News: Sikh bus driver beaten in LA for being "terrorist"

Priyanka Chopra

Quote:

NBC Asian America - A bus driver in Los Angeles, Balwinder Jit Singh, was attacked by a passenger who also called him a "terrorist" and "suicide bomber" and accused him of hijacking the bus. Singh wears a turban and beard as articles of his Sikh faith.

"Mr. Singh was attacked because of his Sikh religious appearance and hate crime laws were enacted to address exactly this particular type of crime," Gurjot Kaur, senior staff attorney of The Sikh Coalition, told NBC News. "We are calling for a hate crime investigation and prosecution not to further penalize the offender, but to address the problem of bigotry. Our hate crime laws won't work if the police don't enforce them."

Singh, who has been a bus operator for 17 years, kept his foot on the brake of the running bus the entire time he was being beaten. This ensured the safety of both pedestrians and passengers.

The attacker was arrested the next day and is currently in police custody on another charge. Police did not initially treat the attack as a hate crime.

Although Sikh Americans have been part of the United States for 125 years, they are increasingly targeted for violence and intimidation because of their turbans and beards, which represent equality and justice, and are often mistaken as Muslims.

Distinctive facial hair and turbans provide a glaring visual marker of difference, making them targets for ridicule, harassment and brutality in a troubling frequency of cases. Violence against Sikhs in the U.S. has increased dramatically in the last 15 years, according to reports. The first person killed in a 9/11-related hate crime was a Sikh gas station owner in Arizona named Balbir Singh Sodhi. In 2012, a white supremacist named Wade Michael Page walked into a Sikh temple — or gurdwara — in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and opened fire, killing six people.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-am...driver-n499791

Buyonce1814

****ing disgusting.

Auburn

B'Day

This is not ok
Poor driver he must be traumatised
Hope he gets the justice he deserves

*.Digambar.*

stupid ignorant bitches

Truffle.

Humans are so disgusting.

sher179

This boils my blood to no end honestly. I've been sick of all of this unnecessary fear and racism ever since 9/11 happened. People need to grow the **** up.

Bicassie

Thats really sad..........

I hope the people that have this mindset.......can all burn in Hell.......****ing ****s...

HEARTCORE

It's ****ed up that he beat up a Sikh guy cause he thought he was Muslim, but more ****ed up that he was trying to beat up a Muslim guy. The Islamophobia in contemporary society is ****ing disgusting.

all eyes on me

just awful, racism is becoming much more prevalent and obvious today now more than ever smh

Priyanka Chopra

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Originally posted by HEARTCORE

It's ****ed up that he beat up a Sikh guy cause he thought he was Muslim, but more ****ed up that he was trying to beat up a Muslim guy. The Islamophobia in contemporary society is ****ing disgusting.

IMO it's worse because the man isn't a Muslim. That shows lack of education and the real truth. It's not just because he thought the bus driver was Muslim. It was because he was different. The turban, the beard and the brown skin make practicing Sikh men so obvious and different from everyone else.

No one would attack Rita Ora after they find out she's a Muslim. She's not "different".

B'Day

Quote:

Originally posted by Priyanka Chopra

IMO it's worse because the man isn't a Muslim. That shows lack of education and the real truth. It's not just because he thought the bus driver was Muslim. It was because he was different. The turban, the beard and the brown skin make practicing Sikh men so obvious.

No one would attack Rita Ora after they find out she's a Muslim. She's not "different".

Where's the lies?

HEARTCORE

Quote:

Originally posted by Priyanka Chopra

IMO it's worse because the man isn't a Muslim. That shows lack of education and the real truth. It's not just because he thought the bus driver was Muslim. It was because he was different. The turban, the beard and the brown skin make practicing Sikh men so obvious and different from everyone else.

No one would attack Rita Ora after they find out she's a Muslim. She's not "different".

Very true! Never thought of it that way.

DWG

Breaks my heart.

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Singh, who has been a bus operator for 17 years, kept his foot on the brake of the running bus the entire time he was being beaten. This ensured the safety of both pedestrians and passengers.

I mean, come on.

Singh is a hero.

PromKing

Quote:

Originally posted by Priyanka Chopra

IMO it's worse because the man isn't a Muslim. That shows lack of education and the real truth. It's not just because he thought the bus driver was Muslim. It was because he was different. The turban, the beard and the brown skin make practicing Sikh men so obvious and different from everyone else.

No one would attack Rita Ora after they find out she's a Muslim. She's not "different".

No one would attack Rita because she's a guarded CELEBRITY. Zayn Malik got ALOT of hate and terrorist jokes.

Secondly you realize that PLENTY of muslims are brown with beards ... yeah?

Priyanka Chopra

Quote:

Originally posted by PromKing

No one would attack Rita because she's a guarded CELEBRITY. Zayn Malik got ALOT of hate and terrorist jokes.

Secondly, Priyanka, you realize that PLENTY of muslims are brown with bears ... yeah?

Even if Rita wasn't a celebrity, she would be less likely to be attacked. She's white so she's perceived as more "normal" and less threatening. It's just like with T-Pain who's Muslim and black. Zayn is going into more "ethnic" territory hence the increased negativity he faces.

What's your point? I already know that. Those are the Muslims that have it worst. They're the most "different."

Kim Kardashian

Disgusting.

Stitches.

The ignorance and the disrespect. What's going on with humans?

By the way, his family is so cute

Pokistic

I hope they catch this disgusting person

Inverted

Disgusting.

It must be hard for observant Sikh men to just walk around and do normal things. I'm surprised more of them don't "sell out" and just cut their hair and beard like Jay Sean does.