The aftermaths of September 11th have included a great increase in the number of hate crimes worldwide. If you have been a victim of a hate crime, please describe your experience(s).
|
I
always keep in pocket one paper which is written by me in english
heading is Reconize the whole humlan race as one.in deatail about Guru
Gobind Singh who preached above and how he sacrificed whole of his family
for humanity. and one more in detail what is Sikhism. And also one small
pamplet about Sikhism which I got printed from punjab. When ever any
person looks carefully to me and soometime they ask you areladen. I
always give them that litrature and say No I am a Sikh from India. U read
this litrature about my religion. They are totally satisfied and sometime
when they meet me again they are my friends. So I think it is not their
fault we have not uptill now been able to propegate our religion,When
they know the qualities of our religion they want to know something
more. Our Gurudwaras and we are after money than to propegate our religion.
SohanSingh -- sohan , snghshn@yahoo.com |
|
I
didn`t experience but someone I knew did. I had a substitute for my
seventh grade humanities teacher a few years back. His name was Mr. Singh.
Well.. Sept. 11th had happened a few months before this incident
occured.. Well.. I have this gora friend. He went up to the sardarji and was
all like, "Can I have some anthrax ice cream please?" Because he
thought that the sardarji looked like the ice cream man, which is a terrible
stereotype... And because Sardar Singh was wearing a turban, the gora
also said the stuff about anthrax because that gora is a real idiot and
mixed up the guys associated with Sept. 11th with Punjabis. I don`t
talk to that gora anymore because he told me this as a joke.. And it
hurts, you know? -- Naina , naina1990@yahoo.com |
|
i
play ball for DG nd i was walking home one night from a game wid my mom
nd grandpa( who btw is a sardar). i was feeling pretty good about
myself, id played really well, nd my team had one the game. We were still
undefeated.well, my mom, grandpa, nd i were crossing da street nd a car
passed by. a couple of teenagers stuck deir heads out and started
yelling "osama!!!!!, go baq where u came from!!!!!". well i was pretty
pissed. when we got home i started yelling at my mom. i didnt wana take my
grandpa in da first place. i told my mom i never wanted him to come wid
us again. i basically blamed wat happened that night on my mom nd my
grandpa. but i guess it really wasnt dere fault. dere are jus some really
stupid ppl out dere.... -- Preet , punjabbiprincess@hotmail.com |
|
wuddup
Freshmen year of high school was very interesting and eventful: the
first of events occured too days after school started, that is, the
attacks of September 11th. On my way to the masjid, I would be wearing a
scarf and random people in cars would roll down their windows and shout
vulgar things at me, and the majority of them flicked me off too. I wear
an Allah chain around my neck, and hang around with a lot of Muslim
friends, so at school, people gave us hard looks and shouted out things
like "you damn terrorists get the **** outta here", you know the deal.
Some of my Muslim friends were shorttempered about it and shouted back at
the people, but I kept my cool, ignored `em, and just kept doin what I
was doin. In classes, there would be discussions regarding the attacks
and people would blame my religion for the acts. People will be people,
and a lot of people will be ignorant and narrow-minded. ::shrugs:: It`s
lame that any of us have to go through any acts of injustice... racism
and stereotypes are ridiculous. It`s all G, just pray for the best for
the people in this world, for our future, and to be forgived for our
past sins. Madd love. Salaamz (Peace) -Nida- -- Nida , neederish@hotmail.com |
|
hello fellow sikhs one day i was walk to my school sep.13 when all the
12,11,10 and 9th graders tried to beet me up and the did.they said that
i was the son of Asama bin laden.I had to go to the hosbital.A week
later they beet me up again they did not care that the police was tring to
get them in jail they wanted to kill me.I had to transfer schools to
khalsa school.I will tell u this take the pain but don`t take the bravery
fight back and tell then what sikhs are al about. Thank you for
litsening to my story fellow sikhs. Gagun49@hotmail.com -- Gagun , gagun49@hotmail.com |
|
Hello everyone. These hate crimes stem from nothing but ignorance.
People who commit hate crimes have probably been raised to have those
particular beleifs their entire lives. They are not open minded at all, and
just can`t understand that people out there might live differently from
themselves. It`s sad, but racism is very prevelent in the U.S., not to
mention the entire world. Many people I know (even friends) use racist
terms commonly in their vocabulary, though they may not mean anything
by it. I tell them that regardless of how they mean it, it`s still
racism. That being said, they are still my friends, and I don`t necessarily
hold it against them. I just tell them to not use those terms around
me. Every time they do, I tell them that they are just ignorant, and they
usually shut up. It`s kind of weird, but I feel like I`m alone because I am open minded. Most people around me stereotype someone in some way, and I can`t seem to change their minds. It`s the way they were raised. Some people even stereotype themselves. I don`t know where I`m going with this, but it just makes me sad to see how common racism really is. Thanks for listening to me gripe. -- Alex , Govmntricearoni@hotmail.com |
|
I converted to Islam after September 11th and I am still getting crap
from all sides, except for both of my families. My husband gets the worst
of it because he stands out. One day at work, a jeep sped up to him, a
man leaned out the window, and then said , "Hey, it is bin laden!"
then sped off. Another time, he was taking a customer home, and she asked him where he was from. When he told her, she said "My God!!! Are we safe?!" I also get stereotyped because I choose to wear my scarf at work. I get looks and people trying to get me angry by saying my husband will beat me. I simply tell them that if getting spoiled rotten and not having to cook or clean unless I feel like it, then let him beat me bloody.
I also have a message to give to all of those who are suffering from
this: When they say things to you, do not let it get to you. It is
simply the shaytaan trying to make you sin. Just laugh in their face
because it really makes them angry to see that what they say does not bother
you and only makes you laugh. That is what I do, also. When they see
it, it has a reverse effect. Instead of you getting angry, you smile
and say I hope your day is well and may ALLAH bless you. That will
really make them angry. If it does not work, keep doing it. They will
stop when they see it does not effect you.
|
|
As
an Iranian American I received a phone call to my home asking to speak
to bin Laden. Apparently someone I knew thought this was funny. I hope
people realize that racism exists in every form, regardless of how
trifle it is. People need to understand to treat others respectfully
irrespective of the individuals nationality. -- Shadman , shadommat@hotmail.com |
|
My
experiences have been very negative. I live in Detroit, Michigan and I
was walking across the street one day, about 1 month after the attacks,
and a old man & woman in a car beeped their horn many times and
attempted to run me over. I could have been seriously injured or killed in
this incident. I heard those guys yelling "fuck you bastards and die"
while they passed me. I was lying on the sidewalk after just barely dodging
the car speeding at me. In another situation I was walking to a car
dealership and a man hit me on my neck and said you taliban better get out
of here. I was very upset at the moment and had no energy to retaliate.
I am very upset about the whole situation and hope that people will
realize that I love them. I hope the situation will ease up soon. -- Sukhbir , punjabonline@yahoo.com |
|
I
have been greatly affected by racists after September 11th on numerous
occations in Utah. I was walking next to a cafe and a young man hit me
on my back and told me to get out of here. I pushed him back and told
him to leave me alone. That same day, another man, this time older man,
gave me the middle finger. -- Ranbir , ranbir@yahoo.com |
|
A few things happened to me few days after September 11th. I was standing on the train and a man
in his 20s approached me and told me: "You Terrorist, Get out of here!" But the other people inthe train told him to be quite and leave me alone. I am glad I had support from other people. On
another occasion, a few teenagers on skateboards approached me in San Jose as I was walking, theysurrounded me, and one of them threw a skateboard at me. I was very scared, but eventually they
just left. -- Atamjit , atam844@hotmail.com |