2023-03-27
26 分钟Pushkin.
When people see me on the street, I often wonder what they think about me.
I mean, I know sometimes what they think because they'll tell me.
Simran Jeet Singh is an educator and best-selling author,
but it's not his work that prompts some strangers to interact with him in public.
They see my turban and my beard and my brown skin.
And the reaction to Simran's physical appearance is often very dumb and very racist.
The standard especially at this point in my life is terrorist, ISIS, Taliban, al-Qaeda.
Simran's beard and turban are outward signs of his faith.
Simran's sick, and as such is part of a huge global community.
Sickism is estimated to be the fifth largest religion, with tens of millions of followers,
both in South Asia where it was first developed 500 years ago,
and now in almost every corner of the world.
Yet, particularly in America,
only a tiny minority of people have any idea about Sikhs or their beliefs.
And in the absence of any real knowledge about Sikhism's teachings and traditions,
Simran says many people just reach for stereotypes or lazy assumptions.
People will see that I'm visibly religious and they'll assume that I'm misogynistic or homophobic or closed-minded.
Like all these other assumptions we have about people who are quote-unquote hardcore.
about religion, and I get it.