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"Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker takes questions about his proposal to increase mental health funding by $30 million that he announced on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013, in Madison. Walker will propose the funding in his two-year state budget to be introduced on Feb. 20." (source: LaCross Tribune. Photo credit: Scott Bauer | Associated Press)

Would mental health services or gun control have prevented the Oak Creek massacre?

February 8, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On Wednesday, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker announced plans to invest $30 million towards mental health in his state to address gun violence, particularly after the mass shooting of Sikhs in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, last August: “Initially, the discussion centered on those tragedies,” he said. “But it’s really much bigger than that, it’s much broader than that, it’s not just in reaction to that. There is a tremendous need in terms of addressing mental health in our society.” The intention behind […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: Connecticut, gun control, hate crimes, mental health, Milwaukee, Oak Creek, Scott Walker, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Stamford, White supremacy, Wisconsin

Six months since the Oak Creek, WI, Gurdwara shooting

February 5, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Today marks six months since the mass shooting of Sikhs in their place of worship by a white supremacist in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. In recognition of this span of time, filmmakers Valarie Kaur and Sharat Raju released a short film entitled Oak Creek: In Memoriam which recounts that fateful moment and the days since. On this day, the Sikh Coalition provided an update about their activities in the Oak Creek, Wisconsin, area in educating city officials, law enforcement and school […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: Oak Creek, Oak Creek: In Memoriam, Sharat Raju, Sikh Coalition, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Steve Scaffidi, Valarie Kaur, White supremacy, Wisconsin

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On the Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert discusses the increase in recruitment activity by the Ku Klux Klan (source: Comedy Central).

White supremacy references not included in DHS keyword searches

January 31, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A recent article in Forbes Magazine reports on the keywords that the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) monitors on social networking sites: …the DHS has been forced to release a list of keywords and phrases it uses to monitor various social networking sites. The list provides a glimpse into what DHS describes as “signs of terrorist or other threats against the U.S.” Among the words that were listed, there is a notable absence of any terminology related to white supremacy or “white […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: Daryl Johnson, DHS, Forbes, Ku Klux Klan, Oak Creek, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, United States Department of Homeland Security, White supremacy, Wisconsin

Surveillance video capture of men robbing the donation box at the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in Livingston, California, early Sunday morning. (source: Merced Sun-Star)

Overnight armed robbery of Livingston, CA, Gurdwara

January 30, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“I was in Fresno when I got the call,” Samra said. “The first thing that flashed in my mind was Wisconsin, right away.” — Livingston, California’s Mayor Pro Tem Gurpal Samra comments on the overnight armed robbery at the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in Livingston, California. Three men entered the Gurdwara in the early hours of Sunday morning to steal money from the Gurdwara’s donation box. Worshippers were present in the Gurdwara but no one was reported hurt. Read more […]

Categories: News Bits • Tags: armed robbery, California, Gurpal Samra, Guru Nanak Sikh Temple, Livingston, Oak Creek, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Wisconsin

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Snatam Kaur (source: YouTube user sopurkh)

Snatam Kaur’s “I am a Sikh”

January 30, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In the video above, spiritual vocalist Snatam Kaur provides an overview of the Sikh faith. The beautifully narrated video is filmed at the Gurdwara in Bridgewater, New Jersey and is dedicated to the Sikhs who were murdered at the Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin last August: In the honor and memory of those people who lost their lives at the Oak Creek Wisconsin Gurdwara (Sikh temple) shooting in the summer of 2012. Snatam Kaur, along with the Sikh community of […]

Categories: Sikhism • Tags: Bridgewater, New Jersey, Oak Creek, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Snatam Kaur, Wisconsin

White hate self portrait (source: Mr. Fish/truthdig)

Is white supremacy in the US on the cusp of a renaissance?

January 28, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On truthdig, Chris Hedges examines the “disquieting renaissance” of white supremacy in the southern United States (via @jakaramovement): The steady rise of ethnic nationalism over the past decade, the replacing of history with mendacious and sanitized versions of lost glory, is part of the moral decay that infects a dying culture. It is a frightening attempt, by those who are desperate and trapped, to escape through invented history their despair, impoverishment and hopelessness. It breeds intolerance and eventually violence. Violence […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: Chris Hedges, hate crimes, Ku Klux Klan, Oak Creek, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, slavery, Southern United States, White supremacy, Wisconsin

The Southern Poverty Law Center counted 1,018 active hate groups in the United States in 2011. (source: Southern Poverty Law Center)

The Southern Poverty Law Center Hate Map

January 22, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a “nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of society,” counted 1,018 hate groups in the United States in 2011: This list was compiled using hate group publications and websites, citizen and law enforcement reports, field sources and news reports. Hate group activities can include criminal acts, marches, rallies, speeches, meetings, leafleting or publishing. Websites appearing to be merely the work of […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Reports/Studies, Resources • Tags: California, Elk Grove, Gurmej Atwal, hate crime, Hate Crime Statistics, hate groups, New Jersey, New York, Oak Creek, Sacramento, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Southern Poverty Law Center, Surinder Singh, Wisconsin

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Oak Creek, WI, shooting victim Punjab Singh shows small signs of recovery

January 20, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

An article from the Associated Press describes the slow process of the recovery of Punjab Singh, one of the surviving victims of last August’s Oak Creek, Wisconsin, shooting attack by a white supremacist: Every day they repeated the word “waheguru” (pronounced VAH’-hay-goo-roo) and watched for a response. For weeks there was nothing. Then on Jan. 9 he began to move his mouth, apparently trying several times to say the word. The next day he tried 30 times. In coming days, […]

Categories: Hate Crimes • Tags: hate crimes, Oak Creek, Punjab Singh, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Wisconsin

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"President Obama signs gun-violence-related executive actions following an announcement at the White House Wedensday." (source: CNN)

Gun control is about more than gun rights

January 16, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In recognizing Religious Freedom Day, President Obama made a proclamation that celebrated the right to religious freedom in the United States: Because of the protections guaranteed by our Constitution, each of us has the right to practice our faith openly and as we choose. As a free country, our story has been shaped by every language and enriched by every culture. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, Sikhs and non-believers. Our patchwork heritage is a […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: Barack Obama, gun control, gun violence, Oak Creek, Religious Freedom Day, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Wisconsin

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Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: Oak Creek

Would mental health services or gun control have prevented the Oak Creek massacre?

Six months since the Oak Creek, WI, Gurdwara shooting

White supremacy references not included in DHS keyword searches

Overnight armed robbery of Livingston, CA, Gurdwara

Snatam Kaur’s “I am a Sikh”

Is white supremacy in the US on the cusp of a renaissance?

The Southern Poverty Law Center Hate Map

Oak Creek, WI, shooting victim Punjab Singh shows small signs of recovery

Gun control is about more than gun rights