Confusing Sikhs with Middle Easterners

The Bakersfield Californian ^ | May 8,2006 | News Article

[my_jai_05]

Sad but true story. And many more like it everyday around the country. Few people are aware who the Sikhs are and confuse them with terrorists due to their skin color or turban. I posted this with the hopes that some readers will look into the difference and maybe collectively we can defeat the sterotypes and misinterpretation of these kind peaceful people.

[MeanWestTexan]

Blue turban on the males, too, I think.

[prion]

In any country on this whole planet, if you dress in a way that instantly identifies you as a foreigner, you will occasionally catch flak. America is better about not doing this than most countries. We rather like our exotic imports.

I think this may be another reason people are so enraged at being accused of anti-immigrant bigotry.

[P-40]

Few people are aware who the Sikhs are and confuse them with terrorists due to their skin color or turban.

I would ditch the turban, even in California.

[John Jorsett]

Attacking people who are different is a common occurrence. I've had rocks thrown at me along with curses of 'faggot', because I happened to be wearing yellow tennis shoes. I'm not gay (not that there's anything wrong with that :-). Face it, the world is full of lunkheaded knuckledraggers. That's why I support the right to carry. At least then if it gets serious you have a chance to put some holes in one of these fools.

[E Rocc]

Right after September 11th, a Sikh temple got firebombed in a suburb of Cleveland. IIRC, a Sikh gas station owner also got murdered in Arizona.

-Eric

[MeanWestTexan]

You had YELLOW shoes!? Probably Coverse All-Stars!

Get off this board; we don't like your kind here.

/joking. I wore black check Vans in high school, I can't talk about bad fashion choices./

[E Rocc]

I would ditch the turban, even in California.

It is a requirement of their religion.

-Eric

[P-40]

wearing yellow tennis shoes.

That's just wrong. :)

[milford421]

"Attacking people who are different is a common occurrence."

Exactly. My son just had a run-in with a group of Mexicans in a car in NM. Mexicans starting yelling F...You...N......!

Knuckleheads will always be with us...so will the good folks.

(Love the Seinfeld reference).

[Oztrich Boy]

the passenger enough of a chance to pitch an object at her and hit her in the back (it turned out to be a roll of duct tape)

Is there anything can't be used for?

Yeah, I know, inappropriate humour and not really the point.

[null and void]

This is exactly why I advised the Sihks running the 7-11 on the corner to put a flag up on 9/11.

[P-40]

It is a requirement of their religion.

Then they will be on the receiving end of hurled duct tape.

[ArrogantBustard]

The men wear turbans. Usually, but not always, they're light blue. A neighbour was wearing a Red, White and (dark) Blue turban for a few months, back in late 2001 and early 2002.

[null and void]

I would ditch the turban, even in California.

*Shrug* in my area thousands of devout Hindus proudly wear theirs.

[ArrogantBustard]

That doesn't excuse the criminal behaviour of the ignorant, bigoted, low-IQ, knuckledragging duct-tape throwers.

[P-40]

That doesn't excuse the criminal behaviour of the ignorant

nope.

[null and void]

Yrs. Duct tape is not good at loosening things.

That's what the WD-40 is for...

[AirForceBrat23]

"The 63-year-old Pannu is a Sikh and was dressed in traditional Punjabi dress, a kameez -- a long shirt called a salwar -- a pajama looking bottom and a chunni, a long scarf, worn over the shoulder."

Oy, bad info here. The outfit is called "salwar kameez", translating directly to mean "pants shirt". The pants are the salwar, the shirt is the kameez. The chunni part is correct, although it can also be called a dupatta. (I know this is totally unrelated to the main point of the article, but if journalists are going to write about Indians, they should get the vocabulary right!)

[Lx]

Here's a site some Sikh kid put together.
http://www.infoaboutsikhs.com/

It's pretty interesting.
There's a large Sikh community up in Marysville/Yuba City in California.