Some folks just can’t get their hate straight. OK, after 9/11 attacks on Sikhs escalated. Face it, they are easy targets for bigots due to their turbans. Here’s a typical pic.

After Trump’s election there was another rise in anti-Sikh violence. There are plenty of articles out there. Feel free to find one. Try the recent (spring) violence in Seattle and Kansas. Trump gets a lot of credit for it, yet these types of incidents go all the way back to 1907 at least (riots in Bellingham, WA). Again, the Sikhs unmistakably just LOOK different, which seems to bring it out in people.

Well, here is the problem with that theory…they are not from the Middle East, are not Muslim, and they hate the freaking Taliban!

I was having a drink with my Sikh buddy at a Santa Fe watering hole and he was kinda quiet in the corner in his chair listening to us Yankees talk politics. Suddenly, he leans forward and shouts: “You are all a bunch of Johnny-Come-Latelys! We have been fighting the Taliban for a thousand years!” I let that sink in. Fact is, it’s true.

The Sikhs have a fascinating religion (some would call them an ethnicity). It is the 5^th largest religion in the world. For the most part they are not permitted to proselytize, or preach their religious views; they have to show the value of their religion by leading by example. For example, they do not have priests. Also, any one of us could go to a Sikh temple and get free vegetarian food every day (you just have to cover your head and remove your shoes). They actually have laws against fornicating with Muslims! Johnny-Come-Latelys indeed!

Beyond that, their prowess in warfare is legendary. My buddy is one big fella and he loves to make jokes about how his forbears protected the “puny” (his word) southerners in India from the horrors of the world. Good, tough, honorable people with dynamic personalities who lead by example. Sound a lot like Americans to me. Check it out: in the 15^th century only high class people wore turbans. The Sikhs thought that all people were equal, and so that meant that all people should wear turbans as well, so they just started doing it. It’s a demonstration of equality, not to single them out in any way. Again, sounds kind of American. Basically, their tenets are service, compassion and honesty, so let’s cut ‘em some slack here people. Get your hate straight!

Now, another fact is that there are quite a few turbans in the world. You can always tell the Sikhs, their turbans seem to have a flair or style. Can you guess the Sikh below?

Give up?

First Pic: Iraqi Heart Throb in his Turban

Second Pic: Taliban Leader in Afghani Turban

Third Pic: Yep, that is the Sikh. I used this photo because this man was viciously assaulted in Canada last year by four men due to his turban and brown skin.

So, let's give 'em a break!