discrimination in school...

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa!
Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!

Guru piyari sadh sangat! ..... i was wondering ....
when u go to school and everybody (maybe)
have some enemys and friends!!!.
But one of ur enemys come up to u and say
this is not halloween why don't u just take that thing off
ur head?!
what should u do?
go tell ur teacher/principle?

--
preetkhalsa

punch him,

Only joking, i advice you ignore him and get on with life, or just sarcastically laugh, followed by "erh no".

the teacher or principal wouldnt do anything (personal experience)
but i say you should bring all your friends& knock that kid out and scare the person away.


Sukhsehaj Kaur

U shud tell them to jap naam and read baani. then they'll calm down.

Quote

but i say you should bring all your friends& knock that kid out and scare the person away.

haha nice great idea

Please see this thread:

[gurmatbibek.com]

why waste your time caring about what an arrogant person like that thinks

when in middle and high school i usually did this when called osama or something:

Other person: There goes Osama
Me: Hey, why did you say that? I'm not even from Afghanistan or a Muslim and even if I was, I don't call every white person the Unabomber
Other person: Nah, I'm just ignorant
Me: Well, you could've asked about my beliefs / where I'm from rather than trying to insult me

End of Conversation

VAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, VAHEGURU JI KI FATEH

Tell the principal and make sure to also tell the Principal (if you are in the U.S. or another western country) that it is the responsibility of the school to ensure the safety of the children. If it continues or escalates, then tell your parents. If the school does not do anything about it or the situation does not resolve, contact the Sikh Coalition or United Sikhs (if in the U.S.) or United Sikhs if it is outside the U.S. If the problem is getting worse and worse too fast, contact Sikh Coalition or United Sikhs immediately for assistance before something happens.

This is a serious problem in many schools and needs to be taken seriously. New Jersey had repeated bulllying of a Sikh schoolboy, which led up to him being pushed down the stairs and receiving injuries before the school board of education woke up. Make sure the school understands that it is their duty to protect the schoolchildren while school is in session - that is not optional. Schools can be subject to litigation if this is requirement is not fulfilled.

Otherwise, things like this can happen:

[www.sikhcoalition.org]

It is not a joke and should not be taken lightly...

PreetKhalsa Jio,

Waheguru Ji ka khalsa, Waheguru Ji ki Fateh

Khalsa never have enemies. Daas's advice would be to bring this to the teacher's attention by stating that such n such person is making jokes/fun of my religiously mandated article Dastaar (turban). Even if teacher does not take immediate action that is fine but at least she/he should be made aware of what's going on. Khalsa have full right to practice religious beliefs. Focus on your studies without fear. Make sure not let that guy aggravate his/her actions to physical assault. If his/her verbal abuse continued then bring it to guidance counselor and Principal’s attention if still the guy do not stop then report to police. If police do not act then take community’s help to correct them all politically. If you are living in U.S then most of states have strict law of zero percent tolerence on bulling in schools especially on religious background. Just stand up against injustice Guru Sahib will help.

With Regards,
Daas

ms514 jio, thanks for bringing that good advise. That case happened in New Jersey should not be repeated elsewhere. Daas personally worked on these cases with other orgs, since then Guru Sahib gave us great Fateh in schools. Daas even recommend if any Sikh child living in state of New Jersey and goes to any public/private school in this state and experince any kind of religious discrimination then report to those two orgs or email me Daas will try do any seva in this field. Practice your Sikhi without any fear.

Quote
ms514
> Tell the principal and make sure to also tell the
> Principal (if you are in the U.S. or another
> western country) that it is the responsibility of
> the school to ensure the safety of the children.

the principal dosn't care about "name calling"
i know a person who was called a turbanator, and that person beat the kid up. and the beating did not solve the problem becuz the person just got suspended. so, violence is not the solution.


Sukhsehaj Kaur

I used to be a nice guy until sometime back, but I got bored and then earned comments like "rude" and "mean", which is alright. I decided to be nice guy again this year but it feels boring again. Anyways, a mean and rude guy like me, in your situation, would respond back and say "You've said that today, you say that again and me and you will take a walk to the principal's office where I shall have anti-hate crime activists talk to you, your dad, and the principal. Is it clear?". 2 years ago a co-worker of mine (an American bibi) said "oh my God, its so hot today, hey you should feel free to take your turban off". Without a second thought, I told her on her face "That is highly offensive, please don't ever say that again, you've said it today but thats it, don't ever say this again". Come on man, be a lion! Its no use being nice and sweet to nasty people who need to be put in their place (speaking from personal experience). If you be nice and sweet always to everyone, you will have to put up with garbage comments from all sorts of stupid people. Yes, GurSikhs are supposed to speak sweetly, however, I admit my weakness of making exceptions for people who talk trash about anything pertaining to Sikhi. If someone still thinks you are foul-mouthed, or rude, or mean, don't worry. My usual response is "tusi menu changaa GurSikh hoN da certificate dena?"

be a man, and show the kid that your someone he shouldnt mess around with!
usually getting principle involved means that ppl are gonna make fun of u for being a tattletail

i would just taking MMA classes before u go physical

I mostly agree with Bhai Mehtab Singh Jee and "bhai" jee on this one.

In Sikhi we have this knife edge of being tyaarbartyaar shasterdhari tatt bee rass on one side, and then full of love and humility on the other. We look around today, and not many Gursikhs have both, either one or the other. Sant Sipahi. It's difficult to balance, but it is not complete without both sides.

When non-Sikhs used to come to Darbaar of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Jee that was the one thing that amazed them most, how Singhs had the above qualities, Bhai Sahib Vir Singh Jee has written this fact couple of times in Sri Kalgidhar Chamatkaar as well, the Gursikhs have told me.

tattletale telltale is not good image for sons and daughters of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Jee, you can take some things in your stride for example people walking past laughing at you, the odd snide comment etc etc and sing shabads to Guru Jee like nindo nindo mo ko log nindo, and har jan raam naam gun gaavai je ko nind karai har jan kee apna gun gavavai etc but if things get out of hand, like direct verbal or physical abuse, never be afraid to stand up for rights.

These people should not even dare to say or do things like this to Gursikh's face, just by looking at image and character of the Gursikh they should cower at the might of Khalsa. Absolutely shocking how the young Singh took so much abuse to get pushed down stairs like that. Tyaarbartyaar Khalsa Jee! If we cannot defend ourselves and stand up for rights how are we going to help the weak, innocent, and defenseless?

You can tell them "I know it's not Halloween. So why are you wearing that mask?"
I think that should do. Provide one moment of "shock" ..."silence"... then you walk away.

It works.

Vaaheguru Jee Kaa Khalsaa Vaaheguru Jee Kee Fatehh!

VAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, VAHEGURU JI KI FATEH

I do believe that the Zafarnamaa has stated that when ALL OTHER means have failed, THEN is is righteous to pick up the sword (aka. resort to violence). Given the details, have all the other means been exhausted?

Look, getting into a fight may work for you as an individual, but understand a few things: A) It will get you suspended and will be a blot on your academic record (I should know, I was blocked from getting on the National Honors Society thanks to a suspension on my record); It does nothing to address the problem at the school level or for future Sikhs attending the school; C) Until a protocol is developed to take care of these problems at an administrative level, there is no guarantee that the problem will not be repeated on the same person over and over, but the same or other students (you all are under the impression that if someone gets beat up, they will stop the taunting/bullying - I beg to differ and have seen cases to the contrary - enemies have friends, friends who then team beat-down the enemy).

Principal does not care? Make him/her care but "reminding" of his/her duty to protect the students with legal consequences if it is not taken care of. Using the discrimination card is very important (after all, that is what is happening), as is the word lawyer and court case - gets people energized quite readily to help your cause. This way, they will also end up perhaps developing a procedure on how to handle any such future cases. If the principal is still not receptive, go up the chain and contact the superintendent of the district and make sure to let him/her know of the principal's lax attitude. Changes will occur quite rapidly after that. Every other community follows this procedure (proactive African American community in the U.S. will report these cases in a minute and secure rights for themselves. We should learn from them).

Contacting the organizations mentioned above is vital, as not only do they handle the cases and remind the school district of its responsibilities (becomes quite effective when the Sikh representative at the end of the table is either a lawyer or can summon on easily), but also provide an avenue to provide educational seminars at the school for the teachers and the students. Bhai Jasjit Singh himself was (still is?) involved in visiting schools with other members/organizations of the Sikh community and participated in presentations on Sikhism and tying Dastaars on Sikh schoolchildren and answering the questions of the schoolchildren and the teachers. Such efforts go a LONG way as preventative measures and provide a contact point in the community in case the school needs assistance in any future cases or needs a refresher presentation on Sikhism for new teachers/students.

We need to stop thinking of every event as isolated and and opportunity to "Chatkaa the enemy" and start to understand that this is a huge problem, with every case being an opportunity to educate, empower and prevent this from ever happening in an entire school district. Otherwise, we will continue to have fights and bullying and add suspensions to our childrens' school records if we do not take the additional steps to handle this on a proactive, rather than a reactive, manner.

And yes, I attended the American school system from 2nd grade onwards, so I am not speaking theory - been there, done that, seen it, been a victim to it and survived it.

Yeah i agree u should never hesitate to stand up for urself, regardless of the consequences.

You could also get someone into the school to do some sort of presentation/talk on sikhi to ur class or school.. Take some shastar in.. Get a big scary singh to do it lol. Probably just be a lack of awareness.

Jus an idea.

VaheguruJiKaKhalsa
VaheguruJiKiFateh

When I was younger I used to have low self-esteem, especially in grades 7 and 8. I also noticed that a lot of people would make fun of my dastar, or just make fun of me in general because I wasn't comfortable being me. After coming to jatha and at the same time making the transition to high school, I found that a lot of my problems with discrimination stopped. I was feeling much more comfortable with myself and in the middle of grade 9 I started to wear bana full time. It was very rare for anyone to say anything discriminatory to me, but I do remember one incident with someone making fun of my chola. A group of white guys were standing together and when I passed by, one of them said "Nice dress!" and they all started to laugh. I thought it was quite funny, I laughed too. They all stopped laughing. I walked away.

Excellent thought ms514 jio. Education is the key to resolve issues. We have learned it, seen it and experienced it. This is my take when you educate a child in a school on Sikhism it works as triple fold. First that child is being educated about you, second when he gets home he educates his parents and third one is once he remembered about your faith he will educate his children. I would say always take these incidents as an opportunity to explain who we are. In this busy world who has time to learn about you and your Sikh customs. So, preetkhalsa jio again take this as an opportunity to explain yourself and not only to fellow class mate but to entire class or even entire school including teachers. With feedback from students/teachers in past several years of presentations they are desperate to know why/how we wear turbans. They do not have any good source to get right information from. All they see is in evening news that some men with beards and turbans have guns in hands and they are killing the innocent people. That’s the image they have in their minds for turban wearing men. Turbans are associated with guns. Break that wall of ignorance, be a Sikh of Guru Nanak Dev Jee, be a Khalsa. If Guru Nanak Dev Jee can travel to Peak Mountains to educate Sidhs then why we can not educate our class mates. If Guru Gobind Singh jee by his writing (Zafarnama) can kill the cruel King of greater Hindustan then what happened to our pens today? Why we always have to talk with Kirpaans? So get involve, talk to your parents also let them know about the situation and also talk with teacher and let’s set up a presentation in class room. Do not loose this opportunity, think about younger brother and sisters coming to that school in future. Be a role model for them. I will feel pleasure if any way daas can help you out.

With Regards,
Daas

ms514 jee you are right to quote Guru Jee's pangtee on this topic, but many chunch gyanis even use the "choo kar az hama hilte dar gazshat, halal ast burdan shamsheer dast" pangtee to promote non-violence by saying have you really tried ALL means? Like if someone is getting robbed or raped in front of you do you tell them nicely to stop first and then do something? Or does one without thinking shout jaikaaras and naam abhiyaas and go all guns blazing? I know which I prefer. If we are going to take the pangtee so literally, then shamshir (sabre) i.e. Kirpaan, is the word used, there is no restriction on fists. I 100% agree that Kirpan is only for critical situation of yourself or another, and would never encourage anyone to use it or even threaten to use it in petty school fight or anything like that.

I really appreciate sensible approach you and other Gursikhs (Bhai Jasjit Singh Jee) are taking to this matter, and shabash for doing so, and please continue to do so as well. But I don't think it's realistic, Sikhs are much less in number than black people ("african-american") and none of these duniyavi organisations and societies care about us. Discrimination is only on the increase. I am not trying to promote mindless violence as this will give Sikhs even more bad publicity and perhaps cause more problems on Kirpaan laws etc etc, but we must be able to see what is right time and situation.

Lovely story Veer Preetam Singh Jee

We have protection of Kalgidhar Sache Patshah and that's all we need. Rakh bird bani ki laaj

VAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA, VAHEGURU JI KI FATEH

The scenario presented was one of name calling. There was no physical violence that was stated. If there was a fight started by the other party where a physical attack was initiated, a Sikh would not simply roll over and take it, but will give a fitting response. When Guru Sahib states that this path is thinner than the edge of a blade and thinner than a hair, it means that the Budh Bibek of a Gursikh, despite whatever the age maybe, should be active and make an appropriate and necessary decision given the situation presented. So yes, one should have enough Sabar to realize when the situation requires retaliation at the physical level and act accordingly.

Frankly, I witnessed the appropriate behavior from a Hindu classmate in school. He was harassed verbally and continuously, told a teacher, who could not make the other kid stop. The Hindu classmate kept ignoring and ignoring, until the other kid ran from behind him and broke a gold chain he was wearing and incited the fight. The Hindu classmate gave him quite the thrashing and left him bloodied. Guess what...the kid STILL ended up challenging the Hindu classmate to a fight over and over. So sorry, these problems are not a one hit wonder, where you simply implement Chhittar 101 on someone and then expect the problem to go away. I got into a fight in the first year of high school (and consequently suspended) and other classmates knew I would defend myself. Guess what...I almost got into a fight every year of high school. Don't expect for a moment that one fight in a blaze of glory will resolve your problems.

Reality is this: I have worked with a Sikh organization on cases of Sikh religious discrimination and violence against Sikhs. The number one factor in securing your rights, regardless of how small or large your community is, is a lawsuit, or threat thereof. Don't think for a minute that our small size is a factor when you are implying a multi-million dollar lawsuit to a school board. Read the link provided again. If the school was found guilty or having been negligent in their duties, that opens the avenue of a multi-million dollar lawsuit. Suddenly, the school will be (and was) very attentive to your needs. The Board Of Education initiative from New Jersey that Bhai Jasjit Singh was involved in was a direct result of the case documented in the above link about the Sikh student from Marlboro NJ. the Board knew that if nothing was done, the Sikh community would have an open door to litigation. This one threat of "We will sue you (or implying it)" strikes more fear than any other I have ever seen. It just works and we have enough manpower through the Sikh organizations to act on this threat.

The Sikh organizations will, and have, involved organizations such as the ACLU and the EEOC in the U.S. in many cases involving Sikh discrimination. The fact is that these cases have almost always been won in favor of the Sikh community.

I do not promote non-violence at all costs. The Zafarnama of Dasvae Patshah has outlined the criteria and every Sikh is, or should be, familiar with it. Chanchal Gyanis do not dismiss the Bibek Budh one should have as a Sikh to learn Gurbani and make his/her own decisions. Nobody is advocating that a Sikh should not exercise his duty as an armed individual (again, with Bibek Budh, which involves knowing the consequences and avenues available to them at all times) if a crime is perpetrated in front of him/her. But one thing the Sikh community must move on from is that the Kirpan and fighting is the only means available - we are failing our duty as assigned by Dasve Patshah in the 52 Hukamnamae to study politics and in turn, understand the means of obtaining justice for crimes perpetrated that are at our disposal. Do this, learn from communities such as the African-Americans and the Jewish community, and you will find that there is an unused armory available to you that is most deadly in cutting through ignorance, hatred, discrimination and backlash. Sikh organizations have realized them and have started to use them. It is time that each and every Sikh start to become educated to what is available to them and at least know the contact information to these organizations to help with their issues.

Chalo, enough has been said on my part. Bhul Chuk Maaf.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa!
Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!!

thank u everybody for ur awesome and grateful comment!!...
i have been helping a friend with this and i asked her if i could post it here!!!
so much wonderful comments!!....
and thanks again!!

--
preetKAUR!!!....lol

i never wore a dastar in school but hardly a lot of people said anything to me cos of it. there was this one group of girls though who laughed at me but i think the girl was jealous, no clue why. now everybody just calls me mam LOL

i just realised my sentences don't make sense in my earlier post - lol. i meant, hardly anyone said anything bad to me when i wore dastar in college before or nowadays. it's only the immature or insecure people who mock others over religous items. laughing is a good way of diffusing the situation, because they feel powerful when you let them upset you, but laughing at it or just ignoring makes them think.

try ignoring and walking off while they are still saying it or look at them fearlessly and then walk away. if they keep doing it, you should complain to someone about it, instead of getting into a fight or something. the bully can only go on for so long....