Maybe I Am A Racist ?
Pictured here is twelve-year-old Gurbaj Singh Multani, now 17. This young man was attending a Montreal elementary school and one day he accidentally dropped his kirpan (object being held in the pic) in the schoolyard.You can imagine the reaction from other kids seeing this and the reaction their parents had when the story was related to them after school.
To make a long story short, the parents of other children pressured the local school board to ban the dagger, because of a zero-tolerance policy concerning weapons.
Gurbaj's parents sued, and the case wound its way through the courts for several years until just recently the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Sikh students can carry ceremonial daggers to class and that doing so does not pose a undue danger to others in the schools.
The story also made it to the Hamilton Spectator where a lot more detail can be gained in order that you figure this one out for yourself.
From the above story we learn of the Five K's.
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As a mark of their devotion to the faith and as an indication of their membership in the Khalsa, Sikh males are required to wear the five symbols of the Sikh faith.
Kesh means hair. A Sikh should treat his hair as a gift from God himself. It is His trust. To keep this God-given form intact is the first and foremost duty of a Sikh. The hair is a symbol of faith, and keeping long hair confirms a Sikh's belief in the acceptance of God's Will, and teaches him Humility and Acceptance. Khanga means comb. Sikhs use a small wooden comb because it can be worn easily in the hair. Apart from its utility, a comb is a symbol of cleanliness. Just as a comb helps to remove the tangles of the hair, similarly a Sikh is reminded to get rid of any impurity of thought by repeating 'Naam' (God's name) in his mind. Kara literally means a link or bondage. It is a special steel bracelet which is worn on the right wrist. The Karra is the Guru's own symbolic ring to all his Sikhs signifying their unbreakable link or bond with the Guru as well as among themselves. Kachera is a pair of shorts symbolic of continence and a high moral character. Kirpan is a sword. Kirpan comes from the word 'Kirpa' and 'aan'. Kirpa means an act of kindness, a favour; and 'aan' means honour, respect, self-respect. For Sikhs, Kirpan is the symbol of power and freedom of spirit. All baptized Sikhs should wear a short form of Kirpan on their body. To call it a dagger or knife is insulting to this symbol of faith. |
Which Leads Me To Ask The Following
1. Do Sikh men ever go bald and if so do they kill themselves as obviously their faith has gone askew?2. Where does a bald Sikh wear his comb?
3. Does a Sikh have to take his steel bracelet off when going through airport security and if not why do I?
4. If a Sikh becomes incontinent, is he frowned upon by his peers?
5. If a Sikh goes berserk and uses his Kirpan to kill another human being, does any court of law have the right to charge him with committing an offence seeing as it really isn't a dagger?
And As You All Know
You or I can go online right now and go to a web page where you can register your own church. If I was to do this and I decreed that all my followers were required to wear a 56k modem on a chain around their neck would The Supreme Court of Canada recognize my church? Would they allow my followers to go into the House of Commons or go on an Air Canada flight without be challenged by some security guy?I think not! And I suppose that is why that First Nation lady I referred to above figures me for a racist. Jeez - some days you just can't win.