Standing Out

Waheguru ji ka Khalsa
Waheguru ji ki Fateh

Greetings all, hope you're well.

During the past week, a couple of strangers stopped me to ask if I was a Sikh. It felt good to not only be recognized by someone (as is the point of the turban) as a practicing Sikh, but also to see that there are people here in CoMo (Columbia, MO) who know what a Sikh is and looks like.

The first instance was a gentleman at work. At the office I work for, I help staff a table which holds lots of information about our office (The Relationship & Sexual Violence Prevention Center). This table is set up with a bunch of other tables from various offices on campus during what we call "Summer Welcome", a two-day program for incoming freshmen to get acquainted with the campus and various organizations.

I was "tabling" for this event (as is my current job with the office until the program ends) one day last week when a guy at a table right across from me came up and asked if I were a Sikh. I said yes but I'm very new and still learning. He began talking about how he had met some Sikhs in Vancouver, Canada so he knew how we looked. He asked about some of the basics of the faith and I gladly shared with him. It was pretty cool. He then began talking about how he had heard about all the hate crimes during the post 9/11 days. Of course I told him that's something I considered when deciding to wear a turban. He seemed pretty interested and it was nice to talk about it with a stranger.

Today, during my bus ride home after work, a young Native American woman and I discussed religion and spirituality as well as life as a racial minority in CoMo. It was a great discussion that went on even after we both got off the bus at the same stop.

So it was kinda cool to be recognized and know there are some people out there who are genuinely interested in our way of life and not just going about hating on us, haha.

I get lots of weird, puzzled looks when people see me with a turban, probably the only turban they've ever seen on campus, maybe even in CoMo. But I try to get a pleasant face on so not to seem threatening or standoff-ish. People have generally treated me very well. I haven't had any problems yet.

In other news, I got a couple more pairs of kacheras in the mail, one of which looks like it will fit just fine. So I'll start wearing it tomorrow. That'll be four Ks I'm currently wearing - I still need to get clearance from my supervisor at work to wear the kirpan there. It'll also be a problem wearing the kirpan on the bus, as neither the buses nor the bus station allows any kind of weapon to be carried while riding or waiting for buses. And, of course like I've said before, I can't conceal it. A Sikh is to wear the kirpan visible at all times. So it'll take some time to get clearance to wear it on the bus and at the bus station. I may have to talk to someone in management. If anyone has any advice, please send it my way.

Alright, thanks for reading :-)

Satnam

Waheguru ji ka Khalsa
Waheguru ji ki Fateh