I wasn't going to say anything about this, but the more Facebook comments I read, the more it became apparent that there are some people in this
country so retrograde in their thinking and so ignorant of anything outside their
own trailer park that it is laughable and tragic at the same time, if that's possible.
The man in the photo, West Point Grad, Army Ranger and Bronze
Star awardee, Capt. Simratpal Singh,
after applying through the chain of command has been granted permission to wear
a turban, wear his hair long, and wear a
beard in accordance with the dictates of his religion, which he has eschewed for
the previous 8 years, Read the entire
story here:
My initial reaction was that any Sikh who wishes to join the
US Military is a valuable asset. I say that based on my knowledge of the
contributions made by Sikhs in various
wars as our allies. British Army Sikhs were instrumental in the liberation of Burma and
have fought bravely in Afghanistan. I
would far rather have a Sikh as a friend than as an enemy, as they have a reputation
for fierce loyalty and military discipline.
The type of
snotty comments which really got to me were the sort of thinly disguised aspersions you'd expect of Christians who believe they are practitioners
of the only real faith on the planet and eager to cast criticisms on anyone who is different. There were (paraphrasing for brevity and
correctness of spelling) "Well, what if a guy wants to wear a
Hijab?" Of course there are multitude of errors in thought evident in
this question. First a hijab is a head
scarf worn by women, not "a guy."
More to the point, wearing a hijab is not an Islamic article of faith,
as the turban and beard are to Sikhs.
Another comment
from a woman of at least my age, complained that this sort of "kinder, gentler"
Army was why "Many are leaving the
Army." Obviously she isn't really
all that old if she has her finger on the pulse of today's army.
Even more to
the point, there is nothing "kinder, gentler" about recruiting and retaining
dedicated Sikhs in the US military. She seems to think that doing so is a sign
of weakness, again proving that she knows zip about Sikhism. A little reading before shooting off one's
mouth would show the proud history of Sikh regiments as well as integrated Sikhs
in the British and Canadian armies. Captain Singh isn't even the first American soldier granted this religious accommodation, he's
just the first officer. The values prized and practiced by Sikhs are in many
ways superior to those of modern Christianity and have been for centuries.
Our allies to the north have a better
understanding of the value of Sikhs in the ,military and have since before WWII. Obviously
so does Queen Elizabeth. The Canadian
army has a Sikh in command of a regular army (not Sikh) regiment. There are also two Sikhs, one male, one female
in the Canadian Prime Minster's cabinet,
as well. Sikhs have been more evident in
Canada over the last 100 years, to some extent because of the far lesser degree
of xenophobia exhibited by most Canadians 
This Sikh is the new Canadian Defense Minister!
And finally, this is a Remembrance Day (as in our Memorial
Day) ceremony in Britain. Of course the same carping old farts who bitch about Captain
Singh's beard and turban would probably
be fine if the wore a tam, a skirt, and a reverse fanny pack!
And just because of the humor I sometimes find in abysmally ignorant points of view, here for comparison is a photo of an American Civil War uniform, that of the New York Zouave regiment. Please note the out of regulation mustache. The engraving is of members of the regiment, of course they couldn;t have really been good soldiers, I mean look at the headgear shoes and beards, My heavens!
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