Inside Man

To Dean Winkelspecht the reviewer of "Inside Man" your comment on the middle eastern man
"He shows a Middle Eastern man being roughed up and treated unfairly as if he is a terrorist".
This man is a Sikh he even tells the NYPD that he is a Sikh and explains again to the detectives that he is a Sikh and not an Arab, Sikhism is a religion from India nothing to do with Arabs or Islam.
I find this confusion commonplace from american media and credit to Spike Lee for illustrating this misconception. I also find it mind boggling that people like your self can still fall prey to this fallacy even when the distinction is explained to them in plain english in this very movie.
Please watch this part of the movie again and listen to the dialogue. Please get your facts right the next time you care to comment on someones ethnicity.

I don't believe Dean ever referred to him as an Arab.

chris,

the character's ethnicity would be indian, not middle-eastern.

eddie

There are Sikhs in the Middle East.

The actor is American, so whatcha gonna do?

My point is not to confuse Sikhs and Arabs just as the armed cop does in the movie. I admit my point sounds abit strange because its not comparing like for like eg Sikhs referring to a Religion from India and Arabs are referring to ethnicity. But this is whats happening when the cop sees Vikram. He automatically assumes judging from his appearance that he is an Arab and not just an Arab but a suicide bomber.
What annoyed me was having watched this movie the reviewer still says
"He shows a Middle Eastern man being roughed up and treated unfairly as if he is a terrorist"
The actor was portraying a Sikh it was all spelled out and yet he still see the character as a middle eastern man.
The reviewer talks about how he feels this is one of the more mainstream efforts by Spike Lee (which i agree with) and how he "make some references to the social climate after 9ᆟ". Well this particular reference went completley over the reviewers head.
The only thing i want to be taken out of this is Sikhs being recognized as Sikhs or as in this case an actor portraying a Sikh.
Thank you for your comments

OK, that makes more sense. I am assuming also that Lee was basing this point on the real-life killing of a Sikh in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 because he was mistaken for a "Middle Easterner" or "terrorist."

Here's a way to keep it simple.

Khan from Star Trek was a Sikh. So anyone who looks like Ricardo Montalban must also be a Sikh.

Everyone else is probably a terrorist.

I wish that was as ridiculous as it sounded, but it appears our "racial profiling" techniques aren't much more sophisticated.

I was not aware that a Sikh was killed after 9/11, was this a revenge killing by a civilian or police related? Was anyone charged over it?
Only a few days ago back here in England the Met Poloce have been found guilty of breaching H & S laws when they shot dead Jean Charles de Menezes who was mistaken for a terrorist involved in the London bombings.
Thanks again

It was a revenge killing by some sick-ass vigilante who thought he was being a patriot.

**Balbir Singh Sodhi was gunned down on Sept. 15, 2001 in Mesa, Arizona. The turban-wearing Sikh was killed outside his gas station. Sodhi's killer spent the hours before the murder in a bar, bragging of his intention to "kill the ragheads responsible for September 11." He has been convicted and sits on death row.**

Thats very sad to hear but thank you for sharing your knowledge with me and highlighting my ignorance. I have enjoyed talking with you.
Take care mate
from Navdeep

chris: salaam alaikum. (Y)

I think you mean to say Sat Sri Akal.
LOL, this conversation has gone full circle but thanks for the gesture.

actually, i meant to make a "mistake". after all, i do know the difference between an arab and a sikh. :)