Current Events
My Brother
Sikh-American
Inderjit Singh Mukker:
Chicago's Victim Of Hate Crime
HARVIND KAUR
Inderjit Singh Mukker is my brother.
Let me tell you a bit about him. He was born in Punjab. But the bulk of his adult life has been in the Chicagoland area.
Ever since he came here he has worked hard. He came to America because he wanted the opportunity to succeed in a country that is less corrupt and fairer. Soon he got married and started his family.
He is the American dream. He never thought of himself as anything but American. Yes, he remained connected to his community and faith. He kept his turban and beard even though finding jobs was hard. His children are as American as they get.
His daughter followed her mother’s footsteps and is finishing up her nursing degree. His son attends UIC.
There was nothing unusual about Tuesday, September 8, 2015. Inderjit was running late for work. It was a sunny breezy afternoon and he was in his neighborhood.
All changed for him that day when a young man decided to yell racial slurs while driving alongside him. All this eventually led to this young 17 year old stopping his car to block Inderjit and then beating him senselessly while Inderjit was still in his car.
No doubt to most of us of color or who wear turbans that this was a hate crime.
Since I saw Inderjit in the hospital on Tuesday night all I have been thinking about is what made this young person so hateful. What made him think that someone who is not Caucasian is not American?
This is a pivotal question for Americans to ponder deeply. It is so important, given all of the recent incidents of hate and aggression by police and the so-called average man, against those that have been labeled “other”.
Was this hate against Inderjit different from the hate that motivates harsh force against black men? Is this hate attributable to nature or nurture?
I do not absolve the attacker for his physical violence. However, I do wonder what made this young man think that it was okay to just taunt someone and use words that in themselves are damaging and harmful.
Who is truly responsible for making this teen feel he could say those things. Can I pin this on his parents? I think that is the easy and most safe answer. “He must have learned this at home,” is what most people say. Are we sure? Is there no one else who plays a role in influencing our children?
After all a 17 year old is still a juvenile.
Slowly, an image that was widely broadcast on national television came to the fore. It was America’s Chief, our President, addressing Congress and right there on TV a Caucasian Congressman heckled the President of the United States of America. Why? Because his name is Barack Hussein Obama? Because he is African-American?
What about all those “leaders” who questioned President Obama’s Americanness because of an African father and non-mainstream name? Aren’t they part of this dialogue and when will we hold them accountable for the hate they spew into the minds of our young?
But as I look more closely at the current political candidates for President who talk about immigration in terms of “Go back to your country!”; “We don’t want you here!”; or better/worse -- have a Latino reporter physically removed from your press conference and then yell, “Go back to Univision”. [’Univision’ is a Latino TV network.]
Why wouldn’t this 17-year old feel he had the same right to say that to someone he thought looked like Osama Bin Laden. His words were “Go back to your country, Bin Laden!”
It is so very unfortunate that the loud voices in our public sphere are so disrespectful and encouraging of intolerance. When are we going to hold these self-appointed ’public moralists’ accountable for charging the atmosphere
with hate. This country may have thought that racism and hate was gone because of the Civil Rights Movement. It is not.
The dialogue has been craftily changed but the outcome is the same. The racism that African Americans face in this great nation is so much worse than what immigrants face. We as a nation still need to come to terms with that history. In this very important historic moment we are looking at a country that will either move forward and continue to be that beacon of hope or we will dive further into an abyss where the ‘public moralists’ continue to reap the gains of hate.
This includes businesses and politicians. For politicians, sadly, it’s tried and true strategy of pitting poor black against poor white. For businesses -- take the highly lucrative prison business as one example -- it means keeping poor minorities or immigrants in detention regardless of the moral cost because the net gain is in hundreds of millions.
So while I consider that this young teen is going to be charged with a hate crime I sit here and ponder who else needs to be put on the line. We are a great nation. All the people I know from different spheres of life and different backgrounds are proud to be American even when horrific things like this happen.
I know in the Sikh community we take pride in both aspects of our lives. The American experience, education and opportunity is what we value and we will work with the nation to make sure it exists for all.
And we value our ability to practice our faith openly. Let’s work together to start a dialogue. It is not an easy dialogue and it means we will have to learn to respect each other’s differences. But the dialogue must stay in the spotlight.
To my Sikh community: I implore you to stand up against this type of hatred within the wider American fabric. Be involved because this is your country and everyone’s safety is as important as your own. To those who moralize frivolously and hurtfully and speak thus in the public sphere, remember your rhetoric is just as harmful as physical violence.
Sometimes there is absolutely no meaning to things that happen. There is irony. I am writing this on the anniversary of 9/11. But they should cause us to think deeply. Let this be that moment.
A friend of mine reminded me of a Bob Dylan song called “Only A Pawn In Their Game.” It is a response to the killing of Medgar Evers. The sentiments from 1963 are still relevant today. I share it with you below.
A bullet from the back of a bush took Medgar Evers’ blood
A finger fired the trigger to his name
A handle hid out in the dark
A hand set the spark
Two eyes took the aim
Behind a man’s brain
But he can’t be blamed
He’s only a pawn in their game
A South politician preaches to the poor white man
“You got more than the blacks, don’t complain.
You’re better than them, you been born with white skin,” they explain.
And the Negro’s name
Is used it is plain
For the politician’s gain
As he rises to fame
And the poor white remains
On the caboose of the train
But it ain’t him to blame
He’s only a pawn in their game
The deputy sheriffs, the soldiers, the governors get paid
And the marshals and cops get the same
But the poor white man’s used in the hands of them all like a tool
He’s taught in his school
From the start by the rule
That the laws are with him
To protect his white skin
To keep up his hate
So he never thinks straight
’Bout the shape that he’s in
But it ain’t him to blame
He’s only a pawn in their game
From the poverty shacks, he looks from the cracks to the tracks
And the hoofbeats pound in his brain
And he’s taught how to walk in a pack
Shoot in the back
With his fist in a clinch
To hang and to lynch
To hide ’neath the hood
To kill with no pain
Like a dog on a chain
He ain’t got no name
But it ain’t him to blame
He’s only a pawn in their game.
Today, Medgar Evers was buried from the bullet he caught
They lowered him down as a king
But when the shadowy sun sets on the one
That fired the gun
He’ll see by his grave
On the stone that remains
Carved next to his name
His epitaph plain:
Only a pawn in their game
September 13, 2015
Conversation about this article
1: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), September 13, 2015, 11:51 AM.
I am not sure why Sikhs still choose to live in America. If you have American citizenship, immigrate up north to Canada. The United States of America is an incredibly inferior country to Canada in many ways.
2: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), September 13, 2015, 11:53 AM.
I would like to say something before we have comments here blaming our own community for not reaching out. If six Sikhs could be murdered in a gurdwara and the majority population of the United States continues to be ignorant of our faith, then there is absolutely nothing you can do to teach them about us. I'm not sure what you would call it, illiteracy, ignorance, a perceived white privilege? ... maybe it's all of these things.
3: Kaala Singh (Punjab), September 13, 2015, 11:56 AM.
I wonder if Americans know that Osama Bin Laden was their own creation. They funded, trained and supplied Osama to fight the Russians in Afghanistan. Once the Russians were gone, these guys turned on the Americans themselves. Now, where do Sikhs come into the picture?. This is hight of ignorance. They did the same in Iraq and created another monster in the form of ISIS. Will the US Govt. take responsibility and advise their own population of these facts or they will keep just bashing up their defenceless citizens on the streets?
4: Jim Wearne (Woodridge, Illinois, USA), September 13, 2015, 6:20 PM.
I, if anyone, fit the ethnic/sociological/class paradigm that would mark me as racist. But my parents raised me to believe that everyone is the same, if different colors, and that you like or dislike someone because of their character, not because of their color. We tried to raise our children in turn with that idea, and I'm proud to say, have succeeded. The root of this sort of racism is a worthless feeling in the heart of the hater. The upside-down economics of this country has convinced him that he feels worthless because someone had taken away what he feels ought to be his birthright: affluence and a place in society. Those who benefit by that upside-down economy are happy to perpetuate, through biased media and political manipulation, the idea that anyone who is not identifiable as a "true American" (white, protestant-fundamentalist, conservative) who has made for themselves a place in society and is doing well is stealing that success from so-called "true Americans." For such a "true American" to see a person of color, perhaps dressed differently and with an accent, doing well while the "true American" is not, ignites envy and hate, and a feeling that the fault lies not in the TA's own lack of ambition, ability and dedication, which could never be admitted, but in the other somehow having stolen his success. The conservative media are happy to encourage this thinking in order to amass viewers and sell advertising time, making billions in the process. Ironically, one of the largest conservative media outlets is owned by people of color, who dress differently and speak with an accent. Saudi Arabia. Who financed the same "Bin Laden" that this man's assailant compared him to. A full circle of ignorance and hate has been accomplished here. There's no end in sight and nothing to be done except for good people to keep being good and to raise more good people. My parents raised three non-racists. We have raised four more, and a new generation has begun with two babies who will never be taught to hate. This is how goodwill grow. Slowly but surely.
5: Kanwal Prakash Singh (Indianapolis, Indiana, USA), September 14, 2015, 8:25 AM.
We hope that beyond the peaceful sharing, learning about faiths and cultures that form the cultural and spiritual landscape of America today -- fun, festivities, and colorful pageantry at festivals of faiths, cultural events, and interfaith celebrations, that we are able to dismantle walls and make a dent in the continuing unfounded stereotyping and wrongful perceptions, and some day end the malicious associations and unprovoked violence against Sikh Americans. What happened to Sardar Inderjit Singh in Chicago this week is not just a crime of hate and targeted violence, this and other brutal assaults on Sikh Americans, especially since 9/11, cast a long and troubling shadow on the seriousness and sustained concern to honor the promise that serves as a major attraction for people to seek their future in this great country where everyone has the right to practice their faith and engage in peaceful pursuits with dignity. For the victims, such assurance is shaky, for others the frequency of such incidents remain a looming threat. We pray that after hundreds, if not thousands, of such cases of violence, verbal and physical attacks, some resulting in deaths, that law enforcement agencies, educators, civic, faith leaders and lawmakers will revisit this menacing problem and deal with this unsettling pattern at multiple levels to end this state of fear, workplace discrimination, bullying in schools, potential violence against Sikh Americans and other minorities in their places of worship and business, streets and parks in their hometowns. We sought to be in America and we are her proud and law-abiding citizens. Not just Sikhs, but America has a stake that her citizens see America as a land where equality, justice, and human dignity are not just a constitutional guarantee but backed by the full force of the law and civil ordinances. We know and understand that cultural awareness about people that appear different is be earned and we are a part of the solution. The task is much larger than a few Sikh initiatives and thoughtful partners. We are grateful and optimistic. We join others with our prayers for the speedy recovery of Sardar Inderjit Singh.
6: Arjan Singh (USA), September 15, 2015, 12:45 AM.
#1. Sunny ji: this is precisely what the majority wants; that we pack up and leave. I would not be surprised if these events are orchestrated to send such a message. We have to stand our ground; make our identity and culture known to the rest of society. The process is called ‘creating space’ in a society. #4, Jim: I have met plenty of educated and tolerant folks in USA, but I must admit the ignorance and hatred level is at an all-time high. I was at a party and speaking to an elderly couple (very affluent) in their sixties and the white-Caucasian lady remarked, looking at a Sikh gentleman in the party that she prefers the clean-shaven look ... while looking at me (as I do not wear a turban and beard). I just politely walked away, wondering if the educated are this ignorant, then what foul play must be churning in the average man’s head. In the post-9/11 world Sikh men have had to face a disproportionate level of ignorance and hate-crimes, while the rest of the non-white minorities can go about their normal lives. Men wearing turbans are but a small percentage in the total American population, but violent events such as these can affect the entire community disproportionately in a psychological manner. I wish Inderjit Singh ji a speedy recovery and know that his family will stand by him, as will many in the community. We as a community have a lot of work to do. Every shooting, each act of senseless violence and every word full of spite must be met with a positive attitude (chardi kalaa), restrained response and show of strength through character rather than anger and violence.
7: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), September 19, 2015, 9:12 PM.
Why wasn't Inderjit Singh able to fight back? Or drive away?