US: Sikh man’s video posted with caption ‘Flying with bin Laden’

Miss Alone

Prime VIP
decemberpassengerscreengrabelderlyyoutub-1.jpg


Social media went into a frenzy after a video of an elderly Sikh man with the caption ‘flying with Bin Laden’ surfaced on YouTube.
The video was allegedly shot by a passenger on a Jet Blue flight which was flying from New York to California. The passenger, who was seated next to a Sikh man, posted a video on YouTube titled ‘Would you feel safe?’ and the caption ‘flying with Bin Laden’.

The video has garnered over 80,000 views since December 9. Over 1,000 users have disliked the video which has caused an uproar for blatant ‘discrimination’.

“I feel unsafe sitting next to ignorant white people who are prejudiced,” commented one of the users Japa Khalsa.

Others chimed in and requested “Everyone watching this video REPORT it for ‘hateful and abusive content’ the guy is triggering everyone to watch it so he can make money off of the advertisements!?”

_ebfd2834a49711e5aba67a39899cdf3c-1.jpg


The incident prompted the Sikh man’s daughter to flag the video on YouTube and report it to the non-governmental organisation United Sikhs .

“Incidents like this are shocking... These types of incidents only weaken the fabric of our nation.” said Jaspreet Kaur, staff attorney of United Sikhs.

The elderly Sikh man, who is seen sleeping in the video, was not aware of the video until it was widely circulated online, the NGO said

_ee553964a49711e5aba67a39899cdf3c-1.jpg


On the same day, a Gurdwara was vandalised in Los Angeles suburbs with hateful graffiti addressed towards Islamic State, reports said.

In another incident, a photo making the rounds on Facebook earlier this month showed the former Trinity University basketball player -- the first turbaned Sikh to play in the NCAA -- with the caption: “Nobody wants to guard Muhammad, he’s too explosive.” A friend came to his defence, saying, “Do the world a favor and educate yourself” - which got tens of thousands of likes.

Although Sikhs have been a target of “hate crimes” in the United States, community leaders fear it is a repercussion of the recent California shooting and the Paris terror attacks.

 

Miss Alone

Prime VIP
sikhjpgw640h360crop1-1.jpg


A disturbing YouTube video of an elderly Sikh passenger sleeping on a Jet Blue flight from New York to California has alarmed human rights advocates.

The forty-second clip is captioned, “Would you feel safe? Flying With Bin Laden.” The man filming makes no effort to hide his face, and on occasion smiles, as though he is taking a clever selfie.

United Sikhs, an organization that is working to quell anti-Sikh hostility is working to get the video removed from YouTube.

“No one, Sikh, Muslim, or otherwise should be afraid to travel. These types of incidents only weaken the fabric of our nation,” said staff attorney Jaspreet Kaur in a press statement.

The man sleeping in the video is Darshan Singh of California. According to United Sikhs, Singh “recalls his Jetblue flight from New York to California in November as unremarkable. He didn’t exchange words with the man sitting next to him, and was surprised when he saw the video of himself online.”

Sikhs are not Muslim, but since the September 11 attacks, the men have been the targets of anti-Muslim sentiments and hate-crimes because of their distinctive turban (Dastar) and beard.

So far, the YouTube video of Singh has over gotten more than 63,000 views.

 
Top