Sikh temple shooter was military veteran who lived
nearby
“Associated Press and other news outlets, citing multiple
law enforcement authorities, identified him as Wade Michael Page, 40.
A
Defense Department official said records show a Wade M. Page who was in the
Army from 1992 to 1998, reaching the rank of sergeant but then being demoted to
specialist. He had trained at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and served at Fort Bliss in
Texas and Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Page worked as a Hawk missile system
repair person and later was detailed to Psychological Operations specialist,
the official said.
Sunday’s
mass shooting shocked the close-knit Sikh community and horrified Americans of
all backgrounds, coming just two weeks after a deadly movie-theater rampage in Aurora, Colo., in which agunman killed 12 people and injured 58. James Holmes,
24, has been charged in that massacre.
“Volunteers had gathered early at the theSikh Temple of
Wisconsin, as they do every
Sunday, to prepare Indian comfort food to nourish the faithful: lentils,
yogurt, and rice pudding. It’s a ritual of inclusion that, according to those
who return over and over, helps make Sunday prayers feel like a large family
reunion.”
““I think
some people misunderstand because we keep a long beard, and keep a turban. Some
people think we’re al-Qaeda,” said Prem Paul, a Sikh truck driver from South
Milwaukee who comes to the temple each weekend but arrived after the shooting.
“Police in Wisconsin say one suspect has been
"put down" outside a Sikh temple and they do not know if other
shooters are inside the building Authorities were called to the temple Sunday
morning with a report of shots fired.
“More than 500,000 adherents of the
Sikh faith live in the United States, most of them first- or second-generation
immigrants from India, where Sikhism was founded several centuries ago. Sikh
men tend to stand out because of their beards and colorful turbans, which are
ritually wrapped around uncut hair, and leaders in the community say they are
sometimes confused with Muslims and viewed with suspicion.
“After the attacks of Sept. 11,
2001, there were scattered reports nationwide of harassment or attacks on
Indian Sikhs. In a misguided act of vengeance, a Sikh gas station owner in Arizona,
Balbir Singh Sodhi, was killed…”
Cassi Creek: There are
enough hate groups in this nation to confuse the most diligent monitor
group. The Southern Poverty Law Center, http://www.splcenter.org/ , tracks them as
well as any civilian agency and nearly as well as some DOD task forces. Looking at the list of known militias,
church/family compounds, and other places where hatred of minorities is served
at every meal, there is no place in this nation that is free from their bigotry
and intolerance.
Reading their output, be
it website, newsletter, music, or martial chants, one think that is immediately
apparent is the lack of intellect they display.
Their core beliefs are inconsistent with modern history – something they
re-write to meet their purpose – and modern science is often feared as a source
of infiltration and manipulation by “the government.”
Their fear of “the
government” places them in close proximity to other facets of the voting
populace, particularly the teavangelists.
Put a pair of each in a locked room for a weekend and the result would
be truly repugnant to most thinking Americans but probably not that repellant
to Ms. Palin, Ms. Bachmann, or the scum on the top of a cup of the NRA’s
morning propaganda. Along with
hatred and decreased literacy goes confusion.
There is a very real probability that many of the attacks upon American
Sikhs have taken place because the attackers were unable to distinguish an
American Sikh from an American Muslim.
After all, they both are “different”, look foreign, and don’t love
Jesus.
As disgusting as it is to
be shot by a member of a hate group while living in a nation that promises a
rule of law and religious freedom for all; it is far more disgusting to be
murdered by an illiterate idiot who can’t even understand who he is shooting
at, or why.
If only the phrases, “too
stupid to shoot!” and “Too dumb to fuck!” were true.
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