Sikhs aren’t saints. There are enough of them in Vancouver to make Sikh gangs. Sikh terrorists blew up an an Air India flight in 1985, tried to blow up another, and Sikh bodyguards assassinated Indira Gandhi.
My husband worked for a company that was set up as a Sikh friends and family H1-B conduit.
Bring in enough of any group, in a high enough concentration, and you’ll import their conflicts and vices too.
I didn’t claim Sikhs were saints. I was trying to make the point that just because they are different from you or me, doesn’t mean they should be suspect out of hand because they wear turbans just because their religion requires it.
But then all races and religions include people who are not saints. Should we discriminate against all Christians simply because they pray to God, “cling” to their bibles and may wear a cross around their neck? Or against all of the Amish simply because they dress differently and shun many of our modern ways? Or against all of the Jews simply because they wear skull caps and the cross of David around their necks? And things are just a few examples. The answer is no, we should not throw them all into one category of “bad” people just because a few may break the law or fall out of line. Just as we shouldn’t condemn all of the Sikhs simply because they wear turbans and carry a traditional kirpan knife.
What we should condemn is the unprofessional and inappropriate actions and behavior of the DOT officers at the weigh station and the judge in the courtroom for calling the Sikhs turban a “rag”. That is what is wrong with this picture, not the fact that this man was a Sikh. It is embarrassing to myself and other Americans to see such ignorant and degrading behavior from our so-called officials in this particular case and by ignorant citizens, as was case in the murder of the Sikh in Mesa, Arizona after 9/11.
If this man broke the law, then fine, arrest him and prosecute him. But he just looks “different” from others, then shame on us.