as backwards as it may seem in our increasingly sissified nation, the kid who commented a while back, who went to the school and was a classmate of the kid whose patka was lit up, had it right – hit back, and it’s likely that this garbage won’t happen again. it seems like the kids who have been victims of all this are very nice, docile, gentle children who are repeatedly victimized for years and merely complain to an apparently apathetic administration. every recent story follows this pattern. i can empathize – that’s how i was when i was younger; my mom implored me to just roll with the abuse, stay out of trouble and that it would stop. she was wrong, and i wised up. as soon as i started fighting back verbally (and sometimes physically), most of the problems ended. i was suspended once, but, whatever…it’s a cool story for the eventual bachay.

lesson is, confrontation or being forceful is sometimes the way. so kids, go out there and beat some bully’s ass. or just use your wits to humiliate him as the ignorant joke that he is.

I know many of us who read and/or contribute to this blog have gone through similar situations growing up. I’m sure many of us can still recall that horrible, suffocating feeling, knowing that you were going to be targeted with some hateful comment or action, and knowing there was no escape from it. To know that young Sikhs are going through the same and worse – it’s an even worse feeling; at least we could speak up, take action for ourselves – how do we protect our kids?

Thank God for the Sikh Coalition. They are doing an amazing job, and providing an avenue for all of us to help however we can. Whether by volunteering, participating in organized events, or by means of financial assistance, I hope all of us do our bit in supporting this organization, and other like-minded organizations.