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The discrepancy between perception and reality as it pertains to what makes America exceptional. (Source: Visual.ly)

The cost of “American exceptionalism”

October 16, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Ahead of a review of the United States before a United Nations human rights committee, Hansdeep Singh, Jaspreet Singh and Hannah Shirley of the International Center for Advocates Against Discrimination (ICAAD) discuss how the concept of “American exceptionalism” has evolved to negatively impact ethnic and racial communities within our borders: Crudely put, the current notion of American exceptionalism at home spreads the ideas that: Muslims, Arabs, Sikhs, and south Asians are not American (and are often terrorists), Blacks and Latinos […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: American exceptionalism, Hannah Shirley, Hansdeep Singh, ICAAD, International Center for Advocates Against Discrimination, Jaspreet Singh, United Nations Human Rights Committee

Recognize Columbus Day as Mistaken Identity Day

October 11, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Never admitting that he had reached a continent previously unknown to Europeans, rather than the East Indies he had set out for, Columbus called the inhabitants of the lands he visited indios (Spanish for “Indians“). — Wikipedia entry on Christopher Columbus. Americans celebrate Columbus Day in October each year in honor Christopher Columbus, the Spanish explorer who landed in the Caribbean in search of a westerly trade route to Asia in 1492. This year, the commemoration occurs on Monday, October 14. […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Events, Hate Crimes • Tags: Caribbean, Christopher Columbus, Columbus Day, Harleen Kaur, mistaken identity, New World

Rejecting the victimhood narrative

October 10, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

There has been significant conversation from and within the Sikh community in regard to the recent hate attack on Dr. Prabhjot Singh a few weeks ago, of the response, and about what is needed to prevent future attacks and discrimination. Citing the story of Bhai Mani Singh (who was brutally executed in 1737), Simran Jeet Singh discusses the concept of victimhood (or lack therof) in the Sikh faith to provide context around the reaction by many Sikhs to the attack […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Reflections, Sikhism • Tags: Bhai Mani Singh, New York, Prabhjot Singh, Simran Jeet Singh, victimhood

Where do we go from here?

October 4, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

It has been an interesting two weeks for the Sikh American community. It was during this time that events came to light that were, in many ways, a microcosm of the Sikh American experience as it relates to prejudice and discrimination. There was, of course, the attack on Dr. Prabhjot Singh almost two weeks ago in New York, in which his attackers hurled upon him slurs of “terrorist” and “Osama” before swarming and assaulting him. The story of Jagjeet Singh […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: Amardeep Singh, Balbir Kaur Singh, Jaideep Singh, Manan Ahmed Asif, Manmeet Kaur, Prabhjot Singh, Simran Kaur

Vandals carve ‘We Want No Hindus At SBLL’ Into Sikh little league coach’s truck in Yuba City, California. (Source: CBS Sacramento)

Adding to a history of defacement

October 3, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Recently, in Yuba City, California, the vehicle of Suk Dulai, a Sikh man and coach of a youth baseball team in the Sutter Buttes Little League, was vandalized with a racist message carved into the paint stating “We want no Hindus at SBLL.” “If this continues, what’s going to be the next step?” said Dulai. “That’s the most scary part of it.” The Yuba City police department is reportedly treating this incident as a hate crime. This crime is not […]

Categories: Hate Crimes • Tags: California, hate crimes, Suk Dulai, Sutter Buttes Little League, vandalism, Yuba City

Screen shot of Walmart's website taken on September 27, 2013, in which they are selling a Halloween costume that includes a turban and beard on a man wearing military-style clothing. (Source: Walmart)

Walmart pulls turban/beard terrorist costume

September 30, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Walmart has ceased sale of a controversial Halloween costume called the “Turban Beard Adult Halloween Instant Costume,” a fake turban and beard that was promoted using a likeness of Osama bin Laden. According to the Sikh Coalition, who lobbied the retailer on Friday to stop selling the product, RiteAid has also agreed to stop selling the product as well. The Sikh Coalition has also been in contact with retailers Sears and Amazon, and the supplier of the costume, Fun World, […]

Categories: Hate Crimes • Tags: Halloween costume, Mary Elizabeth Williams, Osama bin Laden, Sikh Coalition, Turban Beard Adult Halloween Costume, Walmart

Walmart Inappropriate Halloween Costume of the Day (UPDATED)

September 27, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Mega-retailer Walmart has encountered protest and poor publicity in its recent offerings of Halloween costumes this season. A few days ago, the national chain was heavily criticized for selling inappropriate costumes that sexualized young children, including a “Naughty Leoapard” outfit that was then pulled from shelves. A discovery by Twitter user @naunihalpublic brings to light another “costume” being offered by Walmart (pictured above), this time seeking to profit from racist stereotypes. The “Turban Beard Adult Halloween Instant Costume” comes complete […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Picture of the Day • Tags: Halloween costume, Turban Beard Adult Halloween Costume, Walmart

"Terrorist" spray-painted on a wall at the Sikh Gurdwara of Riverside, in Jurupa Valley, California. (Source: PEBloggers)

The “t-word”

September 26, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

After the apparent hate-motivated attack on Dr. Prabhjot Singh last weekend in New York, I wrote an essay that was published by The Revealer today about the emergence of the word “terrorist” as a racial epithet, but one that carries dangerous consequences for its target: …what is apparent is that the word has now become a racial epithet – it is often directed to innocent people who exhibit certain physical features, rather than used as a descriptor of a person’s […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: New York, Prabhjot Singh, racial slurs, t-word, The Revealer

Prabhjot Singh. (Source: Columbia University)

Sikh man attacked in apparent hate crime in New York

September 23, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The news spread very quickly yesterday that another Sikh American has been attacked in what appears to be a bias-based assault. Dr. Prabhjot Singh, a Sikh physician and professor at Columbia University, was attacked in Harlem, New York, on Saturday night by a mob of young men on bicycles who issued epithets such as “Osama” and “terrorist” during their attack. Dr. Singh was taken to hospital and discharged on Sunday with a fractured jaw and other injuries. “We heard ‘get […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: Columbia University, Harlem, hate crimes, New York, Prabhjot Singh

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Category Archives: Hate Crimes