Ever since 9/11 happened seven years ago, we have seen several hate crimes committed against Sikhs, ostensibly due to the much portrayed image of the Taliban supremo.
People have historically committed mistakes in identifying/recognizing people, but what do you do when Sikhs start being called Arabs? Of course, why all Arabs should be discriminated against is a whole different issue altogether, but let’s leave that for another post.
Latest case, this airline pilot who forced three Sikh men off his plane, refusing to fly till they got off. How cruel and uneducated and inhumane is that? These men had gone through security and were found fit to be traveling.
This pilot glorified driver may get punished, if at all, but at a higher level, how do we eliminate these oft-repeating incidents? Racial screening is a fact of life, but at least someone should learn to correctly recognise various races.
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I can’t believe this!
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Doc, I too was stunned when i read this. These guys are famous musicians.
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Sikhs need better PR, Americans need better education beyond now identifying I-rack and I-ran on the world map!
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I agree with Shefaly. I think Americans need better awareness of the world outside them. They just throw in generic terms like Asians, Arabs and such!
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I can believe this alright as we have Sikh friends in the US and they have told us about the discrimination, at times subtle, at times not. But you know, this thing of painting whole communities with the same brush is the refuge of stupid and/or hate-filled people. Its very common, as common as stupidity and hate.
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The pilot should have been fired. What is security checks for?
The Universe and human stupidity are two things which have no boundaries!!!
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Whoa. As though hasty generalization isn’t a fallacy in itself, we must now deal with misidentification too.
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@Shefaly and @Dinesh – Come to think of it, what better PR for Sikhs than the fact that our prime minister himself is a Sikh!
Americans are infamous for not being much aware of the world around them. Possibly it is just not important enough for them.
@Nita – I too have heard horror stories from people who were targeted, especially immediately after 9/11. It is quite unfortunate when somebody else gets punished for someone else’s crimes.
@Amit – Nice quote there!
@Shivya – Indeed. Isnt that a major double whammy?!
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I think to a large degree human beings try and walk amongst the ones they perceive are like themselves, so the powerful walk in circles that are either equal in power to them or somehow their Lackey, therefore the “little known people” arent important. There is a sense of safety and an illusion of strength in numbers. Generalizing/stereotyping is a coping mechanism we use to keep the irrelevant out of our lives. Thats reality. What can you do with a frog in a well? Make the well bigger? or dry it up that way they will have to get to the Rivers or oceans? It is amazing at their lack of knowledge when it comes to cultures, people and languages around the world but I have to forgive their trespasses ’cause when it comes to recognizing different nationalities amongst the Europeans or people from other SE Asian nations like China, Japan, Korean, I dont make the cut either. Of course the only difference between that Pilot and I, is that I can make out the difference between a Sikh turban, Muslim turban, Hindu turban, different types of hijab and difference between a duppatta and scarf that women use and the turbans that people from African nations tie.. but thats just my weirdness.
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@Mysoul – You bring up a great perspective on this issue. Interesting that you call your awareness as weirdness. It is an ironical world we live in
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