Satendar Singh: Victim of Hate

http://www.indiawest.com/view.php?subaction=showfull&id=1184265905&archive=&start_from=&ucat=11

Culture is a valuable component of the lives of many. It is a component that many of us place on a pedestal high above all else due to the significant impact that it has upon our identity. It is something that no one else has a right to demean or challenge in any way. We have a right to be proud of our culture, whether it be racial, ethnic, religious, and so forth. Unfortunately, it seems to be all too common that individuals are willing to exhibit hatred against those whose only reason for being a prime target is that they are just different. This is what happened to a man named Satendar Singh....

Satendar was a Fiji Indian who was verbally assaulted with racial and homophobic remarks before he was eventually beaten and killed. There is no justification whatsoever to the horrific actions that took place. To attack another individual in any way because they are different or because their culture has been improperly characterized as being immoral, evil and whatnot is unacceptable in every degree. An innocent man lost his life because a group of individuals felt that certain aspects of his cultural identity marked him as someone who was deserving of such an attack.....let it be clear, NO ONE deserves to be treated in such a cruel way.

Just because an individual does not agree or accept the cultural identity of another is NOT justification to attack that individual. We are all different to some extent and it is those differences that truly help to define us as individuals. The fact that Satendar was targeted because of his racial affiliation and sexual orientation goes to show how ignorant and barbaric some people can be.

Hate only promotes more hatred. What happened to Satendar is truly a travesty and unfortunately, such hate crimes seem to be all too common in today's society. We as individuals have a right to be proud of our cultural identity, no matter what anyone else says. No one has the right to make us feel that what we are is worthless or a negative tag. If only people realized the pain that comes with such hatred...

My prayers go out to the Singh family