tree. Police brutality and racial profiling are not sanctioned, they're straight up institutionalized."

You should have had the decency to not put out this moronic statement on the very day that all the charges against the three " Rich White kids " in the Duke rape case were finally thrown out. A case in which not just DA Nifong, the ' students of color ' at Duke, the general Black community of Raleigh-Durham, steeped-in-guilt peofessors ( 88 in number ) but also the local police force were complicit in destroying the life of three innocent undergrads. No ' innocent until proven guilty ' for these kids. If America were such a hellish place for minorities where the system is irreparably stacked against them, then how come the checkered testimony of a two-bit Black stripper with serious mental problems was given such a collective ear? All this in a country where a novice two-year senator with almost zero political experience and quite a few imprudent votes ( for example- opposition to CAFTA which eventually ended up lifting thousands out of poverty in Central America ) to flaunt ends up raising several millions more than any of the seasoned and much more accomplished presidential contenders. Why? Because of the color of his skin. And he is not White. In fact he is the only non-White contender. Only in America!

In the abc news it is mentioned that his wife took some pictures of the incident. If only she had a videocam...

Duke the Naacp hardly even helps black people and that I know of I had friends who are black muslims get dissed by the Naacp they are a shadow of themselves,but I will say this I am not apathic to this case at all even though I am black I know how it is to get pulled over by the police and it ain't pretty. Btw Dom Imus should have kept his stupid racist clap trap to himself.

Stategy is important -

First, get all the facts in.

Second, use it to focus on the issue. Anna said it well in the thread.

Third, use the publicity to ensure a successful outcome. DO NOT HARP on all cops or the 'bigotry' of the system, or frankly get all hippie on things. Use the publicity to be successful - as a part of the the publicity, encourage more funding and training for police officers (AKA more dollars for the department), this means the unions and knee jerk response from police groups is tempered as they see you meaning well, trying to get more awareness and training in (AKA more resources for the department from the money), yet will give you leeway in going after a bad apple.

Another thing I beat to death, as John Boyd said (paraphrased) - do your homework and make sure you factually right first. Then plan your strategy, and commit to it with 120%. Playing the broken record (and pretty empty tune) of big bad brother, bad police, evils of white america, in this case won't work. Desis do not have enough population gravity to force such an issue. One needs to be far more strategic, tactical, and go for what works.

- Congressman
- Court police via 'training dollars'
- Push for factual information and lessen rhetoric that attacks a larger population. Divide and conquer.

You could write them. I have a hard time believing that a cop would go straight to violent abuse.

Yeah, but regardless of whether the cop's actions might have been justified, the cop's racist rant was not.

(...And if the amount of violence alleged was truly used, then it's hard to imagine what Mr. Singh would have been doing which could justifiably provoke the cop's response, but that's a digression.)

I'm sorry, I didn't write that well. What I meant was that if this officer did this violent attack as alleged, it seems likely to me that he has escalated through a series of similar incidents in his career. I don't think you skip right to beating up middle-aged men while shouting racist epithets. My guess is that someone who does that also has done smaller incidents of police brutality, and a story in a local paper might bring some of those to light.

When I wrote "go straight to violent abuse", I wasn't referring to provocation during the incident, although it certainly reads like that. My bad.

"Um...just because charges are dropped doesn't mean they are innocent. Ooh, big surprise, a bunch of rich white guys got off. How unusual."

I know man, I know. Sort of like OJ. But seriously, I know it's hard for you to give up--had such juicy elements--but you could choose a better case than the Duke thing to make whatever point you wanted. DNA wasn't there. Even the "victim" recanted. Nifong wanted his PC wings very badly, enough to lie, because he knew there was no case. White liberals see themselves as potential Ghandis. They will shred their lower SES white brethren to oblivion in this ambition, and if the brethren are rich, all the better. But in the end, even he knew the case was ridiculous. The law firm where my friends work was laughing through the whole thing, not because rape is funny but because that case was absurd. Undoubtedly there were such cases many years ago, but nowadays--I am privy to certain opinions--no sane or sober white man would risk a law suit and go near a black person with personal intentions. Even drunk ones have second thoughts.
I could tell you about plenty of horrific cases where the perps were definitely guilty and got off, and not because they were white and/or rich. There's no rhyme or reason to the justice systems.

Here is why I'm commenting. It's a given: Most people care mainly about themselves and people like themselves. Ergo, a string of 200 or more comments on this nasty incident. You are angry about seeing a fellow desi get abused by cop. One picture's worth a thousand words. I got angry too, and I am not desi ,partly because the guy is a veteran but mostly because it's so disgusting after all this time that a cop should do this. But that was just one cop--there are some great cops who would never do such a thing. Your desi-oriented focus is appropriate, but wait a minute about the "white racist crime" forcryingoutloud. What are the stats? Are you really that beleagured? Do you cross the street if you see a group of whites approaching? I'm serious. Of course you're talking here about a cop, so that's a different situation from a criminal criminal, but still. Desi crime (is there any?) is a non-issue in the U.S., but somebody made a color connection with black Americans. As far as black/white crime, there is a general feeling among whites in discussion blogs, that they are the forgotten victims, their victimization way higher than the amount of coverage given. I was skeptical until I realized I'd never heard of most of these crimes and cases. Also suffocated by the negativity of the threads. My belief is that nothing remains hidden forever, and the truth emerges eventually, in its own good time. Just as you on sepia discuss desi victims in varying degrees of outrage and rationalization, they do the same for theirs. They too feel aggrieved and ignored. Some rationalize. There is a festering undercurrent of such grievance in this country, sadly. Nobody thinks their suffering gets enough attention. And the stats do change from century to century. The grand irony is that most here, be they black, brown, white or yellow, are probably better off and safer than in most other countries they could be in, as long as they choose a user friendly neighborhood.
Maybe you are right, though, that browns get little attention, as I haven't read much about them either as perps or victims. I know many people who have been the victims of interracial crime in recent decades, and none are black or brown, but then that's just me. I'm open to information, but I am also expecting others to be. Maybe different race/ethnic groups should meet and compare notes from the combat zones? If so, all need to come armed with facts, not just emotional screeds. I haven't met many, if any, whites who particularly dislike "desis" because of color or race. Mr. Cop maybe, although Arabs seem to be his real problem. Indeed, another irony, considering the current topic, is that I once knew a blond cop who made great friends with an Indian family in Baltimore.
So my sympathies for Mr. Nag, assuming he's in the right, and I fully concur with any efforts to redress such an occurence. I'd even sign a petition. It is especially bad as he's a veteran and should be respected. But as I read comment after comment attributing race crime to whites (not all but many) I began to wonder (although I understood why these good people think this way) if I was living on the same planet much less the same country, my experience is that different. As I find with the white grievance blogs, and black grievance blogs, negativity is suffocating. If we want justice, we must accept the naturalness of our personal bias, but investigate thoroughly and objectively. Do something positive and move on. And don't think there are any more people out to get you than are out to get the rest of us.

just blew up on digg...

excuse me, probably not "just" sorry for being so slow.

and I just saw that this one had even more diggs... there were so many dupes. Not saying it deserves less coverage but it would be better to channel all of our efforts into one story for these social bookmarking sites.

What I meant was that if this officer did this violent attack as alleged, it seems likely to me that he has escalated through a series of similar incidents in his career. I don't think you skip right to beating up middle-aged men while shouting racist epithets.

Inside the Beltway- Yeah, like OJ's case was representative of any kind of pattern. And yes, I am familiar with racist/homophobic police harrassment and profiling in NY, and so is my family. And post-9/11 targeting has made things even worse for desi families. You have no place telling me what I can and cannot be concerned about.

you seem to have accepted SALDEF's/Nags' allegations at face value

SALDEF is on the ground you are not. They are professionals who have talked to Nag and his family and concluded that they have a legitimate case. Who should we give the benefit of the doubt, them or a rogue cop who, at the very least, assaulted a desi veteran so roughly that he had to spend 5 days in a hospital? All that Nag's violation deserved was a ticket.

As much as there's a history of police brutality in this country, there's a history of people lying and using racism to deflect their guilt.

Complete nonsense. For every attempt to falsely use the race card there must be 100s of examples of police brutality. Police brutality has a far less chance of being caught than lying criminals. Rogue cops are far more threatening to a just and civil society.

Thousands upon thousands of moderates are very angry at the double standards at play in this country. In the next few weeks watch out for a sudden swell in conservative-talk-show audience.

Let these so-called moderates come out of the closet and reveal their true fascist colors. Those who defend Imus's right to be an obnoxious racist and sexist are just the audience these conservative talk show jerks like Savage and Limbaugh aim for. You obviously are a card-carrying member of this proto-fascist constituency. Your impassioned defense of rogue cops, cruel and racist talk show jerks, and the Duke Lacrosse Team (which has a notoriously bad reputation, apart from the dismissed case you are so excited about) expose you as a thuggish brute.

How is it "ironic" that you knew a white cop who was friends with an Indian family? So? What does that have to do with structural white supremacy? It does not make individual white people KKK members. Get a clue and buy yourself a sense of nuance.

insidethebeltway

hear hear

"SALDEF is on the ground you are not. They are professionals who have talked to Nag and his family and concluded that they have a legitimate case. Who should we give the benefit of the doubt, them or a rogue cop who, at the very least, assaulted a desi veteran so roughly that he had to spend 5 days in a hospital? All that Nag's violation deserved was a ticket...For every attempt to falsely use the race card there must be 100s of examples of police brutality. Police brutality has a far less chance of being caught than lying criminals. Rogue cops are far more threatening to a just and civil society.

Let these so-called moderates come out of the closet and reveal their true fascist colors. Those who defend Imus's right to be an obnoxious racist and sexist are just the audience these conservative talk show jerks like Savage and Limbaugh aim for. You obviously are a card-carrying member of this proto-fascist constituency. Your impassioned defense of rogue cops, cruel and racist talk show jerks, and the Duke Lacrosse Team (which has a notoriously bad reputation, apart from the dismissed case you are so excited about) expose you as a thuggish brute."

Go Prema!

It's ironic because it's his experience, it's the same thing as when we pass judgement on selected incidents. We are by no means victims of the same kind of racism that african-americans are, even though we like to pretend we are. Desis are generally victims of the abuse Shilpa Shetty experienced in celebrity-BB which is quite another mechanism, it's class hatered, from working class white people imagining that desis are a minority taking the middle class positions they feel they are entitled to. Then there is an ironic side of the racism that we experince, as this case clearly shows, it's when people think we are arabs. The ironic side being, that we have been victims of terrorism for the past 50 years, and as any desi who have ever lived in the arab world knows (as I have), thats where we really are despised for being desis.

I think we have to realize that when certain influential people (e.g John Hagee) in America start to paint Muslims as being the Gog and Magog of this world it is only natural that this sort of thing is going to happen.
The officer I am sure probably thought that this man was a Muslim.
It is scary how many evangelicals believe that Muslim countries in general are the evil armies that will descend onto Israel like a cloud.

It would be nice to be able to laugh of this kind of thing, and say that nobody or hardly anybody believes this. But that is not the case.

"The officer I am sure probably thought that this man was a Muslim."

The f***ing arab part makes it more than just probable.

"It's doubly a shame when a police officer is on private property and uses corporal punishment for no valid purpose for someone that he believes was an Arab, even if he was an Arab he shouldn't have been doing that," said Andrew Seigel, attorney. Joliet police say they will be investigating the actions of one of their officers. [Link from the newstab]

Just the fact that someone actually NEEDS TO SAY that! UGH!

The Joliet city ordinance in question:

Sec. 19-233. Storage of inoperable and abandoned vehicles prohibited. No person shall store an abandoned or inoperable vehicle on any property located within the city of unless the storage thereof is specifically permitted by the zoning ordinance and is otherwise in compliance with applicable laws and ordinances. A law enforcement officer is authorized to issue an ordinance violation complaint or compliance ticket to the property owner, the vehicle owner and any other person having control of the vehicle or the premises, including tenants and lessees, in order to enforce theprovisions of this section. (Ord. No. 14262, § 1, 4-15-03) [Link]

Seems a bit more than over-the-top to spot an expired tag at the end of a longish driveway and then proceed to follow up on it...

"even if he was an Arab he shouldn't have been doing that,"

unbelivable really...

"even if he was an Arab he shouldn't have been doing that,"

Samjay:

unbelivable really...

These things are always complicated because you want to say that "Indian's didnt have anything to do with 9/11, so dont target us for your hate!", but at the same time you dont want it to sound like you are saying "Go ahead and hate your heart out, but just dont be ignorant about it, make sure you know the culture of the person you beat down."

Chicago Tribune has picked up this story

If we want justice, we must accept the naturalness of our personal bias,

How many times have you seen an infant show delight or complaint on the basis of race? Any personal bias my friend, is completely learned. As in, unnatural.

Jeet #275,

The Chicago Tribune story did not feel it to be necessary to mention that Mr. Nag is a decorated veteran. He is only mentioned as "an immigrant". This is the way to bring fair and balanced reporting. You know this "immigrant" can be a drug dealer too ... you know how "they" are changing America everyday !!

DukeRapeHoax

So once again you chose to not wait out the facts to emerge but instead rushed to rage about an allegedly racial incident. Remember that Iranian guy at UCLA or the Leela Lounge incident? What about the Sikh youths allegedly getting their heads forcibly shaved by White supremacists? All those incidents turned out to be either hoaxes or not racist incidents. But of course you painted them that way and never did a follow up post when finally the facts did come out.

While I was at Leela Lounge last night for an Obama event, I asked one of the men who had been attacked (and had his nose broken) for an update about the incident. He said that the case is currently going to a grand jury after which indictments will be handed out.

If you have information about the case that has not been revealed yet (and that supports your contention that the incident was a hoax or not racist), I'd suggest contacting the DA's office.

Go prema!

and then, the racism that we desis experince, it's almost laughable. It's because we look like arabs. How the hell do you tackle that!?

RC: The Chicago Tribune story did not feel it to be necessary to mention that Mr. Nag is a decorated veteran. He is only mentioned as "an immigrant". This is the way to bring fair and balanced reporting. You know this "immigrant" can be a drug dealer too ... you know how "they" are changing America everyday !!

Good catch. We need to email Matthew Walberg, the writer of that story and point this out to him mwalberg@tribune.com

FYI, Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights is hosting a panel discussion of the post-911 experience of immigrants in the United States.

I passed on the SALDEF press release and the subsequent Chicago Herald story to a friend who works at MAHR, and they are going to include the SALDEF material in their discussion forum. I doubt this will be of much help to Mr. Nag in the short term, but it is another way of getting the word out.

Thanks, Hema. I think there might be a typo in the link as you posted it: I found it here.

Thanks, chachaji!

RC, the story does say that Nag "served 10 years in the U.S. Navy."

Seahawks fan,
I hope you have heard about the award called BRONZE star.

RC wrote:

He is only mentioned as "an immigrant".

I hope you know the meaning of "only."

The bronze star is significant, but the reporter didn't ignore Mr. Nag's military service, as your post implied.

The news articles in Chicago Tribune and Joliet News-Herald (which are identical) also quote the police dept as saying they had never heard directly from SALDEF or anyone else, only through the media.....?? At the end of the article there is a quiet line from SALDEF claiming to have sent a letter to the dept, but it is hardly comparably prominent to the police quote.

Both could be true. SALDEF may have sent a (hard copy) letter, and it may not have been received by the PD at the time this went to press. Isn't SALDEF HQ'd in DC?

Nag, 49, a Sikh who emigrated from India two decades ago and served 10 years in the U.S. Navy, faces a felony charge of aggravated battery and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest. Police said there was no evidence to support Nag's claim that the rookie officer used a racial slur.

Nag said: "All the time he was hitting me, he was saying, 'You [expletive] immigrant, go back to your country or I will kill you.' I was telling him, 'I'm a [U.S.] citizen and a veteran. I've been here 21 years. What country do you want me to go back to?

Folks, before you bombard the Tribune writer, these are two quotes from that article. It does state he is a veteran. As I've mentioned before, verifying an award or record is difficult. There has been a significant spike in people posing with military medals and what not, maybe the reporter is being cautious. I do not know.

The article seemed down the middle to me.

The news articles in Chicago Tribune

Woops, not the Tribune article...some other radio station WBBsomething-or-other.

Both could be true.

Sure, but one statement is featured far more prominently than the other.

Prema,

After I wrote the following response to your uncalled invective I read your comment # 156. I think you are mistaken - this is not an IQ-free zone. As much as you complain about unfounded hate in the Western world I am dumbfounded by your own real unprovoked hate. I am sure your BS bit about the oppression of indigenous people is the ' root cause ' of the lynching of Asians by Ugandans ( see the latest SM post). I am also sure you live in the Western world where you or your parents were forcibly brought against their wishes.

" SALDEF is on the ground you are not. They are professionals who have talked to Nag and his family and concluded that they have a legitimate case. Who should we give the benefit of the doubt, them or a rogue cop who, at the very least, assaulted a desi veteran so roughly that he had to spend 5 days in a hospital? All that Nag's violation deserved was a ticket."

SALDEF is doing its work, that's right. However SALDEF believes ( rightly ) what the aggrieved minority tells it. SALDEF and similar civil rights organizations have in the past fallen for hoaxes like the ones where the Sikh boys claimed racist headshaving. You have already judged the cop to be ' rogue' and you are not even on the ground. Need I say more about your idiocy? I am not favoring anyone, I am asking for neutrality.

" For every attempt to falsely use the race card there must be 100s of examples of police brutality. Police brutality has a far less chance of being caught than lying criminals. Rogue cops are far more threatening to a just and civil society."

You are wrong in the first statement. There are just as many hoaxes and ' brutality ' is an aberration that usually happens when overworked cops are stuck in unfriendly ( read criminal/thuggish ) neighborhoods for a long time. I agree with your second statement. Rogue thugs,criminals and terrorists are more threatening. Cops don't go around killing, raping , carjacking, or flying planes into buildings full of innocent people.

As for the rest of the venom you spit, I'd like to mimic the ridiculous O'Reilly - ' You are a far-left loon.' Honestly I feel very sorry for the worldview you carry in your head.

Camille,

I can understand your cheerleading someone like Prema. I went over some of your comments. You share the same inverted worldview. And you have been called out by some here for your sensational half truths to which you have responded like, ' Oh I didn't really mean that'. The next time you bandy words like ' brutality ' and ' violent ' provide some back up and also for fairness' sake add that they are anomalies in this mostly free and fair society. Perspective is important. Strive for zero tolerance of racism in this country but please rid yourself of your victim mentality and not-so-hidden hatred for the West and the White race. Btw most hate crimes/ hate speech in this country after 9/ll that has been directed against Sikhs/Muslims/Arabs has come from minorities not Whites in particular Blacks but you don't want to go there because that'll explode your ' people of color ' solidarity myth and deflate ' us vs them ' rhetoric.

Brooklyn Brown,

There was a hearing on the Leela Lounge case on Feb 20 of this year. You should have asked the man with the 'broken nose' as to what came out of it.

I cannot imagine Amy Goodman's Democracy Now radio/TV program not picking up this story. (http://www.democracynow.org/)

I apologize for posting again, but here is a direct link to the Democracy Now story submission form.

http://www.democracynow.org/storyidea.pl

Folks, before you bombard the Tribune writer, these are two quotes from that article. It does state he is a veteran.

Lets increase the local exposure of this. If everyone goes to the story and emails it, it will put the story on the list of most-emailed stories and come up every time a Tribune reader clicks on an article.

See Jeet #275 for the link.

Camille,

I can understand your cheerleading someone like Prema. I went over some of your comments. You share the same inverted worldview. And you have been called out by some here for your sensational half truths to which you have responded like, ' Oh I didn't really mean that'. The next time you bandy words like ' brutality ' and ' violent ' provide some back up and also for fairness' sake add that they are anomalies in this mostly free and fair society. Perspective is important. Strive for zero tolerance of racism in this country but please rid yourself of your victim mentality and not-so-hidden hatred for the West and the White race. Btw most hate crimes/ hate speech in this country after 9/ll that has been directed against Sikhs/Muslims/Arabs has come from minorities not Whites in particular Blacks but you don't want to go there because that'll explode your ' people of color ' solidarity myth and deflate ' us vs them ' rhetoric.

I know this is an ideal, but I think it is worth working towards. I know and understand that cross-community dialogue is difficult, riddled with internal prejudices/stereotypes/racism, and not always perfect. Furthermore, as someone who has seen her friends brutalized and victimized by the police, I don't appreciate when people try to degrade or deny that police brutality exists. It does. Now let's do something about it.

Lastly, I think it is a stretch, to put it mildly, that I hate the West or white people. A critical perspective is, in my opinion, necessary for progression and growth. I am not going to sit on my ass and do nothing when I know that this country, and its people, can do better. At least I try to act on my critiques -- what have you done, aside from spew hatred?

DRH, I am through with you and see no point in discussing anything with you at this point. Not because I believe you are incapable of dialogue, but because your posts have shown that you are incapable of making any argument that does not rely on completely degrading others. You are entitled to your world-view, but I honestly question your motive in cutting down others who simply point to the fact that racism exists and that it ought to be addressed. Please enjoy the confined, intolerant, and hateful life to which you have resigned yourself.

Brooklyn Brown,

There was a hearing on the Leela Lounge case on Feb 20 of this year. You should have asked the man with the 'broken nose' as to what came out of it.

DukeRapeHoax

ummm...can i ask you instead?

just spoke to the acting director of the Joliet police department.

1.He said he hsant heard from Mr Nag or his attorney.

2.SALDEF is the only group to have contacted them so far.

3.The racist angle wasnt brought to the police department's attention till yesterday.

4.An internal investigation into the allegations is underway.

I called as a concerned and scared Sikh who wants to visit Joliet but doesnt know if its a good idea as I might get beaten up for an expired registration tag and asked to go back to my country.

Is there any point discussing these isolated incidents of Xenophobia? Any society has its share of Xenophobics. Admittedly, what happened to Mr. Nag was bad - very bad - but its not a reflection of the entire police, just one individual. Its really a waste of time to heap sympathy on Mr.Nag, and indulge in self-sympathy, just because you assume "IT COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO ME." Yes, it will happen to you, if you go and visit some small town in Idaho. Just don't go there. However, if you stay within the proximity of a city, the chances of an incident happening like this are one in ten billion. Debating such an incident then, is like debating "I JUST WON THE LOTTERY!."

I've nothing new to add to this story. Instead, my comment here is to chime in with everyone else about how completely f*cked up this situation appears.

Although I have family members who serve in law enforcement jobs, my own personal encounters with police (indeed the justice system in general) have left a very rancid taste in my mouth.

While I'm not hasty to stereotype an entire group on the basis of a very small sample population's behavior, I can say that my own personal experience with cops, judges, lawyers and courts has jaded my expectations. Cynical? Yes, I suppose I am. With reason? D@mn right it is!

Thanks for posting this so that the matter may be digested by a broad public audience (not that most of them will read it, or that of those who do read it, that most of them will actually do something about what they read -- sigh!).

A person hiding behind a pseudonym wrote, in an attempt to "spin" the reactions as "selfish":

"You are angry about seeing a fellow desi get abused by cop".

I'm not a desi by any definition. Bigotry and racism of any sort always makes me angry -- because it is irrational, because it is destructive to the individual and the society, because it brings nothing good.

You can call that "selfish". I call it rational selfishness.

Yes, it will happen to you, if you go and visit some small town in Idaho. Just don't go there. However, if you stay within the proximity of a city, the chances of an incident happening like this are one in ten billion.

Not everybody gets to live in a city, and this happened in a suburb of Chicago, not in the middle of Northern Idaho.

Was it one in ten billion? Well, there aren't ten billion desis in the world and not even one million in the USA, so the odds of this happening near a city are considerably higher than you might think, if this incident is true.

Yes, it will happen to you, if you go and visit some small town in Idaho. Just don't go there. However, if you stay within the proximity of a city, the chances of an incident happening like this are one in ten billion

Are you serious?

Are you serious?

With so many logical and arithmetic errors in a space about five lines, he couldn't possibly be serious. Probably writes for the Onion.

[quote] Not everybody gets to live in a city, and this happened in a suburb of Chicago, not in the middle of Northern Idaho.

Was it one in ten billion? Well, there aren't ten billion desis in the world and not even one million in the USA, so the odds of this happening near a city are considerably higher than you might think, if this incident is true. [/quote]

The odds I gave are nevertheless consistent with a hypothetical scenario that assumes a sample of ten billion desis. You could reduce the sample size; however, that wouldn't affect the odds. In general, the odds are consistent with ANY sample size of desis, subject to the constraint that we limit ourselves to the population of the US.

My point is serious. Given that there are only one billion desis in the world and only one million in the US, you're saying that the odds of such a racist incident ever happening are less than 1 in 1,000. And yet, violent racist incidents occur. We blog about them. They're not a daily occurrence, but they're not a 1 in 1,000 years occurrence either.

The desi population in the United States is around 2.4 million as of 2006.

What happened was wrong but still there's a certain amount of poetic justice in a brown-skinned man who helped kill brown-skinned people for the Evil Empire (yes, I mean the US) during the 1st Gulf War getting the shit beat out of him by the guardians of Empire in the belly of the Empire. Of course, I think the same thing holds true when white guys get fucked over by the government, too.

I am sad and disspointed with the whole incident. My prayers are with Family in these tough time. Did that officer forget that once upon a time his grand father also landed on this country in a boat and this Country is the way it is because of the hard work of people from all over the world! Lets Condemn this incident and bring attention of Ilinois Community towards this disgusting happening in thier neighborhood

What ever came of this? I never found any more about it.

Update: Joliet officer cleared of abuse claims.

Wow- so three eyewitnesses to event stated that the officers didn't use slurs toward Mr. Nag and Mr. Nag misrepresented his military history? Interesting. Thanks Dave.