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Shortly before 10:30 a.m. an armed man walked into a gurdwara in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and ruthlessly killed six at gunpoint. He sported a 9/11 tattoo in remembrance of the suicide attacks that took place on September 11 carried out by Islamic fundamentalists. Many, who sport such a tattoo, post the tragic event do so out of remembrance of a lost loved one, but the shooter defamed their memory with his act of violence. The Sikh diaspora has often been mistaken for other religions and faced the hate targeting them too. From being mistaken as Iranians during the Iranian hostage crisis to Muslims post-9/11, Sikhs’ turbans make them victims to random acts of violence.
Conditional acceptance Officer Brian Murphy, after being shot nine times while trying to rescue the Sikhs in the gurdwara, refused help from fellow officers and ordered them to continue rescue operations. An embodiment of traditional American values, he made no distinction in their ethnicity or religious affiliations, and rescued them as he would have rescued any Americans. However, of late, the rules of the melting pot have changed; the land once known for peaceful coexistence has become a land of conditional acceptance. Such a predicament has risen because of a media and leadership that initiate hostility. A country cannot call itself inclusive where racial profiling (the right to arrest someone on the basis of their ethnicity) is adopted. Acceptance cannot be conditional. Such a conditional acceptance is a sign of a failing democracy. Fuel for the ignorant One week before the shootout at the gurdwara, another shootout took place outside a movie theatre in Colorado. But these are not freak accidents; they are an accumulation of faulty policies catalysed when coupled with ignorance. Ignorance that can be directly attributed to conservative media platforms which feed exaggerated and sensationalised stories to spike the ratings. Media institutions which compromise ethics and couple news-stories with the intent of planting ideas, such as the rise in immigrants with the rise in crime, which often have no basis but dire consequences such as the rise in hostility towards immigrants. While the media doesn’t think twice about its inflammatory language, it has much to gain by polarising sides and then thrives on the resulting conflict. Politicians promoting racial profiling, freedom in gun possession, anti-immigrant policies provide justification to the prejudiced and clinically insane to carry out crimes of hate.
Crusade of intolerance Discrimination and prejudices are now spread through inflammatory newscasts, discriminatory laws whether discriminatory immigration reforms or racial profiling. (States such as Arizona champion making arrests on the sole criteria being one’s ethnicity or race). A small faction of leaders, who protect such prejudices are gaining popularity and becoming increasingly influential. From Rush Limbaugh to Glenn Beck, conservative newscasters have successfully manipulated the masses into believing inflammatory agenda. If these are not curbed, they will only lead to more violence and hate crimes. In a vacuum of unanswered questions post-recession, post-9/11 an irresponsible cadre of media personnel and leaders have led ignorant masses to believe that immigrants and minorities are the reason for their woes. In addition, conservative estimates show that for every 100 people in America, 90 have guns, making it the most armed nation in the world. With a strong gun lobby and protective gun legislation, America has the highest guns per capita in the world. Post-9/11, 700 hate crime cases have been reported to the Sikh coalition in the US. Hope lies in recognising the conditions as problematic and prescribing appropriate measures. Responsibility of rhetoric Social networking websites such as twitter are going ablaze accusing Michelle Bachman, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and other conservatives, who promote conservative policies such as stronger immigration control, a liberalisation of gun ownership and racial profiling responsible for gun attacks. When a population is disgruntled, whether it is because of unemployment, high crime rates or depression they seek answers in the world around them. And if the media frames the news in such a way that it is inflammatory against minorities and immigrants, it provides not only answers that the locals desperately seek but provide justifications for the actions of extremists.
Such a phenomena is not a sign of a failing democracy but the ante-thesis of a democracy. Whether it is communal politics or an irresponsible media, we have much to learn from the American ethos and their mistakes. Let us hope that legislators in the US and around the world who overlook the ramifications of policymaking make more informed decisions whether it comes to gun control or immigration. But let us not overlook how they are critical of their failings and hope we learn a lesson or two from their mistakes.
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A few hours later a mosque was burned down in Joplin, Missouri. While the mosque may be rebuilt and the arsonist captured by law-enforcement agents, the pertinent question here is not the burning of the mosque but the crux of the matter what these recent acts symbolise, a deep-seeded prejudice.
