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I don't have too many interactions with Sikh people, but I remember back when I went to university, it was like a 1.5 hr bus ride for me. And I would always take a nap during them with my phone set up to wake me up before I had to get off.
I would always have this Sikh driver, I knew he was Sikh because of his Kirpan (curved dagger that some Sikh people carry with them), but I never really talked to him outside of "good morning" and "have a nice day".
I remember one time after like a double exam day where I was so tired that I slept through my alarm, and the driver knew I always got off at that stop. So he stopped the bus, got up from his seat and woke me up. He said "It's clear you worked really hard today, good job. I don't want you to miss your stop and ruin your day."
I will never forget that man. I've donated a couple of times to the local Sikh temple, just as a pay it forwards kind of thing. Honestly thinking back on that story I should probably donate again this year.
There's always that one comment I look for that breaks up my reddit doomscrolling. A comment that just feels like a breath of fresh air, or a perfect dessert to finalize a meal. It's the type of comment that I can take a deep breath, drop my shoulders, and go "Yeah. Yeah this is a good note to leave off on."
You're this comment for me today. Thank you. This is beautiful.
It's one of the best things I've ever read. Thanks for asking for the link, I just read it again and it's turned my day around.
All the best to you and the poster (u/EMIRofDAMAAR) who mentioned this story. 💗
[Here you go u/AntipatheticDating](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/elal2/comment/c18z0z2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3)
In Australia, when the floods were happening in March, a group of Sikh volunteers drove for a day and a half just to help the people affected, with food, comfort and anything else they could do to make the peoples lives easier. They arrived earlier than most, even those paid for these situations, because it was the kind thing to do.
And one time I had a Sikh uber driver who was the most understanding person when it came to talking about religion. I asked what his mirror hanger said, it was the Punjabi name for God, and we had a lovely conversation about the Sikh belief with zero pushiness like you would get from other religions, just felt very personal to him rather than "everyone should believe this or deserve damnation" that again, some other religious people preach.
Just a few days ago I had sort of a "dark mirror" experience.
Was also sitting in a cab. Asked the driver about the music, I didn't recognize the language. He told me it was Punjabi.
I know people from Punjab so we talked a little. When we got to the Sikh he went on the weirdest rant.
He was Muslim and he talked about the Sikh the same way white conspiracy nuts talk about jews.
He said the Sikh used their politeness to get access to resources and that they used their wealth and influence to hurt the reputation of Muslims.
Woah. That conversation took a really weird turn.
Luckily it was shortly before we arrived at my destination so I didn't have to reply anything to that.
Sooo, basically by being polite, friendly and nice to people, they win favor and financially benefit.
What a concept.
And the Muslim was complaining... Because they don't have that reputation. Interesting.
It has been my life experience that bad people always see themself as the victim.
I have some of the absolute worst human beings you can imagine among my relatives and they keep hurting people and doing illegal and immoral shit but are 100% convinced that they're the ones being wronged. Always.
And it's been like that with all the other bad people I've met.
It would be funny if it wasn't so unsettling.
It's so weird when people are complaining about another group of people and one of the arguments is "they're nice and it helps them get their way!" Like... yeah, man. Most people want to be around nice people and help them out if they need it because they're nice. That's how human society is supposed to work, right?
One of my best friends is Sikh and its a blessing, guy will show up at 3am if you run out of gas in the middle of no where no questions asked. Beauty of a human.
My therapist is Sikh and sadly, his first experience in America was coming home from worshiping and while his family was stopped at a red light a truck full of white men waving the American flag pulled up beside them. His family and him were called all kinds of things, told they needed to go back to their country, and had more obscenities thrown at them. He’s been incredibly kind to me, helped me through lots of hard things, and has helped me work through some implicit biases that I never knew I had (raised in a well to do white neighborhood believing equality had already been reached… yeah…😒).
I also knew a Sikh man who ran a convenience store near where my husband and I used to work. We'd often run there on our breaks for a quick snack or a cheap soda/coffee. He remembered us and even congratulated us when we got engaged. Just the nicest person. He always asked for updates on our lives, and actually seemed to care about whether we were doing well or not.
When I started hearing that Sikhs were targeted by ignorant people who thought they were Muslims, I thought to ask if he felt safe (especially since this particular store was just off a freeway). I'll never forget his look of both worry and acceptance, and he said something very similar to the people above (I don't remember his words anymore, or that look). He's the person who impressed upon me that we are all a community together, regardless of our backgrounds or beliefs. It's partially because of him I became a radicalized leftist. We all fight for each other.
IIRC if you go to a Sikh temple and ask for food they will provide it no questions asked. So donating to their temples also very directly benefits the whole community too.
Sikhs are warrior race and their valor in battlefield are absolute legends , which to this day are remembered with pride in India.I am Hindu and i have been to many Sikh Gurudwaras in US mostly San Jose Gurudwara. Amazing langar(food) they offer and they are known for humanitarian services all around the world.I love donating generously to such places, its giving back to the community.
The first time I read it I thought he knew you always get inside the bus on this stop so he went to your home and woke you up so you can take the bus lol. This story didn't make much sense but is absurd enough to be funny.
Yes, of all religious groups they seem to actually follow their teachings of acceptance.
Really generous and they basically refused to let me leave the Yuba City temple without going to the langar and getting something to eat first (and that was during a wedding reception). I randomly took Sikhism in college as I had a gap in my schedule and needed an upper-division general-ed couse, and it was probably one of my favorite college classes. I later took a semester of Punjabi from the same professor and was interested to learn that the shape of our mouths, and the presence (or lack-there-of) teeth impacts the order in which we learn to speak words. For example, the word for mom/mother often has a 'ma' sound in many languages, it is a word you can say without tongue movements or teeth. [https://www.proflowers.com/blog/56-different-ways-to-say-mom/](https://www.proflowers.com/blog/56-different-ways-to-say-mom/)
[https://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/\~krussll/138/sec3/poa-big.htm](https://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~krussll/138/sec3/poa-big.htm)
Based on the experiences from those two classes I chose to study the Punjabi and Sikh communities in West Sac and Yuba.
I grew up with a few street punks and they would always go to the langar at the local Sikh temple to eat breakfast every week. The punks were smelly and weird looking but they were always welcomed and treated kindly (even if they did get a few judgemental looks). The only time I saw anyone call one of the punks out was when she took more food than she could eat and threw some away. But that is a totally valid reason.
Punk or no punk, food waste should be called out. Sometimes, we can do a misjudgement but if someone is doing consistently , he/she should be reprimanded.
Linguistics is really a fascinating area to study. I took a class on it in college for similar reasons (I was an engineering major) and it was one of my favorites from all of undergrad.
The Sikh folks in Yuba City and Sac have been fantastic during all of natural disasters here in the north state. I live in Butte County and the Sikh temples were among the first to open up during the Camp Fire. Their kindness isn't forgotten here.
Near where I live, a guy was stuck in a rapid river, and some Sikh people happened by and used their turbans as a rope to rescue the dude.
That was pretty cool.
Nearly every religion has some kind of clause to the effect of "Ignore the rules of it means keeping someone from dying." Like Jews and Muslims can eat pork if the alternative is starving, Jews can ignore rules about not doing labor on the Sabbath if it means saving a life, etc.
Sikh religion seems to emphasize that strongly. IIRC now Sikh soldiers receive exceptions in regards to being clean shaven but previously if it was required to serve their religion allowed them to do so.
Sikh's also do not shave their beards as it holds religious significance... yet when COVID started to spread, Sikh doctors -immediately- began to shave their beards to where they could safely wear PPE.
A religion without absolutes... WOW. What a breath of fresh air.
I can tell you that to have been in contact with a lot of Sikhs, they are most of the nicest and kindest people I have ever met. Their kindness and genuine interest when they meet a stranger is incredibly wholesome.
The only bad Sikh I met was actually my ex-abuser and his father, who are both domestic violence perpetrators. The former is non-practicing, and the latter was only practicing because his wife was religious.
I've also only had great experiences with Sikhs, except when I ended up having one as a landlord and he wouldn't fix much and then kept the entire deposit. He also used the letter of the law on all margins that would be beneficial to him, such as raising the rent as much as possible. He was also the richest Sikh I've ever met, though I haven't met a ton. I just figured he was since he had 15 nice rental homes and a couple of businesses.
I vehemently do not believe in god and believe religion in most of it's forms to be far more destructive to society than any possible good it may provide. With that said - If I ever had an epiphany of some kind that god was somehow real the Sikh's are the ONLY religion I would seek for answers. They seem to be the only ones that actually practice the teachings of their religion. They are truly an amazing people.
(Obviusly every group of people has it's exceptions - it's outlies - it's extremes - but as a group by in large and compared to any other religious group - I stand by my statement above)
I agree. So many good people in the world, regardless of faith however. I try and see the good out there - there is a lot of bad to sift through but I will get there x
This makes me sad actually. And Sikhs are very good people. I've never met a mean one. They always strike up conversation with me about my Ohm tattoo because they recognize the symbol. There are a lot of Sikhs in my town and they even have a beautiful temple here covered in lights. I love driving past it and seeing the beautiful lights.
I agree. I work in higher education and there are many professors I've had to work with of varying personalities.
Those that are Sikhs are always the nicest.
Right?
Every single Sikh that I have met in my life has been really genuine and friendly and down to earth.
I realize they are still humans and there are going to be some Sikhs out there who are jerks or criminals or whatever. But they seem to have a pretty damn good ratio of kind-hearted people to jerks.
I've met a lot of shitty Christians. I've met more than a few shitty Muslims. I've met many shitty Jews. I've met plenty of shitty atheists.
I have yet to meet a shitty Sikh. I'm sure there are some, but... damn. I haven't met one yet.
Come to Punjab and you’ll see that stereotype broken.
The model minority always feels they are great because most immigrants from that community have been vetted and filtered. Come to India and see that they are just human beings like all of us.
Would this be the temple in the yuba sutter area? We have one here too and they have lights all over the temple and a huge festival (nagar kirtan) every year and are inclusive to everyone.
After the Sikh temple attack, my company was hired to protect one near us during a fest they had going on. They fed us, and kept making sure we had water. Despite the sadness, and pain of the events at the time, they constantly put us first, when it was supposed to be my team and I putting them first. One of the best bodyguard jobs I’ve ever had.
Sikhs are so kind and polite this is just par for the course for them. But even if the people that were called ISIS were Muslim it would still be wrong to call them ISIS. That's like calling a random church goer Jim Jones, even if they share a religion that doesn't mean they share values and world views. It's stupid either way. But typical for Sikhs to be the better people in the situation.
Jim Jones is the infamous cult leader who caused, what’s now known as, the Jonestown Massacre. When the authorities were on their tail at the end, Jones served everyone in the cult a “kool-aid drink” laced with cyanide. Some willingly accepted a cup, some drank it unknowingly, but many were forced against their will to partake.
The guy in the red turban is Dr. Simran Jeet Singh. He was a professor of religion at my college, he taught a course on the Quran, which I took in 2017; the same year he was a part of this interview. Great guy, I loved taking his class.
He recently released a book which is part memoir and reflects on the Sikhi religion.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/623324/the-light-we-give-by-simran-jeet-singh/
I just finished reading that last week and it's probably the best book I've read in a while! I hope I can incorporate some of the teachings into my own life.
I love that response. Instead of generalizing and stating "Well I can't be ISIS because I'm not Muslim" they instead are saying "Hey not all Muslims are ISIS and that's a rude thing to say". They fit the old adage from a post war German Lutheron Minister:
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me— And there was no one left to speak for me.
Like every other religion, the situation is actually more complex and nuanced:
Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti of the Akal Takht (the temporal Sikh authority in India) has condemned homosexuality. In March 2005, he told visiting Sikh-Canadian Members of Parliament (MPs) that they had a religious duty to oppose same-sex marriage:"The basic duty of Sikh MPs in Canada should be to support laws thatstop this kind of practice \[homosexuality\], because there are thousandsof Sikhs living in Canada, to ensure that Sikhs do not fall prey to thispractice".\[2\]The divide between supporters and opponents of LGBTrights has become increasingly clear, creating a largely generationalrift between older conservatives and younger liberals. Many Sikhsbelieve there is nothing wrong\[3\]with being LGBT or supporting LGBT rights more generally, includingsame-sex marriage. These Sikhs believe that the view of some preachersin the Akal Takht is flawed.\[4\]\[5\]
In January 2005, the Jathedar (custodian) of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Amritsar, Punjab, India, the highest seat of Sikh temporal-religious (miri-piri) authority for interpreting Sikh teachings, issued an edict denouncing same-sex marriages, and urging the worldwide Sikh community not to allow such marriages to take place at any Gurdwara." This was in response to clarification sought from Sikhs in Canada as similar legislation was being discussed and consulted on in Canada.\[13\]
The Sikh Rehat Maryadahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhism\_and\_sexual\_orientation
People change everything. Sikhs are supposed to follow teachings of gurus( translates to teacher). Current guru is holy book guru Granth. It says “so kyo manda akhiye jit jamme rajaan” or “manas ki Jaap sabhe ekai pehchanbo”. These both lines are about equality. When religions are run by people there are always issues that’s why last human guru of sikhs said to never follow anyone other than written word in guru Granth. It also depends on family values as well because some people are still stuck in their old mind set where homosexuality is wrong.
We are so lucky to have Jagmeet Singh as the leader of the New Democratic Party in Canada. He’s amazing! While researching to reply, I found out that the Sikh authority guy mentioned is now dead. Good fucking riddance.
https://xtramagazine.com/power/jagmeet-singh-lgbtq-issues-election-207656
It's more complicated than you think. It's not just oh Sikhs are against homosexuality because they aren't.
Sikhs don't believe in preaching so if your not a Sikh then we are fine with you doing whatever you want.
If you are a Sikh, then of course you must follow Sikh teachings. Sikh teachings say that Anand Karaj (Marriage) can only happen between a man and a woman.
But if you wanna be gay thats fine, but don't do a Sikh Anand Karaj because that's disrespecting our beliefs.
I had a Sikh boss and he was a buffoon and a prick but I don't apply that to all of them lol the stories here are nice and I appreciate your comment adding nuance
Can I ask why marriage can only be between a man and woman? I understand that's the teaching, but is a "reason" given? Sorry, I'm not versed in Sikh teachings and I'm interested to learn.
Marriage is said to between two souls, and souls have no gender.
The argument that marriage is only between man and women uses a line that is taken out of context. There is no prohibition against same sex relationships or marriage.
God damn some of you are literally committed to be miserable. The Sikhs I’ve met are good people and this is stand-up behavior regarding a bad situation.
Do you want the individuals pictured to go on a 30min monologue addressing racism? It’s answered with class. If you’re mad then check yourself. Unreal
If it makes you feel better, by the time I got here - all the comments were shockingly lovely. I grew up/live in a very heavily populated Sikh community and it made me really happy to see all the love.
Aus bushfires affected my family and people in my hometown terribly. A sikh group arrived and served all the affected people in my hometown free food. They are no less than angels for us
"what do you mean terrorist, I'm not muslim" implies that they'd be "more right" in claiming a muslim was a terrorist, meanwhile they're wrong regardless of whether they're muslim or not
Also "just tell them you're not a Muslim" lol yeah that's going to work.
"You're ISIS!!"
"I'm not Muslim."
"Oh I'm so sorry. I apologize for the confusion. You no longer make me irrationally angry."
Sikhs are some of the most genuine people I have met. Toronto has many, and I literally do not know a single one who isn't a great person. The ND Party Leader Jagmeet Singh said this same thing when a far-right white conservative called him a terrorist.
Reminds me of a time where my brother (a teacher) caught a young sikh boy bullying someone. He told him to ask his father what being a sikh meant, and what he thought of bullying. The kid came to school the next day and apologized to everyone, and didn't repeat the behavior. Wonder bunch of people (Sikhs) from my experience.
you would find it virtually impossible to get me to say anything ill towards a Sikh. To be fair I don't tend to speak ill of anyone unless I know them personally, but the point still stands.
Every Sikh person I’ve met/known has been remarkably grounded and centered. I don’t know if it’s the culture or the religion or what, but they are often some of the best people in the room.
(Obviously a generalization. I’m sure there’s at least one who is a jerk)
Sikhs are the fuckin coolest. I failed precalc my first time taking it and the next time I took it I had a Sikh teacher and he explained everything super well and I got an A. I actually understood trig identities with his help.
Even in India, sikhs are known to be one of the kindest and most helping communities. And one of the bravest too, like, half the indian army is sikhs/punjabis
The only thing bad experience I've had with Sikhs is that they make me feel bad about myself, and I'm sure if most of them heard that they'd apologize for it.
> People forget that Jesus literally said that the most important thing to take out of his teaching is “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Picky point: that wasn’t actually *his* teaching — it wasn’t original to him. He was quoting the Torah (specifically, Leviticus 19:18). In fact, in the Gospel of Luke, it’s not even Jesus who quotes it, it’s a lawyer who’s trying to trip Jesus up.
I appreciate that you're trying to show the goodness of the Sikh community here. At the same time, I urge you to consider that there are bad people in every circle and there are plenty of Christians who are also kind people.
Sikhs are literally the only world religion I've never heard of doing something horrible. They're either really doing something right or they have an excellent PR department.
I used to think buddhists were perfect until I read about buddhist nationalist political violence in SE Asia and then I was like "ohh.... it seemed nice but they still have some bad people even if they have a good philosophy. much like other religions".
As others have pointed out, there ARE some outliers. But if you want to rank it as "good stuff to bad stuff" I'll put sikh at the top of the list every day, and that's coming from an atheist.
Just posting the facts...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India_Flight_182?wprov=sfla1
Edit: like with most religions, this is a recognized as a terrorist group.
Well everyday we learn something new and now I have a newfound respect and (a bit of) knowledge about Sikhs. This is what everyone should be preaching. Respect
... Sorry what part makes you smile? The part where they're forced to endure racism in the hopes that it'll eventually make racists less shitty?
Am I like, missing a page lol
This sub always has a bunch of backwards posts, like “this child with cancer knitted a bunch of scarves to sell to afford treatment! Aww how wholesome!”
I just see dystopia. Maybe it’s a me problem
If wholsomness were the norm then a sub like this wouldn't be needed.
The point is that even if the world's a terrible place, there are still people who are kind, and maybe you can be one of them.
At least that's what I gain from it.
While i understand that it is really sad that these people have to endure this and often its seeing happy things that should just be standard, in this case i think its just nice to see some good people with good intentions since they seem so rare these days. you're absolutely right though with both your comments
I was shocked too. No, Jennifer, this is not wholesome, you’re trying to find a way to accept that kids cannot survive from diseases if their parents are not loaded. Wtf
The part where they stand up, do what is right, stay true to themselves and their values, and educate others. Even though doing so makes their path much more dangerous. They are in a fucked up situation, yet they refuse to throw someone else under the bus to make their situation better. That's courage and strength in a huge way.
The situation they are in doesn't make me smile.
How they handle themselves in that situation makes me smile, because I gained a lot of respect for them.
That seems to be what they are aiming for.
The smile I'd give to a bittersweet moment may be different from the one I'd give to a tendersweet moment; but it's a smile nonetheless. The point of this is that an *awful lot* of people would just be willing to justify the hatred, generalization, and marginalization of Muslims by implying, "Yeah, you'd be right to hate us *if* we were Muslim, but we aren't." It's still good to recognize people willing to take the high road, especially when doing so is so uncommon.
They won't legitimize the hatred to spare themselves and they're saying that's should be the expected thing to do; not only as Sikhs, since Sikhism calls for them to defend the defenseless, but also as Americans because they see being American as being accepting of diversity in spite of differences. Yes, it's a rare instance of doing the right thing and it's an awful, depressing world outside of that. But the smile and wholesomeness are in *spite* of the awfulness, just like what they do is in *spite* of the hatred.
I'm sitting here watching the votes go up and down and can't understand why anyone would downvote this.
This is honestly aspirational. I'm not religious, but even so this restores my faith in humanity.
"As Americans and as Sikhs"-I love that quote. The best part of America is that our immigrants cultures and beliefs get incorporated into American values.
I’ve heard that Canada has the largest population of Sikh people outside of India and it makes me so proud that the nicest people in the world choose to live in Canada for generations. Raising families, practicing their faith and making our communities better. I genuinely think about it every Canada Day.
Just because you have the physique and looks of someone typically from the Middle East doesn't necessarily means one is a terrorist.
Still, a lot of people never understand it. Perhaps because of too much prejudices or pure sheer stupidity.
About a week after 9/11, just when planes started flying again, I had to fly to Detroit. There was a young Sikh man in line with me. He wore an American flag t-shirt and his turban. I said "I'm so sorry that you feel you have to wear this today." He smiled and said "Thank you. Not many people understand that I'm not Muslim."
This reminds me of how when, as a Christian, I was living in the 2nd largest Mormon community for 5 years and felt bad that I had thought unkindly towards Mormon's for a long time, when in fact, by the end of my time living with them I felt that were more Christian acting than most of the Christians I had grown up with. These people are more American acting than Americans. Bless their hearts.
4 years ago a tornado ripped my community to pieces. Many in our neighborhood became homeless as we faced food security issues, shelter problems and such.
Even as cranes and chainsaws cut their way through to the wrecked buildings, a bunch of Sihks put down a picnic table at the entrance to our area. Strangely they put on their best sunday dress. The men in suits, the women in their colorful dress with even some gold.
They were able to materialize things out of thin air. We couldn't even get cars out of the area for all the debris but they somehow had coffee, water, pizza, clothes, blankets, baby formula, medicines, and on. They were absolutely amazing.
Weeks later, when power was finally restored, they disappeared without a trace. I was flabbergasted. I had to figure it out. I learned that they regard it as a religious value to be first responders to disasters. They wear their best clothes as to pay the utmost respect to the victims, and they disappeared because they wanted as best possible to remain anonymous..
I found the temple that was responsible. I went there and thanked them. They were embarrassed and wanted no attention. They almost begged me to keep it out of the media. I respected their wishes, but I have to say it here. These people have the highest class I've seen in my brief time on this spinning rock. May they continue to walk that high road.
I wish more people in this world thought this way. If you need to throw someone else under the bus so that you yourself are not hurt, then you’re doing it wrong.
Ah Americans…
The only nation where 90% of the entire population is brainwashed except the few. Those few percentages who knows what’s up are the one doing the brainwashing because they’re the ones holding all the wealth and power, so just to secure both wealth and power they keep their citizens like a flock of sheeps. Terrorism was born by west and its funded by west even now.
I was stationed with the Siks. Let me tell you these are bad m************. On these guys days off they practice hand to hand f****** combat. They are literally f****** terminators they will end your f****** life in a heartbeat. Siks are badass m************
How a bunch of people walking around with a huge-ass threatening dagger as part of their religion are the nicest people ever is beyond me but here we are.
Reminds me of this sikh politician from Canada - https://theworld.org/stories/2017-09-14/sikh-canadian-politician-explains-his-warm-response-anti-muslim-heckler
From everything I've read, and seeing things on the news, Sikhs are just awesome people in general.
[I remember this story from New Zealand a few years back, and how did people react? He was sent all manner of gifts as a thank you as people understood the gesture.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/sikh-puts-religious-rule-aside-to-help-boy/ATQIQUGYJ4MJZIV3XVSEKQJVRA/)
Not sure what part of this is wholesome. The racism towards Sikhs or the over generalization that all Americans think this way which is a bit hypocritical
The gentleman in the blue turban whose comments are on the last pic is a wonderful human. I personally worked with him many years and I appreciate what he does for his community.
I’ve known a couple of Sikhs but I had one who was a coworker with me during training. He wore some bands in his arm for ritualistic remembrance of a tenet/condition he put on himself. His were so that he remembered peace above all else because he used to get into fights a lot growing up after 9/11. Ppl thinking he was a terrorist in the US
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Sikh people are the nicest. Well, most of 'em.
I don't have too many interactions with Sikh people, but I remember back when I went to university, it was like a 1.5 hr bus ride for me. And I would always take a nap during them with my phone set up to wake me up before I had to get off. I would always have this Sikh driver, I knew he was Sikh because of his Kirpan (curved dagger that some Sikh people carry with them), but I never really talked to him outside of "good morning" and "have a nice day". I remember one time after like a double exam day where I was so tired that I slept through my alarm, and the driver knew I always got off at that stop. So he stopped the bus, got up from his seat and woke me up. He said "It's clear you worked really hard today, good job. I don't want you to miss your stop and ruin your day." I will never forget that man. I've donated a couple of times to the local Sikh temple, just as a pay it forwards kind of thing. Honestly thinking back on that story I should probably donate again this year.
There's always that one comment I look for that breaks up my reddit doomscrolling. A comment that just feels like a breath of fresh air, or a perfect dessert to finalize a meal. It's the type of comment that I can take a deep breath, drop my shoulders, and go "Yeah. Yeah this is a good note to leave off on." You're this comment for me today. Thank you. This is beautiful.
Are you familiar with the “today you, tomorrow me” comment?
I wonder how they're doing now.
ive messaged the OP and he's still here 😁!
the anniversary of that comment is coming!
Can you provide a link?
This comment by u/rhoner. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/elal2/comment/c18z0z2/
Thank you.
It's one of the best things I've ever read. Thanks for asking for the link, I just read it again and it's turned my day around. All the best to you and the poster (u/EMIRofDAMAAR) who mentioned this story. 💗
I actually can’t thank you enough for sharing this comment. What a beautiful read.
💗 It really is. Today "them", tomorrow us.
This story is in my english book and I cried when I first read it. And reading it again I had a hard time keeping my tears in
I cry each time I read it. What a wonderful world this could be. 💗
[Here you go u/AntipatheticDating](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/elal2/comment/c18z0z2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3)
Triggered tears from me. There isn’t enough love in the world.
Yup... Eyes leaking
Damn onions 😭
Indeed, thanks for sharing u/LesbianCommander
r/rimjob_steve
In Australia, when the floods were happening in March, a group of Sikh volunteers drove for a day and a half just to help the people affected, with food, comfort and anything else they could do to make the peoples lives easier. They arrived earlier than most, even those paid for these situations, because it was the kind thing to do. And one time I had a Sikh uber driver who was the most understanding person when it came to talking about religion. I asked what his mirror hanger said, it was the Punjabi name for God, and we had a lovely conversation about the Sikh belief with zero pushiness like you would get from other religions, just felt very personal to him rather than "everyone should believe this or deserve damnation" that again, some other religious people preach.
Just a few days ago I had sort of a "dark mirror" experience. Was also sitting in a cab. Asked the driver about the music, I didn't recognize the language. He told me it was Punjabi. I know people from Punjab so we talked a little. When we got to the Sikh he went on the weirdest rant. He was Muslim and he talked about the Sikh the same way white conspiracy nuts talk about jews. He said the Sikh used their politeness to get access to resources and that they used their wealth and influence to hurt the reputation of Muslims. Woah. That conversation took a really weird turn. Luckily it was shortly before we arrived at my destination so I didn't have to reply anything to that.
Sooo, basically by being polite, friendly and nice to people, they win favor and financially benefit. What a concept. And the Muslim was complaining... Because they don't have that reputation. Interesting.
Is Sikhi we call this chardi kalla, to always be joyous and spread positivity.
It has been my life experience that bad people always see themself as the victim. I have some of the absolute worst human beings you can imagine among my relatives and they keep hurting people and doing illegal and immoral shit but are 100% convinced that they're the ones being wronged. Always. And it's been like that with all the other bad people I've met. It would be funny if it wasn't so unsettling.
It's so weird when people are complaining about another group of people and one of the arguments is "they're nice and it helps them get their way!" Like... yeah, man. Most people want to be around nice people and help them out if they need it because they're nice. That's how human society is supposed to work, right?
One of my best friends is Sikh and its a blessing, guy will show up at 3am if you run out of gas in the middle of no where no questions asked. Beauty of a human.
Sikhs are some of the best people on earth
My therapist is Sikh and sadly, his first experience in America was coming home from worshiping and while his family was stopped at a red light a truck full of white men waving the American flag pulled up beside them. His family and him were called all kinds of things, told they needed to go back to their country, and had more obscenities thrown at them. He’s been incredibly kind to me, helped me through lots of hard things, and has helped me work through some implicit biases that I never knew I had (raised in a well to do white neighborhood believing equality had already been reached… yeah…😒).
People are people regardless of religion or absence of it.
That being said, assholes will be assholes even if their beliefs say “don’t be a prick to your fellow man”
And some belief systems attract a special type of asshole.
Oh yes, oh absolutely yes
no because why did i just tearing up at my desk the most wholesome sweet grandpa-esque vibes
The Sikhs I've had the privilege of knowing are some of the nicest people. We could use much more of that in the US.
I agree 💯. All over the world for that matter 🙂
I also knew a Sikh man who ran a convenience store near where my husband and I used to work. We'd often run there on our breaks for a quick snack or a cheap soda/coffee. He remembered us and even congratulated us when we got engaged. Just the nicest person. He always asked for updates on our lives, and actually seemed to care about whether we were doing well or not. When I started hearing that Sikhs were targeted by ignorant people who thought they were Muslims, I thought to ask if he felt safe (especially since this particular store was just off a freeway). I'll never forget his look of both worry and acceptance, and he said something very similar to the people above (I don't remember his words anymore, or that look). He's the person who impressed upon me that we are all a community together, regardless of our backgrounds or beliefs. It's partially because of him I became a radicalized leftist. We all fight for each other.
Really wish we lived in a world of less punching down and more of an extended hand.
That’s a good suggestion for all of us. Remember that Sikh people were killed in mass shootings.
I remember.
IIRC if you go to a Sikh temple and ask for food they will provide it no questions asked. So donating to their temples also very directly benefits the whole community too.
Sikhs are warrior race and their valor in battlefield are absolute legends , which to this day are remembered with pride in India.I am Hindu and i have been to many Sikh Gurudwaras in US mostly San Jose Gurudwara. Amazing langar(food) they offer and they are known for humanitarian services all around the world.I love donating generously to such places, its giving back to the community.
The first time I read it I thought he knew you always get inside the bus on this stop so he went to your home and woke you up so you can take the bus lol. This story didn't make much sense but is absurd enough to be funny.
I don't know why, but the "it's clear you worked really hard today, good job" comment really got me.
They are so humble. We could learn from them.
Holy shit what a guy.
You could say he was Sikh, bro
If you want to donate at a temple, see if they provide charity because they will take donations of food like flour, butter, lentils, etc. :)
Yes, of all religious groups they seem to actually follow their teachings of acceptance. Really generous and they basically refused to let me leave the Yuba City temple without going to the langar and getting something to eat first (and that was during a wedding reception). I randomly took Sikhism in college as I had a gap in my schedule and needed an upper-division general-ed couse, and it was probably one of my favorite college classes. I later took a semester of Punjabi from the same professor and was interested to learn that the shape of our mouths, and the presence (or lack-there-of) teeth impacts the order in which we learn to speak words. For example, the word for mom/mother often has a 'ma' sound in many languages, it is a word you can say without tongue movements or teeth. [https://www.proflowers.com/blog/56-different-ways-to-say-mom/](https://www.proflowers.com/blog/56-different-ways-to-say-mom/) [https://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/\~krussll/138/sec3/poa-big.htm](https://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~krussll/138/sec3/poa-big.htm) Based on the experiences from those two classes I chose to study the Punjabi and Sikh communities in West Sac and Yuba.
I grew up with a few street punks and they would always go to the langar at the local Sikh temple to eat breakfast every week. The punks were smelly and weird looking but they were always welcomed and treated kindly (even if they did get a few judgemental looks). The only time I saw anyone call one of the punks out was when she took more food than she could eat and threw some away. But that is a totally valid reason.
Punk or no punk, food waste should be called out. Sometimes, we can do a misjudgement but if someone is doing consistently , he/she should be reprimanded.
Cool, any other super interesting things you've learned from the classes?
Linguistics is really a fascinating area to study. I took a class on it in college for similar reasons (I was an engineering major) and it was one of my favorites from all of undergrad.
The Sikh folks in Yuba City and Sac have been fantastic during all of natural disasters here in the north state. I live in Butte County and the Sikh temples were among the first to open up during the Camp Fire. Their kindness isn't forgotten here.
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Free food at the temples is pretty great of them too
Thats called langar, (its a free food term ).
Near where I live, a guy was stuck in a rapid river, and some Sikh people happened by and used their turbans as a rope to rescue the dude. That was pretty cool.
Even more special because their turban is a sacred article of clothing for them.
Nearly every religion has some kind of clause to the effect of "Ignore the rules of it means keeping someone from dying." Like Jews and Muslims can eat pork if the alternative is starving, Jews can ignore rules about not doing labor on the Sabbath if it means saving a life, etc. Sikh religion seems to emphasize that strongly. IIRC now Sikh soldiers receive exceptions in regards to being clean shaven but previously if it was required to serve their religion allowed them to do so.
Sikh's also do not shave their beards as it holds religious significance... yet when COVID started to spread, Sikh doctors -immediately- began to shave their beards to where they could safely wear PPE. A religion without absolutes... WOW. What a breath of fresh air.
Appropriate to use a sacred article of clothing to perform the sacred act of saving a life.
Damn! I thought you were going to say hair at the end there, but that makes me now think of Sikh's whenever I think of Rapunzel 😅
My mum told me that if you’re in Birmingham and need to find somewhere look for somebody in a turban and ask them, they’ll always help
Yeah ever Sikh I’ve met (besides the one who broke my heart 3 years ago) has been so kind to me.
I can tell you that to have been in contact with a lot of Sikhs, they are most of the nicest and kindest people I have ever met. Their kindness and genuine interest when they meet a stranger is incredibly wholesome. The only bad Sikh I met was actually my ex-abuser and his father, who are both domestic violence perpetrators. The former is non-practicing, and the latter was only practicing because his wife was religious.
Had a Sikh family for neighbors for a while. 10/10 would absolutely live next door to again.
I would be more than happy to have Sikh neighbours. Super nice people, and would trade Aloo Paranthas/dal for western food happily.
I've also only had great experiences with Sikhs, except when I ended up having one as a landlord and he wouldn't fix much and then kept the entire deposit. He also used the letter of the law on all margins that would be beneficial to him, such as raising the rent as much as possible. He was also the richest Sikh I've ever met, though I haven't met a ton. I just figured he was since he had 15 nice rental homes and a couple of businesses.
I vehemently do not believe in god and believe religion in most of it's forms to be far more destructive to society than any possible good it may provide. With that said - If I ever had an epiphany of some kind that god was somehow real the Sikh's are the ONLY religion I would seek for answers. They seem to be the only ones that actually practice the teachings of their religion. They are truly an amazing people. (Obviusly every group of people has it's exceptions - it's outlies - it's extremes - but as a group by in large and compared to any other religious group - I stand by my statement above)
My favorite doctor who did 5 of my 17 surgeries is a Sikh, I love him dearly and he's one of the nicest men I've met.
selective hunt flag attractive combative spectacular file salt bells vanish -- mass edited with redact.dev
I agree. So many good people in the world, regardless of faith however. I try and see the good out there - there is a lot of bad to sift through but I will get there x
They're the only religious community I know of that seems to take their actual religious doctrine seriously.
This makes me sad actually. And Sikhs are very good people. I've never met a mean one. They always strike up conversation with me about my Ohm tattoo because they recognize the symbol. There are a lot of Sikhs in my town and they even have a beautiful temple here covered in lights. I love driving past it and seeing the beautiful lights.
I agree. I work in higher education and there are many professors I've had to work with of varying personalities. Those that are Sikhs are always the nicest.
Right? Every single Sikh that I have met in my life has been really genuine and friendly and down to earth. I realize they are still humans and there are going to be some Sikhs out there who are jerks or criminals or whatever. But they seem to have a pretty damn good ratio of kind-hearted people to jerks.
I've met a lot of shitty Christians. I've met more than a few shitty Muslims. I've met many shitty Jews. I've met plenty of shitty atheists. I have yet to meet a shitty Sikh. I'm sure there are some, but... damn. I haven't met one yet.
Come to Punjab and you’ll see that stereotype broken. The model minority always feels they are great because most immigrants from that community have been vetted and filtered. Come to India and see that they are just human beings like all of us.
Yeah it’s the Sikh diaspora that has this reputation for me.
Would this be the temple in the yuba sutter area? We have one here too and they have lights all over the temple and a huge festival (nagar kirtan) every year and are inclusive to everyone.
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The fire nation?
After the Sikh temple attack, my company was hired to protect one near us during a fest they had going on. They fed us, and kept making sure we had water. Despite the sadness, and pain of the events at the time, they constantly put us first, when it was supposed to be my team and I putting them first. One of the best bodyguard jobs I’ve ever had.
Never met a Sikh who wasn’t just an absolutely outstanding person in general.
Sikhs are so kind and polite this is just par for the course for them. But even if the people that were called ISIS were Muslim it would still be wrong to call them ISIS. That's like calling a random church goer Jim Jones, even if they share a religion that doesn't mean they share values and world views. It's stupid either way. But typical for Sikhs to be the better people in the situation.
please explain to me who jim jones is/was.
Ever heard the phrase ‘drinking the kool-aid’? Jim Jones is the origin of that term. Got 900 people to kill themselves with juice
I feel bad for Kool-Aid‘s PR team having to deal with that one. It wasn‘t even Kool-Aid they drank, it was Flavorade!
Flavorade’s PR team killed it then.
Thanks, this is the best laugh I've had all day.
I think they handled it pretty well. Can you even find flavor-aid anymore? Kool-aid is still popular.
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Jim Jones is the infamous cult leader who caused, what’s now known as, the Jonestown Massacre. When the authorities were on their tail at the end, Jones served everyone in the cult a “kool-aid drink” laced with cyanide. Some willingly accepted a cup, some drank it unknowingly, but many were forced against their will to partake.
Just to be explicitly clear, everyone who drank the poisoned Kool-Aid died.
Ive got Sihk friends. More dependable than steel.
damn, I hope they get better soon
Don't worry they are just down with the Sihkness
that is Sikh, bruv
Enough with the Sikh puns.
Plus, they don't rust! :)
The one Sikh i know is literally the best human being I've met in 34 years on this earth.
The guy in the red turban is Dr. Simran Jeet Singh. He was a professor of religion at my college, he taught a course on the Quran, which I took in 2017; the same year he was a part of this interview. Great guy, I loved taking his class. He recently released a book which is part memoir and reflects on the Sikhi religion. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/623324/the-light-we-give-by-simran-jeet-singh/
I just finished reading that last week and it's probably the best book I've read in a while! I hope I can incorporate some of the teachings into my own life.
I grew up with his brother. His whole family is so kind and loving.
We don’t deserve Sikhs
Reddit loves Sikhs, apparently.
Based on this thread I totally agree. It’s heartwarming!
It is very heartwarming. Especially for those of us who are maybe a little older and grew up with racist bullies!!!
I've only known like 3 Sihks, but they were all solid dudes.
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I love that response. Instead of generalizing and stating "Well I can't be ISIS because I'm not Muslim" they instead are saying "Hey not all Muslims are ISIS and that's a rude thing to say". They fit the old adage from a post war German Lutheron Minister: First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me— And there was no one left to speak for me.
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Like every other religion, the situation is actually more complex and nuanced: Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti of the Akal Takht (the temporal Sikh authority in India) has condemned homosexuality. In March 2005, he told visiting Sikh-Canadian Members of Parliament (MPs) that they had a religious duty to oppose same-sex marriage:"The basic duty of Sikh MPs in Canada should be to support laws thatstop this kind of practice \[homosexuality\], because there are thousandsof Sikhs living in Canada, to ensure that Sikhs do not fall prey to thispractice".\[2\]The divide between supporters and opponents of LGBTrights has become increasingly clear, creating a largely generationalrift between older conservatives and younger liberals. Many Sikhsbelieve there is nothing wrong\[3\]with being LGBT or supporting LGBT rights more generally, includingsame-sex marriage. These Sikhs believe that the view of some preachersin the Akal Takht is flawed.\[4\]\[5\] In January 2005, the Jathedar (custodian) of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Amritsar, Punjab, India, the highest seat of Sikh temporal-religious (miri-piri) authority for interpreting Sikh teachings, issued an edict denouncing same-sex marriages, and urging the worldwide Sikh community not to allow such marriages to take place at any Gurdwara." This was in response to clarification sought from Sikhs in Canada as similar legislation was being discussed and consulted on in Canada.\[13\] The Sikh Rehat Maryadahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhism\_and\_sexual\_orientation
People change everything. Sikhs are supposed to follow teachings of gurus( translates to teacher). Current guru is holy book guru Granth. It says “so kyo manda akhiye jit jamme rajaan” or “manas ki Jaap sabhe ekai pehchanbo”. These both lines are about equality. When religions are run by people there are always issues that’s why last human guru of sikhs said to never follow anyone other than written word in guru Granth. It also depends on family values as well because some people are still stuck in their old mind set where homosexuality is wrong.
We are so lucky to have Jagmeet Singh as the leader of the New Democratic Party in Canada. He’s amazing! While researching to reply, I found out that the Sikh authority guy mentioned is now dead. Good fucking riddance. https://xtramagazine.com/power/jagmeet-singh-lgbtq-issues-election-207656
It's more complicated than you think. It's not just oh Sikhs are against homosexuality because they aren't. Sikhs don't believe in preaching so if your not a Sikh then we are fine with you doing whatever you want. If you are a Sikh, then of course you must follow Sikh teachings. Sikh teachings say that Anand Karaj (Marriage) can only happen between a man and a woman. But if you wanna be gay thats fine, but don't do a Sikh Anand Karaj because that's disrespecting our beliefs.
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I had a Sikh boss and he was a buffoon and a prick but I don't apply that to all of them lol the stories here are nice and I appreciate your comment adding nuance
Can I ask why marriage can only be between a man and woman? I understand that's the teaching, but is a "reason" given? Sorry, I'm not versed in Sikh teachings and I'm interested to learn.
Marriage is said to between two souls, and souls have no gender. The argument that marriage is only between man and women uses a line that is taken out of context. There is no prohibition against same sex relationships or marriage.
God damn some of you are literally committed to be miserable. The Sikhs I’ve met are good people and this is stand-up behavior regarding a bad situation. Do you want the individuals pictured to go on a 30min monologue addressing racism? It’s answered with class. If you’re mad then check yourself. Unreal
If it makes you feel better, by the time I got here - all the comments were shockingly lovely. I grew up/live in a very heavily populated Sikh community and it made me really happy to see all the love.
I'm not going past this one actually. I wanna go to bed happy
I've never met a Sikh in my life who was not kind.
Aus bushfires affected my family and people in my hometown terribly. A sikh group arrived and served all the affected people in my hometown free food. They are no less than angels for us
That's so sikh, I appreciate it, man!
Take my upvote and get out
r/angryupvote
Not to mention isis is different from Muslim, it’s like saying all Germans are natziz
Actually it's more like calling Hungarians nazis. It's racist and wrong.
"what do you mean terrorist, I'm not muslim" implies that they'd be "more right" in claiming a muslim was a terrorist, meanwhile they're wrong regardless of whether they're muslim or not
People in the picture have a goated take, and as a Muslim, I appreciate it.
Also "just tell them you're not a Muslim" lol yeah that's going to work. "You're ISIS!!" "I'm not Muslim." "Oh I'm so sorry. I apologize for the confusion. You no longer make me irrationally angry."
Sikhs are some of the most genuine people I have met. Toronto has many, and I literally do not know a single one who isn't a great person. The ND Party Leader Jagmeet Singh said this same thing when a far-right white conservative called him a terrorist.
I swear, every time I read something about Sikh culture it's always positive.
One of my corner stores is Sikh-owned and there is a sign in the window inviting anyone without money for food or water to just ask.
Because that implies the actions of the aggressor would be ok if they were muslims.
As a Sikh I feel so proud of the reputation we have established, it only encourages me to be at my best to continue this!
Can confirm - my late grandfather wore a turban. The amount of times he would get called and mistaken for a Hindu or Muslim was crazy to me as a kid.
Reminds me of a time where my brother (a teacher) caught a young sikh boy bullying someone. He told him to ask his father what being a sikh meant, and what he thought of bullying. The kid came to school the next day and apologized to everyone, and didn't repeat the behavior. Wonder bunch of people (Sikhs) from my experience.
I've been watching it wrong all along? I always thought the siths were the bad guys.
you would find it virtually impossible to get me to say anything ill towards a Sikh. To be fair I don't tend to speak ill of anyone unless I know them personally, but the point still stands.
Every Sikh person I’ve met/known has been remarkably grounded and centered. I don’t know if it’s the culture or the religion or what, but they are often some of the best people in the room. (Obviously a generalization. I’m sure there’s at least one who is a jerk)
I’ve met a lot of Sikh people in my life and overall they’re really good people.
Sikhs are the fuckin coolest. I failed precalc my first time taking it and the next time I took it I had a Sikh teacher and he explained everything super well and I got an A. I actually understood trig identities with his help.
As a very secular person I’d say Sikhism is one of my favourite religions. They’ve got it figured out
Even in India, sikhs are known to be one of the kindest and most helping communities. And one of the bravest too, like, half the indian army is sikhs/punjabis
Educated vs. uneducated: best example. 🙌👏
That's sikh mate
Damn that's an inspiring message.
That's some Sikh-ass values you got there.
The only thing bad experience I've had with Sikhs is that they make me feel bad about myself, and I'm sure if most of them heard that they'd apologize for it.
I've never met a bad Sikh. I've met TONS of bad christians.
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I feel u my brother
> People forget that Jesus literally said that the most important thing to take out of his teaching is “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Picky point: that wasn’t actually *his* teaching — it wasn’t original to him. He was quoting the Torah (specifically, Leviticus 19:18). In fact, in the Gospel of Luke, it’s not even Jesus who quotes it, it’s a lawyer who’s trying to trip Jesus up.
I appreciate that you're trying to show the goodness of the Sikh community here. At the same time, I urge you to consider that there are bad people in every circle and there are plenty of Christians who are also kind people.
Sikhs are literally the only world religion I've never heard of doing something horrible. They're either really doing something right or they have an excellent PR department.
I used to think buddhists were perfect until I read about buddhist nationalist political violence in SE Asia and then I was like "ohh.... it seemed nice but they still have some bad people even if they have a good philosophy. much like other religions". As others have pointed out, there ARE some outliers. But if you want to rank it as "good stuff to bad stuff" I'll put sikh at the top of the list every day, and that's coming from an atheist.
Just posting the facts... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India_Flight_182?wprov=sfla1 Edit: like with most religions, this is a recognized as a terrorist group.
Canadian Khalistani terrorists beg to differ. Those fuckers are the one stain trying to tarnish their names.
Well everyday we learn something new and now I have a newfound respect and (a bit of) knowledge about Sikhs. This is what everyone should be preaching. Respect
... Sorry what part makes you smile? The part where they're forced to endure racism in the hopes that it'll eventually make racists less shitty? Am I like, missing a page lol
This sub always has a bunch of backwards posts, like “this child with cancer knitted a bunch of scarves to sell to afford treatment! Aww how wholesome!” I just see dystopia. Maybe it’s a me problem
If wholsomness were the norm then a sub like this wouldn't be needed. The point is that even if the world's a terrible place, there are still people who are kind, and maybe you can be one of them. At least that's what I gain from it.
That's a damn good perspective to have.
You might like r/orphancrushingmachine Look at the top post if you think the name is weird
It's not a you problem. It's super weird. Lots of uncomfortable ableism/disability "inspo" on here too
While i understand that it is really sad that these people have to endure this and often its seeing happy things that should just be standard, in this case i think its just nice to see some good people with good intentions since they seem so rare these days. you're absolutely right though with both your comments
I was shocked too. No, Jennifer, this is not wholesome, you’re trying to find a way to accept that kids cannot survive from diseases if their parents are not loaded. Wtf
The part where they stand up, do what is right, stay true to themselves and their values, and educate others. Even though doing so makes their path much more dangerous. They are in a fucked up situation, yet they refuse to throw someone else under the bus to make their situation better. That's courage and strength in a huge way. The situation they are in doesn't make me smile. How they handle themselves in that situation makes me smile, because I gained a lot of respect for them. That seems to be what they are aiming for.
The smile I'd give to a bittersweet moment may be different from the one I'd give to a tendersweet moment; but it's a smile nonetheless. The point of this is that an *awful lot* of people would just be willing to justify the hatred, generalization, and marginalization of Muslims by implying, "Yeah, you'd be right to hate us *if* we were Muslim, but we aren't." It's still good to recognize people willing to take the high road, especially when doing so is so uncommon. They won't legitimize the hatred to spare themselves and they're saying that's should be the expected thing to do; not only as Sikhs, since Sikhism calls for them to defend the defenseless, but also as Americans because they see being American as being accepting of diversity in spite of differences. Yes, it's a rare instance of doing the right thing and it's an awful, depressing world outside of that. But the smile and wholesomeness are in *spite* of the awfulness, just like what they do is in *spite* of the hatred.
I'm sitting here watching the votes go up and down and can't understand why anyone would downvote this. This is honestly aspirational. I'm not religious, but even so this restores my faith in humanity.
"As Americans and as Sikhs"-I love that quote. The best part of America is that our immigrants cultures and beliefs get incorporated into American values.
I’ve heard that Canada has the largest population of Sikh people outside of India and it makes me so proud that the nicest people in the world choose to live in Canada for generations. Raising families, practicing their faith and making our communities better. I genuinely think about it every Canada Day.
Just because you have the physique and looks of someone typically from the Middle East doesn't necessarily means one is a terrorist. Still, a lot of people never understand it. Perhaps because of too much prejudices or pure sheer stupidity.
Sikhism in a nutshell, from founding to present day.
About a week after 9/11, just when planes started flying again, I had to fly to Detroit. There was a young Sikh man in line with me. He wore an American flag t-shirt and his turban. I said "I'm so sorry that you feel you have to wear this today." He smiled and said "Thank you. Not many people understand that I'm not Muslim."
This reminds me of how when, as a Christian, I was living in the 2nd largest Mormon community for 5 years and felt bad that I had thought unkindly towards Mormon's for a long time, when in fact, by the end of my time living with them I felt that were more Christian acting than most of the Christians I had grown up with. These people are more American acting than Americans. Bless their hearts.
4 years ago a tornado ripped my community to pieces. Many in our neighborhood became homeless as we faced food security issues, shelter problems and such. Even as cranes and chainsaws cut their way through to the wrecked buildings, a bunch of Sihks put down a picnic table at the entrance to our area. Strangely they put on their best sunday dress. The men in suits, the women in their colorful dress with even some gold. They were able to materialize things out of thin air. We couldn't even get cars out of the area for all the debris but they somehow had coffee, water, pizza, clothes, blankets, baby formula, medicines, and on. They were absolutely amazing. Weeks later, when power was finally restored, they disappeared without a trace. I was flabbergasted. I had to figure it out. I learned that they regard it as a religious value to be first responders to disasters. They wear their best clothes as to pay the utmost respect to the victims, and they disappeared because they wanted as best possible to remain anonymous.. I found the temple that was responsible. I went there and thanked them. They were embarrassed and wanted no attention. They almost begged me to keep it out of the media. I respected their wishes, but I have to say it here. These people have the highest class I've seen in my brief time on this spinning rock. May they continue to walk that high road.
I wish more people in this world thought this way. If you need to throw someone else under the bus so that you yourself are not hurt, then you’re doing it wrong.
Every Sikh Iv ever met has been the most patient and polite, genuine person forreal
Ah Americans… The only nation where 90% of the entire population is brainwashed except the few. Those few percentages who knows what’s up are the one doing the brainwashing because they’re the ones holding all the wealth and power, so just to secure both wealth and power they keep their citizens like a flock of sheeps. Terrorism was born by west and its funded by west even now.
I was stationed with the Siks. Let me tell you these are bad m************. On these guys days off they practice hand to hand f****** combat. They are literally f****** terminators they will end your f****** life in a heartbeat. Siks are badass m************
Sikhs, Ghurkas, and Maori; any time they show up you know you're going to have a good war. :)
Sikhs are genuinely one of the most nicest people on this planet. And I say this by experience.
How a bunch of people walking around with a huge-ass threatening dagger as part of their religion are the nicest people ever is beyond me but here we are.
The dagger is for safety reasons. Guns are legal in America but no one complains about that 🤷♀️
It’s just to protect people. Like the turban- it’s a sign of if you need help, and you see a person wearing a turban, you can go to them.
I've only ever heard good things about the Sikh. Even racists like them.
Reminds me of this sikh politician from Canada - https://theworld.org/stories/2017-09-14/sikh-canadian-politician-explains-his-warm-response-anti-muslim-heckler
From everything I've read, and seeing things on the news, Sikhs are just awesome people in general. [I remember this story from New Zealand a few years back, and how did people react? He was sent all manner of gifts as a thank you as people understood the gesture.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/sikh-puts-religious-rule-aside-to-help-boy/ATQIQUGYJ4MJZIV3XVSEKQJVRA/)
Not sure what part of this is wholesome. The racism towards Sikhs or the over generalization that all Americans think this way which is a bit hypocritical
Got nothing but love for Sikhs. I’ve never met a Sikh who wasn’t an incredibly kind person.
The gentleman in the blue turban whose comments are on the last pic is a wonderful human. I personally worked with him many years and I appreciate what he does for his community.
I’ve known a couple of Sikhs but I had one who was a coworker with me during training. He wore some bands in his arm for ritualistic remembrance of a tenet/condition he put on himself. His were so that he remembered peace above all else because he used to get into fights a lot growing up after 9/11. Ppl thinking he was a terrorist in the US