Reflections | | Page 5

"Demonstrators and members of the media gather outside of the courthouse on July 13. The jurors deliberated for more than 16 hours before delivering their verdict." (Source: CNN)

The black, white, and grey, of racism

July 16, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Activist Sonny Singh writes in The Huffington Post about the racial nuances in the George Zimmerman trial: To really understand racism in the United States, we have to understand power. Racism is not just about attitudes; it is a system of oppression. What this means is that white people receive unearned privileges and advantaged simply because of the color of skin, while people of color are systematically disadvantaged and marginalized. That does not make the experiences of all people of […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: George Zimmerman, Racism, Sonny Singh, Sonny Singh Brooklynwala, Trayvon Martin

Trayvon Martin. (Source: Straight from the A.)

Not all of us are Trayvon Martin

July 16, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In spite of the media’s obsession about the case, I had not followed closely the trial of George Zimmerman, a Florida man of mixed ethnic heritage charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, an African American, in February, 2012. I was repulsed from the sensationalizing of this tragedy by the media for ratings, with the hours of talk by dozens of legal experts for its own sake, and particularly avoiding very salient discussions […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: George Zimmerman, hate crimes, Trayvon Martin

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"Sophia the First" tiara. (Source: Total Birthday)

Raising a warrior princess

July 11, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On the blog Mom.me, writer Navdeep Singh Dhillon reflects on raising his daughter and muses on gender enforcement, tea parties, and tutus: While she rarely forgets she’s a princess, she has developed an affinity for strong female characters in the shows she watches and books she finds on our weekly bookstore/library outings, which she chooses herself, as much as I’d like to think I’m in charge. Luckily, the characters she’s drawn to are much like herself: feisty, and independent. Read […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: gender enforcement, Kaur, Navdeep Singh Dhillon, Sikh children, Sikh women, Sophia the First, Women in Sikhism

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Telling the stories of children of immigrants in New York & Berlin who challenge boundaries & reimagine belonging. (Source: with WINGS and ROOTS Kickstarter page)

What is behind the hyphenated American identity?

July 10, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

An article in the Boston Review by sociologist Claude Fischer (via The Dish) considers the creation of the hyphenated identities among the more recent immigrant populations in the United States, citing Mexican Americans as a case study: For example, a recent study [1] compared the answers of Hispanics who took a survey in English to those who took it in Spanish. The English speakers expressed more “Hispanic Consciousness” than did the Spanish-speakers. They were more likely to say that it […]

Categories: Art, Reflections, Reports/Studies • Tags: assimilation, Boston Review, Claude Fischer, hyphenated identity, Immigration, Mexican American, with WINGS and ROOTS

"Union workers march along the street with a huge American flag during a May Day rally in Los Angeles, Wednesday, May 1, 2013. In celebration of May Day, people have gathered across the country to rally for various topics including immigration reform." (Photo credit: AP Photo | Jae C. Hong. Source: OregonLive)

Patriotism as a double-edged sword

July 5, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

An essay in The Berkeley Blog by author Jeremy Adam Smith (via The Dish) frames patriotism as a double-edged sword — as both a unifying and dividing influence — and proposes a focus on “authentic pride” versus hubris: If we feel pride, it should be in the accomplishments of our fellow citizens and in any contributions we ourselves have made toward making our country and community a better place, however small and local. Pride of simply being born American leads […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: Independence Day, Jeremy Adam Smith, Patriotism, United States

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Zahir Janmohamed. (Source: ZahirJanmohamed.com)

Writer Zahir Janmohamed on being one of color

July 3, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In Guernica, writer Zahir Janmohamed reflects on being a writer of color (via the blog Love, Inshallah): I wanted to say I am not a political writer. My life has never been political, but sometimes, like that one time when I was dressed in my swim trunks and flip flops and flew to Miami with my friends and a TSA agent pulled me aside and questioned me about the nature of “my business in the U.S.,” well, then the story […]

Categories: Literature, Reflections • Tags: 2002 Gujarat violence, Guernica, Transportation Security Administration, Zahir Janmohamed

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Lesley Hazleton. (Source: The Accidental Theologist)

Is doubt essential to faith?

June 26, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

At a recent TEDTalk event in Edinburgh, Scotland, Lesley Hazleton, a biographer of Muhammad and referencing his story, spoke about the relationship between faith and doubt: We have to recognize that real faith has no easy answers. It’s difficult and stubborn. It involves an ongoing struggle, a continual questioning of what we think we know, a wrestling with issues and ideas. It goes hand in hand with doubt, in a never-ending conversation with it, and sometimes in conscious defiance of […]

Categories: Reflections, Sikhism • Tags: doubt, faith, Lesley Hazleton, TED, TEDx

"A Sikh boy stands on the water’s edge [at Hemkund Sahib]. It’s estimated that upward of 150,000 people make it to Hemkund each year." (Photo credit: Michael Benanav | The New York Times)

Visiting Hemkund Sahib

June 3, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

While it is not so uncommon to see Americans write about their first visit to Darbar Sahib (aka the Golden Temple) in Amritsar, India, a recent article in The New York Times by Michael Benanav describes his visit to Hemkund Sahib (a site associated with the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh), a very different Gurdwara located at an altitude of 14,000 feet in the Himalayan mountain range near Tibet: But even to a nonbeliever, the allure of a sacred lake […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: Amritsar, Darbar Sahib, Guru Gobind Singh, Hemkund Sahib, Himalaya, Michael Benanav, New York Times

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A fascinating map of the world’s most and least racially tolerant countries

The bigotry over there

May 31, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A YouTube video posted by a Japanese high school teacher (nod to Karaminder for the link) describes the revelation that his students did not recognize racist attitudes within their own country or society, thinking of it as an “American” problem: I was surprised to find out that almost all of my high school students (about 1000 students) were not aware of the racism and discrimination that goes on in Japan. Racism and discrimination in Japan does exist, however, it is […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Reflections, Reports/Studies • Tags: caste system, Japan, Martin Luther King, Racism, United States

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Category Archives: Reflections

The black, white, and grey, of racism

Not all of us are Trayvon Martin

Raising a warrior princess

What is behind the hyphenated American identity?

Patriotism as a double-edged sword

Writer Zahir Janmohamed on being one of color

Is doubt essential to faith?

Visiting Hemkund Sahib

The bigotry over there