Wisconsin shooting
Page was known to be a member of a neo-Nazi rock band and a white supremacist group. Such latent racism in itself should be grounds for refusing to let him buy arms and ammunition. The US Congress now needs to get over its fear of angering the gun lobby and pass bans on handguns and machine guns since such guns are rarely used for hunting, self-defence or other legitimate reasons. They exist mainly to be used by those who want to kill a large group of people as quickly as possible. Other countries, including most of Europe that have passed such bans, have seen a significant drop in violence.
That Page was a member of the military for six years is also important to note. There is certainly a possibility that such hate was instilled in him during his service. Scandals like the one where a military chaplain was found to preach Christian power while demonising others have called into question the tolerance and diversity in the US military. Ultimately, though, now that Page is dead we may never know where his pure, unadulterated hate came from or why he particularly chose the Sikh community as a target. Once the time for mourning is over, however, the US will have to take a long hard look at itself.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 8th, 2012.
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relate him to Muslim ancestors somehow, and you can see him as an evil only then.
ET, you say "Ultimately, though, now that Page is dead we may never know where his pure, unadulterated hate came from or why he particularly chose the Sikh community as a target. Once the time for mourning is over, however, the US will have to take a long hard look at itself."
I would like to make a couple of observations: 1. Page is dead and it is a good thing because it sends a clear message to other people who maybe part of his crazy supremacist group that there is no tolerance for such acts of bigotry even if it is directed towards immigrants/people of other faith/people of other race. 2. The people who attacked Ahmadi worshi pplace a couple of years back and killed hundreds of worshippers as also people who attack Shias have gone scott free. As a result, oppression of these 2 communities continues. DO you think that killers not being killed is better than them being killed? 3. If your interest is in psychology, there is one man who also co-ordinated killing of 167 innocent people in my hometown of Mumbai. He lives in your country. Analyze him to find out where pure unadulterated hate comes from. 4. Individual bigots and hate mongers can exist in any society. It is the response to acts of hatred by law enforcement, media and society at large which shows how civilized the society is. This example should make Pakistan - not US think about commitment to protection of people of minority faith. US is doing a very good job already.
It was case of mistaken identity as reported in newspapers and tv. Sikhs are blaming their community leaders as they were not able to communicate the wider world that they are different from taliban.
The US needs to take a hard look at itself? This was a random crime that was contained by timely and excellent law enforcement. The community and the country came together in support of tiny minority community.
I suggest that you examine this instance versus the attack on the Ahmadi place of worship a couple years ago and compare facet to facet with what happened in Wisconsin. You will find that the West is light years ahead when it comes to protecting its minorities.
You need to take a hard look at yourselves first.
IT WAS A PRE-PLANNED, COORDINATED PSY-OP OPERATION OF U.S. AGENCIES: The current anti-migrant violence in India's Assam and the killing of Sikhs in the United States are two pre-planned, coordinated psy-op operations of Indian and U.S. government agencies. Just as the riots during India's Partition were instigated by the Intelligence Bureau which had remained loyal to the British and other sectarian and other violence, such as the one which led to the creation of Bangladesh, has been instigated by RAW which functions as a branch of the CIA -- see 'What You Should Know About RAW' : WhatYouShouldKnowAboutRAWDOTblogspotDOTcom -- and other intelligence agencies in the region, so was the current anti-migrant violence in Assam. The gun man in the killing of Sikhs in Wisconsin was never killed, the policeman who was critically injured was never injured and the media were kept miles away from the scene to keep the truth about this staged operation covered up. Satish Chandra