Comments on: Sikh MTA Workers Say, “Don’t Brand Our Religion!”

By: Can We Talk About Religion, Please? « stellatex

Can We Talk About Religion, Please? « stellatex — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:55:40 +0000

[...] permitted if undertaken as a religious obligation: for instance, Sikh transit workers in New York may wear turbans. But not everything goes. Polygamy is outlawed. Nor would we allow human sacrifice, even if [...]

By: Can We Talk About Religion, Please? - The Moral of the Story Blog - NYTimes.com

Can We Talk About Religion, Please? - The Moral of the Story Blog - NYTimes.com — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:06:17 +0000

By: Camille

Camille — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:37:37 +0000

justasikh, in North America meaning Canada, or in the U.S.? I haven’t seen Sikh police where the logos on their dastars in the U.S., but maybe it’s just not customary in my part of the country? (the only place where I have seen a dastar parallel the uniform/logo/pattern of other wear is in the London police force).

I definitely do think transit is different from a police/military force, but I don’t (at this point) think any ought to require branding.

I hear where you’re coming from, and I think there’s merit to your argument, particularly around consistency. It does seem like a little bit of conversation within the community would perhaps also bridge differences of opinion, or at least flesh out internal pros/cons.

That said, I don’t think that this is a particularly “negative” story in that there doesn’t seem to be extensive backlash (yet) — the support for the MTA workers seems less contested. Perhaps this is because there are so many Sikhs in NYC, or perhaps this is because the policy seems offensive to a wide variety of people of faith. Maybe it’s liberal bias. But the experiences seems very different than conversations on the kirpan, for example, or even the commentary we heard regarding the Texas case.

By: justasikh

justasikh — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:36:16 +0000

Camille Bhenji,

Most police forces in north america who have a turban policy have a color and emblem setup. I know it is such in a few cities including my own.

Is the uniform of one authority (transit) really all that different from police/military… all are public service.

It would be a different thing if McDonalds wanted to put a golden arch above the fifty. Needless to say the Transit authorities uniform policy is a little lax if everyone else doesn’t have to wear transit authority hats like police hats, etc. Police uniforms have hats with them and thats where a turban style might come in.

I guess I just get tired of seeing sikhs in the media in large majority when there’s a negative thing attached to it… another story altogether.

By: Camille

Camille — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:25:06 +0000

I’m pretty sure Sikhs do not wear emblems on their paghs/dastars in the U.S. Armed Forces (particularly in light of the Army’s ban on “religious headgeear”), but if I’m wrong could someone correct me?

I think it’s also important to separate out these different groups. While it’s true, from an advocacy (and otherwise) standpoint we should be consistent, lack of consistency should not undermine a real problem for those Sikhs who work for the MTA. I don’t think it’s a prestige factor, but there is a fundamental difference in how we organize/treat civil officers in “civilian” professions from police/military forces.

By: Singh

Singh — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:14:48 +0000

I agree with justasikh on this one. Aside from the fact that the MTA sounds childish – what makes thier request that Sikhs wear a logo differnent from the empblems worn by the armed forces.

Is it the prestige factor?

By: justasikh

justasikh — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:01:50 +0000

I can understand their concerns, does this apply to army outfits and police outfits too?

Where are the protests then? I’m okay with people having a position on this, but why isn’t it consistent?

By: Friday News Roundup: Link Lov « Moving Beyond Differences

Friday News Roundup: Link Lov « Moving Beyond Differences — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:27:24 +0000

[...] The Langar Hall, a blog for all things Sikh, posts on another discrimination case – New York City MTA workers fighting against having to pin MTA insigia to their [...]