Are Sikhs A Pit Bull Race That Enjoys Fighting & Arguing With Our Own Kind?

[dontcallmebhaji 26]

Why do members of our community get so much joy from each others misery? Lets be honest if we could chose our relatives i know what i would do! There is no togetherness, we put down an apni in an instant but praise an apna, even though his a good for nothing sod! WHY? Has it always been like this? Is there any respect, how are we meant to grow our Sikhi if were all self confessed scholars of sikhism with our own personal twist of what is right and what is wrong?

[MisterrSingh 4,783]

Every race or community has its common shared traits. I think we have a proud, headstrong streak running through us, which isn't so bad if channelled correctly. From what I can gather many of our elders (the parents of our grandparents and earlier) were very decent and simple folk, genuine salt of the earth types, and despite not having any formal education they were nevertheless possessor's of wisdom and principles. I think as the years have gone by and there's been migration to the West, as well as a general increase in status and wealth amongst our people, the aforementioned self-satisfaction at assuming we've "made it" has crept into our psyche, and with that the onset of hubris, that we are incapable of thinking and doing any wrong, has become an emerging trait of ours. Mix that kind of mentality with a binary comprehension and application of complex and rather nuanced religious matters, which are being simplified and stripped bare to appeal to the lowest common denominator, and you end up with a lot of loud voices declaring many things with very little forethought and care.

But I think this is an issue with many, many people in the world today not just Sikhs. It just seems to be amplified on places like this forum because of the seemingly lack of any real consequences to making spurious claims or disrespecting others.

[S4NGH 755]

Punjabism my friend. Not sikhi.

[dontcallmebhaji 26]

I still think we argue and fight amongst ourselves way to much. I see it everywhere, our people trying to get one over on each other and glee in others misery, why? Were all always right, and never wrong. We all have great sayings on how to be good but the one that gets my goat is hypocrites with so called high morals. Don't get me wrong i love my people and very proud to be a Sikh but i too often see our own kind trying to direct each other in the wrong direction.

[TigerStyleZ 35]

You are "proud" to be a Sikh. What are you proud for? It is false EGO that you are carrying in yourself and displaying on other... We cant be proud to be Sikhs but we should be GRATEFUL to be Sikhs..

People fight because of THEIR EGO. Thats why there is no UNION or EGO. They always want to be RIGHT, no MATTER WHAT. They even ignore GURU SAHIB. Whilst GURU SAHIB ji gave us EVERYTHING AND EVERY ANSWER. We are not willing to take it as it is , because we DONT want to hear the TRUTH. Always adding our own SPIN and crazyness that we think is "right". No CRITICAL thinking at all. Just BLINDESS and fooling. Self focused. Not paying attention to others, not taking critism, because we ARE "ALLWAYS" right.. Its sad tho. We are NOT RESEARCHING /COMPARING and Compromising . Thats why we will NEVER get unity. People get distracted to fast from FALSEHOOD. They are on the layers of the ONION but not in the CORE. Due to LACK of COMPREHINDING UNDERSTANDING AND LEARNING.

[eduardo 193]

Mix that kind of mentality with a binary comprehension and application of complex and rather nuanced religious matters, which are being simplified and stripped bare to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

Brilliant.

Your whole post was a pleasure to read actually.

I especially liked the roots of Punjabi culture.

I am surrounded by Punjabi's at the moment and am trying to find myself some common ground.

[MisterrSingh 4,783]

Brilliant.

Your whole post was a pleasure to read actually.

I especially liked the roots of Punjabi culture.

I am surrounded by Punjabi's at the moment and am trying to find myself some common ground.

The part of my post you quoted actually worries me greatly. I can't put my finger on it precisely, but I feel trouble lies ahead. There is a startling lack of unity amongst Sikhs. Not on a Sunni-Shia level, because fundamentally all Sikhs believe in the same core philosophies. It could be nothing; hopefully I'm proven wrong.

Panjabi culture in its truest, noblest, and sophisticated form is wonderful. There's a great deal of wistful mysticism that permeates so much of it that I've been drawn to since a child. The other aspects such as the overtly boisterous and less than considered behaviour of some sections I'm not really a fan of, lol.

I wish you luck in making bridges with my Panjabi brethren. I'm sure there's a few good eggs knocking about still!

[eduardo 193]

Well I would probably get on a whole lot better if I understood what the people surrounding me were talking about.

I mean I have been treated to a langar at work quite a few times and the Punjabi women (if that's the right term) always seem to do a lot

of work for charity so I know that something good is there.

However I do sense a lot of interference in other peoples lives for instance especially from woman to woman.

You know if a woman is nearing thirty there seems to be a lot of comments aimed at her like "you should be married and have children by now"

You know stuff like that but the ladies do get things organised together especially with charitable events so there must be some unity amongst them still.

Also I have heard of coach trips organised by the community where they all chip in and hire a coach and driver and have a day out.

A collective mentality that still does exist.

The other good thing I have seen is the financial self reliance aspect of the people.

Punjabi people at work don't like to accept state handouts, they seem to take pride in paying their own way.

Also I am just scratching the surface of the music so this really is a learning curve for me but at the moment it's Punjabi language that really defeats me.

The other thing I'm not sure about is the religion and how seriously people take it.

I mean are there fanatics out there who totally lose the plot if the religion is criticised?

[MisterrSingh 4,783]

Well I would probably get on a whole lot better if I understood what the people surrounding me were talking about.

I mean I have been treated to a langar at work quite a few times and the Punjabi women (if that's the right term) always seem to do a lot

of work for charity so I know that something good is there.

However I do sense a lot of interference in other peoples lives for instance especially from woman to woman.

You know if a woman is nearing thirty there seems to be a lot of comments aimed at her like "you should be married and have children by now"

You know stuff like that but the ladies do get things organised together especially with charitable events so there must be some unity amongst them still.

Also I have heard of coach trips organised by the community where they all chip in and hire a coach and driver and have a day out.

A collective mentality that still does exist.

The other good thing I have seen is the financial self reliance aspect of the people.

Punjabi people at work don't like to accept state handouts, they seem to take pride in paying their own way.

Also I am just scratching the surface of the music so this really is a learning curve for me but at the moment it's Punjabi language that really defeats me.

The other thing I'm not sure about is the religion and how seriously people take it.

I mean are there fanatics out there who totally lose the plot if the religion is criticised?

The "Thirty and Married with kids" line is very common, lol. I use to think it was Panjabis who were the most unashamedly vocal about such advice, but other cultures, especially where the family unit is central, are also like that. It's just a reflex action amongst a certain age group I think, nothing sinister, hehe.

As I mentioned earlier we are a proud people, and one positive aspect of that is a willingness to work hard and earn our keep. Plus, Sikhi greatly encourages working hard and earning from the sweat of one's brow (literally back in the day and now figuratively if referring to white collar jobs), so that ethos of being able to pay your own way without resorting to accepting handouts is something that's key to most Sikhs.

I find commenting on other people's religious convictions - or lack thereof - is a fool's game. It's something I try hard to avoid because it's very easy to label people based on assumptions. I'm not God I don't know what resides in their hearts, so like I said, it's something I use to do, and sometimes still do, but I'm trying to stamp it out. But on balance based on my own observations very few truly understand what the religion is, and that includes the secular Punjabis who think Sikhi is antiquaited and irrelevant to their lives, as well as the religious zealots who hide behind God whilst practicing hypocrisy and intolerance. It's the same everywhere though isn't it, I mean, these aren't solely Sikh problems, but the kind of dilemmas all people are facing regardless of where they're from.

[dontcallmebhaji 26]

You are "proud" to be a Sikh. What are you proud for? It is false EGO that you are carrying in yourself and displaying on other... We cant be proud to be Sikhs but we should be GRATEFUL to be Sikhs..

People fight because of THEIR EGO. Thats why there is no UNION or EGO. They always want to be RIGHT, no MATTER WHAT. They even ignore GURU SAHIB. Whilst GURU SAHIB ji gave us EVERYTHING AND EVERY ANSWER. We are not willing to take it as it is , because we DONT want to hear the TRUTH. Always adding our own SPIN and crazyness that we think is "right". No CRITICAL thinking at all. Just BLINDESS and fooling. Self focused. Not paying attention to others, not taking critism, because we ARE "ALLWAYS" right.. Its sad tho. We are NOT RESEARCHING /COMPARING and Compromising . Thats why we will NEVER get unity. People get distracted to fast from FALSEHOOD. They are on the layers of the ONION but not in the CORE. Due to LACK of COMPREHINDING UNDERSTANDING AND LEARNING.

we should all be proud to be sikhs, its this attack mentality that i dislike. A bit like a pit bull! Can we not have a civilised conversation and speak openly and honestly and maybe sometimes agree the other person is right and build on it? How strange would that be........ The fact of the matter is there is way to many chiefs and not enough Indians in our community. For all its faults I'm proud of our heritage and by speaking openly and honestly we can elevate ourselves even further.

[eduardo 193]

As well as the religious zealots who hide behind God whilst practicing hypocrisy and intolerance. It's the same everywhere though isn't it, I mean, these aren't solely Sikh problems, but the kind of dilemmas all people are facing regardless of where they're from.

It certainly is the same everywhere. :smile2:

[eduardo 193]

I wish you had a music section:

[JSinghnz 1,086]

Just shows the immaturity of the OP by the way he has chosen to make that comparcomparison.May be blessed with sense to think and write.

[dontcallmebhaji 26]

I appreciate this is some what common in other communities but with us it seams to be worse. Divorce is more of a sin on the woman and she is practically banished from the community ,an apni goes astray just once, she and her family has a black mark against them, gudwara can't agree on what to do amongst themselves, not being able to trust your fellow brother and sister because you think they may be jealous of you, your relatives in india always trying to con you out of money, the list goes on and on.

I go to a lot of childrens sporting events in my local area and see people from all walks of life but to this day on i have never seen a Sikh Grand Parent,from both sides of the marriage, cheering on their grandchild. No one say this is cultural and traditional because these guys meet up at funerals ( preferably not their own), weddings,religious ceremonies etc........

[StarStriker 1,062]

I wish you had a music section

Check this, great song n very moving.