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MisterrSingh

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Posts posted by MisterrSingh

  1. I remember teaching this mixed-raced girl a few years ago from mixed mainly white and black town. She was very inquisitive about other cultures and communities, including mine. When I showed her that other communities routinely segregate themselves without all the hate that 'asians' face, like Jews, Greeks and Chinese people, she was like "Yeah, I see it now."

    Towards the end she turned around and said to me one day: "I'm so glad I met you, because before I had this really negative impression of 'asians' from what everyone had told me about them."

    Point is, there will be hordes of kids who haven't had their preconceptions challenged and have been taught these views about brown folk.

    Why do you think we're singled out in the example you gave above, whilst other races fly under the radar? I can't imagine it's anything to do with weakness as a race, because the Chinese or the Jews are hardly powerhouses in the UK. Is there an element of envy; the general assumption that we're hard workers and we get on with stuff, whilst having our own language, as well as other impenetrable barriers that are difficult for outsiders to overcome?

  2. Anyway I guess the best way to handle it is just to be more present in my own head and just make less eye contact with strangers. This I'm working on. Otherwise I'd be getting into fights all the time.

    You must learn when to keep eye contact and when to break it. Too soon and you'll come across as a coward; too late and you'll invite unnecessary trouble, especially if the other guy is a bit touchy. Knowing when to do it comes with experience. For yourself, always keep a neutral expression on your face, making you difficult to read. A perpetual scowl can be as foolish as a constant gormless grin.

  3. The church-going, God-fearing Blacks in England are fine; nice people, even temperaments, and generally decent, hard-working people. It's the others who live on estates and in high-rise flats that you need to be careful of. As someone mentioned earlier, they can sniff weakness out very easily. Show them you mean business and, by and large, you'll be left alone. Behave timidly or show fear, and they'll take you for a ride. I had some trouble with a coarse black family a while back; they assumed I was one of those pappu Indians because I live simply, keep quiet, etc. They have a word for us... "Coolies". Anyway, that family thought they could take liberties.

    There were a spate of burglaries and violent attacks on my street a while ago, and one night someone had their car windows smashed. I came out with a talwar, middle of the night, breathing heavily, and I prowled and paced up and down the area infront of my home, lol, and the aforementioned family saw me from their window. Ever since then it's been, "Good morning", "Happy Easter", "Merry Christmas" etc, lol. Trust me, it's not something I make a habit of doing, but sometimes a message needs to be sent... even if one does feel like a complete 1diot doing it.

  4. A beard on a man is a babe magnet by friend. Keep it. U can comb it etc, make it neat. Beards are in fashion bro. You see all these goray with manbuns and biker beards. They all be singhs really... ;) cheer up kid. Ur only 12. If you shave, ul soon regret it. Been there done that

    The point is when men's fashion bibles likes GQ and other style experts / writers decree in 2019/20 (for argument's sake) that beards are no longer en vogue for males, the Sikh kid - who's gained confidence and belief from these western celebrities who've been sporting facial hair in magazines, on blogs, and on TV - will be alarmed when he notices these same figures have shaved their beards and cut their hair, and that particular Sikh kid who's been lead to believe that keeping a beard is cool, because famous westerners are doing so, is up the creek without a paddle. By then one would hope he's progressed in his Sikhi to the extent that he doesn't need to rely on non-Sikhs with beards to give him confidence in his choices, but that's not a guarantee.

    White westerners with beards - and let's make no bones about it, it's a particularly small minority of middle class white westerners working in the media / fashion industries, as well those with counter-culture bohemian tendencies - are following a fad that's surviving on borrowed time.

    A Sikh does not have the choice to lop off his kesh when the fashion and style magazines decree the time period for a particular trend has reached its end, because for the Sikh his saroop isn't transitory unlike modern fashion trends. Also, on the whole, those fashion rules seldom apply to the dark-skinned, slightly shy, podgy, working class Sikh kid with poor bone structure, attending a comprehensive in Bristol or Bradford.

    Yes, for the moment, beards are "in", but for how long?

  5. Now...in 2015/2016.......when long bushy beards are ultra-fashionable throughout the western world......with everyone that is 'cool', from pop stars to male super-models....all sporting long bushy beards.......seems like a very strange time for an amritdhari Sikh male to say he doesn't like beards. :wow:

    It's cool as long as you're white... and the hair on the head is styled and coiffed to within an inch of its life. Otherwise - particularly if you're of the brown persuasion and the head is covered by a turban - it's business as usual.

    There's the odd exception (before anyone posts a picture of the Singh who has models hanging off his arms), but that's fantasy and not applicable to 99.9% of Sikhs on the ground.

    No, I'm afraid if one wishes to keep an uncut beard as part of their Sikhi, you do it because you'd like to make a commitment to Guru Sahib. Fashions come and go with the seasons; the things that truly matter don't.

    In this particular instance, the youngster wasn't mentally and emotionally developed enough to be trusted to make the decision to take Amrit. He was strong armed into by over-zealous camp organisers. I'm not sure how to react to that tbh: one side of me thinks its damaging to one's spiritual development, and it will most likely lead to the individual resenting his Gursikhi as a curse or a burden that he can't escape. But then the other side of me considers how certain other faiths employ similar tactics to increase their numbers, and at this moment in time we do require an increase in numbers. It's a conundrum, that's for sure.

  6. I think there another thing where people who have all their basic needs met by their parents (food, shelter etc.), now need to find some tribal sense of belonging to give them some sense or purpose in life.

    That's what I'm beginning to think all the Internet kharkuing about India and Khalistan is about for all those people 'furiously indignant' from the comfort of some leafy suburbia that they will never leave. lol

    Yeah, there's definitely that, and there's "The devil makes work for idle hands." When you want for nothing (or very little) and your life is one long stretch of inane yet idyllic bourgeois existence, you've gotta spice things up a little. What better way to pass the time and assauge one's religious and social conscience by demanding others shed blood and undergo hardships so you can claim you fought for independence for a whole race of people... behind a computer or smartphone screen.

  7. there is a brasilian saying my hubby says often 'complaining on a full belly' we call it Akiratghan "Bina Santokh nahin koi raja" as Guru ji puts it

    That's it. There's certain people who, no matter how much they have, or wherever they happen to be located, they'll never ever be pleased, because inside themselves they aren't at peace.

  8. Agree with the opinion that most UK Sikhs are negative. People who have a relatively drama-free life walk around with scowls on their face as if they're one Prozac away from ending it. I know for a fact these people honestly are no more or less troubled than any other person on the street. Every life has its ups and downs, and things occur behind closed doors, but for God's sake, cheer up. People have no idea how good they have it, they really don't. It's like the concept of Chardi Kala is alien to them. Probably haven't heard of it tbh.

  9. Thats not the right way of looking at it. It is a sign of human development / progress that one....once one has kids to think of....moves out of an area full of drugs, crime and litter and moves into a nice family area where, at the very least, one's children will grow up speaking English properly. It is, in fact, the people that stay behind in those areas who should have their ethics and ambition questioned.For example, why on earth would any young father and mother in Southall wish for his children to grow up in what is now officially the red-light (prostitution) and drugs capital of the whole of London ? What kind of parents would willingly, out of choice, bring their children up in such an environment ?

    Yeah, I kinda realised I was being out of line once I'd made the post. I guess I fell victim to a bit of idealised thinking. If one has the opportunity to move to a place that's safer and more prosperous, then, particularly for families, it's a bit of a no-brainer. I dunno, I suppose I'd like to see us closer as a community and working for not just "me and my own" but also for future Sikhs who've yet to arrive in those situations.

  10. It's human nature, there's no my group or your group, it's just keep taking what you can and ignore all the others.

    I guess. Even freshly arrived families from back home display those kind of tendencies or cultivate a similar mentality after a short while of living in the west, so it can't be a racial / communal trait. Or at least not overwhelmingly so.

  11. I was asking this to know what is the best alternate from meat to get sources of Protein? Is it multivitamins, or real food, or some protein shakes and whatnot+

    Raw spinach leaves (as part of a salad, uncooked), cottage cheese, and cucumber (believe it or not). These are easily available, and can be incorporated into a healthy desi diet with the minimum of fuss.

    Oh, and porridge!! Then start pumping some loha like it's about to go out of fashion.

  12. Yes, exactly. Seen it a dozen times.

    That's what I mean: at some point Sikhs have to get their own areas and put their flags down firmly. Instead of keep running away into white areas every few years.

    It'll never happen. It should, but it won't. When our lot get a whiff of success, it's every man for himself; last one to leave turn the lights out. There's just something very uniquely selfish and individualistic about certain strands of our collective personality that is, funnily enough, a trait also found in the native English. I guess a social anthropologist might be able to narrow it down to what exactly I'm alluding to; I'm not sure I fully know it myself, lol.

  13. The politics of today have actually given sullay a lot of sympathy too in my opinion. Today they are the underdog fighting a much, bigger powerful foe. This overcomes a lot of the negativity that stems from the media. Plus we (rightfully) have a lot of suspicion of the media these days too. There are so many of them that people in places like London are accustomed to being around them daily (even at work), this familiarity ameliorates the negative publicity.

    This is it. The "backs against the wall mentality" is quite an attractive prospect to most; rallying against the system, a David v Goliath situation.

  14. I agree. I put my hands up and say, I shouldn't have made those jokes about Hammertime's momma. But in my defense they were originally suggesting that Hammertime wasn't let out much, rather than any sexual innuendo. Lesson learnt. Apologies put out. I can't be doing that with this serious topic at hand.

    I'd been waiting to use that gif for ages. But, yeah, we're better than mata insults. It just isn't cricket, lol.

  15. I don't see the much of the physical discipline and strength, valour, courage, leadership, independent-mindedness, honour and self-sacrifice that marked out Amritdharis of the past in the ones of today. I think too many hide behind the achievements and legacy of our ancestors without taking the risks and making the sacrifices they did.

    These modern day braggarts are standing on the shoulders of the giants of yesteryear, and are so hopelessly deluded and lacking self-awareness that they think they themselves are not too far off that higher echelon of Sikhi where those legends resided. Laughable and embarrassing.

    At least some of us have the good grace to realise what we are, and are even shy to pretend that we're even close to being in such exalted company. Yet, the struggle continues; one has to work hard. It's the ones who believe the journey is over before any sacrifices were made, who need to have a word with themselves.

  16. Where did you get every Amritdhari was suddenly a Mahapurukh or something, Gurbani says Gurmukhs are very rare. When I mention Gurmukh I don't simply mean Amritdhari, I'm talking about legit Gurmukhs, (Not them badal wale).

    Gurmukh is not a word that should be wielded carelessly, and it definitely isn't a word that should be interchanged with Amritdhari. It is a word found in Gurbani, so to use it in the context of "real Gurmukhs" or otherwise, is rather dangerous and unnecessarily confusing.

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