Self-portraits by the author.
People
Where Are You From?
VISHAVJIT SINGH
This is one of the most common questions hurled my way in public. My quick response is: from right here in the U.S.
For many this is not a satisfying response, so they prod further. But where are you from really?
Okay, I am from all over. Born in Washington, DC, I spent my childhood in India, went to college and graduate school in California, then moved to the East Coast.
So you are from India?
-- No, my parents are, but I am American.
That’s the end of this discourse in just about all instances.
The innate urge on the part of many of my fellow Americans to somehow place me firmly in the “foreign” category is amusing and frustrating at the same time.
There is no such thing as an American “look,” yet the juxtaposition of beard and turban in our contemporary times seems to mark me as the ultimate “other.”
How much can you tell about me by just looking?
Not much.
Most Americans misplace me in a geography more indicative of our collective programming through war engagements in the Middle East. A few who do guess my ethnic heritage might pat themselves on the back for accurately placing me, but they are not that far removed from the ignorant ones.
Then there are the multitude of labels I place upon myself.
I am a cartoonist, a writer, a costume player, a software engineer, married, turbaned, bearded, American, Sikh -- just to name a few.
While all of these identifications are true, they don’t contain the essence of who I am. What defines me are not the identifications -- be they social, cultural, national, religious, or professional -- but the never ending transitions that breathe life into my existence.
These demographic labels might seem natural, useful to helping us understand the march of human history into the future, but they are often stale in their perspective. They highlight our enormous diversity, our differences, all the while hiding the transformative impulses and actions that bind together us as a species.
These perceived differences over time have contributed to the discourse of “us,” “them,” “high,” “low,” “citizen,” “alien,” etc. Violence has been inflicted in the name of these denominations. Mythologies have been constructed to feed this perpetual tale of divisions. Power has been wielded to benefit from this chauvinism. Ideologies have been canonized to solemnize these so-called unions.
So perhaps next time you see a stranger and have the impulse to ask, “Who are you?” or “Where you are from?” instead try, “What is your story?”
Then you just might hear a tale of movements, journeys breathing across time and space that won’t seem foreign, but rather like an intriguing tale of fiction that connects with you at a personal level. The characters might be of a different hue, but the arch of their stories might intersect with your own personal saga.
[Courtesy: Hyphen]
September 30, 2014
Conversation about this article
1: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), September 30, 2014, 11:37 AM.
I have been studying in the United States for over a year now and I have had the same experiences. In Canada, I was never asked where I am originally from, but here in the US I am asked occasionally. It is quite annoying. There is an assumption here by the 'white' community that all colored people are immigrants. I think it is hard for most to fathom that there are probably more children of color born in the country than there are those who immigrate to the US. This statement may be a bit of an overstatement, but there are many communities such as the Sikh diaspora which have achieved critical mass where immigrants supplement the community born here rather than sustaining it. Of course, I don't think things are too much better in Canada. My hometown is 16% Punjabi according to an official survey, so its probably realistically closer to 20%. My Punjabi friends and I went to schools where we were not obliterated in numbers by white children, and the latter grew up with us from K-12. A few years ago during my undergrad on the first day of class there was an ice breaking exercise where a sheet of questions was supposed to be answered by asking random students if they had experienced or participated in certain events. I was shocked, when as the only "brown" person in the class every single white person came up to me and asked me if I was born outside of Canada to answer one of the questions. It would be impossible for these people to have gone through an entire school system without Punjabi classmates. I suppose Canadians are just as ignorant as Americans, they are just polite about it, just like their racism.
2: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), September 30, 2014, 6:26 PM.
If we truly live in Sikhi, the world rises up to us, our identity, ideology, decency and Truth!
3: Manbir Banwait (Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada), October 01, 2014, 2:02 AM.
For the last few years, I've split my time between Abbotsford, British Columbia, and Fort McMurray, Alberta. Abbotsford is a mix of everyone from all walks of life. Fort McMurray, on the other hand, was mostly a 'white' blue-collar town. Before that, I spent time working in Europe, Iraq, Nigeria, and have traveled to 42 countries. Out of all that traveling, I found that racism was mostly from within the Indian / Punjabi community. Ive been asked many times what my background is, or if I was born here in Canada. Most folks are just curious. Perhaps they've never really encountered "brown" people in their day-to-day lives. People from the subcontinent on the other hand will cut right to the chase, what village are you from, what caste are you, don't hang out with blacks, or goras, or Muslims, or Hindus, with generic smears for all these folks. Yes, Canadians may be polite about racism. I'd rather deal with a polite racist then a egotistical Indian racist, though. At least a polite racist may be persuaded to change his attitude. However, some one who is engrained with hate? Good luck. Might as well try to convince ISIS to put down their guns.
4: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), October 01, 2014, 11:07 PM.
@3: To be honest, back home I have never been asked what my caste is, although I have been asked what my village is, something which I think is a very benign request. It may have to do with the fact that Grewal is a large clan and therefore people just assume I am a jutt without needing to ask. Also, I would be very cautious on comparing the types of labels that are discussed in the Punjabi community towards others and the ones perpetuated by the 'white' majority. I would agree that we are taught "truths" about other communities from a young age and that some of these statements are borderline intolerant. However, I have never heard of any Punjabi back home getting violent with 'whites' either physically or verbally because of the labels which they have created for them leading to a toxic hate which foments in their minds. I cannot say the same for the majority community.