Dear Mr Barack Obama thank you for lesson on tolerance, meanwhile in the USA…

If anyone thought things are much better in the US – the land of racial tolerance – they are wrong as incidents of police brutality and hate killings show us.

Updated: February 12, 2015 4:30 PM IST

By Nirmalya 'Nemo' Dutta

barack obama (1)

Dear Mr Barack Obama, exactly how tolerant is America?

Last week, Barack Obama talked about the rise of religious intolerance in India; something he felt would’ve horrified Mahatma Gandhi. While I am all for the eradication of intolerance, it was a bit rich coming from a President who had just returned from a funeral of a dictator whose family has ruled his Islamic nation with an iron fist (and who had imprisoned his own daughters for speaking up and where being atheist can get you killed). And if anyone thought things are much better in the US – the land of racial tolerance – they are wrong as incidents of police brutality and hate killings show us. Also Read: Barack Obama: Religious intolerance in India would have shocked Mahatma Gandhi

Brown is the new Black

suresh US

The new Promised Land can be really dangerous for non-white, non-English speakers as Sureshbhai Patel found out. Incidentally, Mr Patel is from the same grand Indian state as Obama’s newest BFF Modi. 57-year-old Patel who speaks no English was allegedly manhandled by cops after a neighbour reported him for acting suspiciously. What exactly was suspicious about his behaviour? Apparently, he was walking into people’s driveways and looking in garages as he walked around the neighbourhood at 9:30 AM in the morning. Come on Mr Patel, a brown man cannot do that in America post 9/11! The man’s son Chirag Patel said that officers threw his father to the ground during questioning, which left him partially paralysed and hospitalised with fused vertebrae.

Apparently, this is how the incident went down, according to the family attorney. Patel was roaming around when he was approached by two officers. He made it clear that he spoke no English and pointed to his son’s house. Suddenly, one of the officers grabbed Patel’s arm, pulled it down and threw him face-first to the ground.

According to the police statement, ‘The subject began putting his hands in his pockets. Officers attempted to pat the subject down and he attempted to pull away. The subject was forced to the ground, which resulted in injury.’ Their attorney Hank Sherrod added: ‘This is broad daylight, walking down the street — there is nothing suspicious about Mr. Patel other than he has brown skin.’

While Patel has limited motion in his arms and left leg, his right leg is still paralysed and he needed surgery to fuse two vertebrae due to the swelling in his spine. His son had brought him to the US to help his wife care for their 17-month son while he studied for a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and said he made a horrible mistake by inviting his father to his mostly white and affluent Huntsville suburb!

Also don’t be Muslim

and don't be muslim

Patel’s case isn’t the only one of racial profiling in the US, with a family of three Muslims being shot dead in North Carolina by an atheist (which clearly shows that all idiots don’t believe in magical sky people). However, the US media was far more bothered covering other stuff.

Three US residents executed on American soil in a politically motivated attack and zero coverage #ChapelHillShooting pic.twitter.com/6yKSPIkNNx

— Glen Coco (@MrPooni) February 11, 2015

One commentator pointed out the hypocrisy on Twitter: ‘If her killer had a beard and cried Allah-u-, the whole world would already know this picture.’

“If her killer had a beard & cried Allahu Akbar, the whole world would already know this picture” #ChapelHillShooting pic.twitter.com/O6GnVzx29y — FurSid (@fursid) February 12, 2015

While the Chapel Hill Police said that the investigation suggested the crime was motivated by an ongoing dispute about parking spots, the victim’s father – Dr Mohammad Abu-Salha – felt the attack was racially motivated. This is just another example of how stupid the gun laws are in the US. According to the police, the shooter Craig Stephen Hicks was a self-proclaimed atheist. He would often post things condemning religions on his FB page.

Dr Salha said: ‘This was not a dispute over a parking space; this was a hate crime. They were uncomfortable with him, but they did not know he would go this far.’ The police chief Chris Blue described the killing as ‘senseless and tragic’ and said the police’s ‘thoughts are with the families and friends of these young people who lost their lives so needlessly’. He added: ‘We understand the concerns about the possibility that this was hate-motivated and we will exhaust every lead to determine if that is the case.’

One of the victims, Deah Shaddy Barakat was a dental student and quite an amazing human being. One of his tweets read: ‘so freaking sad to hear people saying we should ‘kill Jews’ or ‘kill Palestinians’. As if that’s going to solve anything.’ He had got married just two months ago.  UNC officials said Mr Barakat and Yusor Abu-Salha got married less than two months ago, in late December.

Not being white – a crime in America?


So from police brutally to racial profiling, it seems like being anything other than white is a grievous crime in many parts of the self-professed biggest democracy on earth. It’s sad that we have to see hash tags like #muslimlivesmatter echoing the Ferguson shooting to make a point. The Ferguson shooting incident was inarguably one of the biggest talking points of the year not just for the shock factor but also because of the official response to it, from authorities at every level.  As John Oliver pointed out on his news satire show – Last Week Tonight with HBO: ‘This whole story is depressingly familiar. And there are so many unanswered questions regarding why an officer would shoot an unarmed teenager. What is absolutely clear is that the police have handled everything since then terribly.’

All good things take time

martin luther king

While I am not justifying intolerance in India by showing racial, religious or any sort of intolerance in America, what I wanted to point out is that all good things take time. The US has been a democracy for 239 years and it took them a long time to reach a semblance of equality. Over the years, many have fought for equal rights for women, African-Americans and the LGBT community. Still, there continues to be inequality in all forms of life because it’s impossible to wave a magic want and wipe away centuries of belief. The problem is even more exacerbated in India because of the greater diversity, illiteracy and traditional customs. But know that this is a democracy, and we shall achieve equality for all. It will take time but we will get there and hopefully, as will the United States. In your own words: ‘Yes we can.’ Your own ascendancy to the highest post in the land shows things change.It will just take some more time.

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