Author: singhal.104

My Name is Khan- Singhal

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My name is Khan is a bollywood movie that hit the theaters in 2010. This is a movie about Rizwan Khan an autistic immigrant living in the United States and his journey to meet the President of the United States. The plot of the movie summarizes the lives of muslim Americans pre and post 9/11. The open racism and islamophobia is clearly depicted in this movie. This movie also shows the hardships that many immigrants face in this country. One such example is when Rizwan tries to find work. It is incredibly hard for him to find a job because he is first an immigrant and second he is a muslim man and lastly he is a man with disability. However, Rizwan is determined to find work and earn money in an honest way. Furthermore, the movie focuses specifically on America’s reaction towards muslim people. The power struggle between the two groups is shown thoroughly in this movie. A very specific scene that shows this is the death scene of Rizwan’s step son Sameer. The scene shows a bunch of white boys beating Sameer up and calling him foul names. They call him a “Paki” and “Osama’s son”, the scene eventually ends with Sameer’s death. This goes to show the power struggle between the white group of boys and Sameer. These boys felt as if they had more power over Sameer just because they were Americans and white. They felt powerful enough to take his life. This is the event that triggers Rizwan’s journey to Washington D.C. As he flies out to his destination he gets stopped by airport security because of his islamic name. They question him for hours and let others go by. This is sadly still a reality in this country. Many muslim people find themselves in this similar situation when they fly into this country. At the end of the story we get to see Rizwan seeing the President and telling him “My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist”. I think the purpose of this movie was to inform people about the injustice many muslim personels were facing after 9/11. Moreover, the audiences were able to get educated on important topics such as islamophobia and racism. This movie covered a lot of important educational topics and persuaded people to talk and learn more about immigrants, racism, islamophobia and disabilities.

Sad that 'My Name Is Khan' is still relevant: SRK

“Yo, is this Racist…” Podcast by Jayant Singhal, Matt Zassick, and Tara Timsina

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George Floyd and Derek Chauvin

George Floyd and now-former Officer Derek Chauvin

A famous late night TV show host, Tara Timsina had two well-known experts Matt Zassick and Jayant Singhal on his TV show to talk about African American Rights and Systemic Injustices. The whole transcript of the show is provided below:

Tara: Good Morning Everyone, I am your late night host Tara, and today I have two experts, Dr. Jayant Singhal and Dr. Matt Zassick with me to discuss African American Rights and Systemic Injustices. Now I’ll give them both a moment to introduce themselves. 

Jayant: Hello Good Morning Everyone, my name is Jayant Singhal. I have a PhD in Social Injustices from Harvard and I have written multiple books addressing these issues.

Matt: Hello Good Morning Everyone, my name is Matt Zassick. I have a PhD in African American Studies from Princeton, and I have also written multiple books addressing these issues.

Tara: Okay amazing, let’s get started then. So as we all have heard on May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on his neck for nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds while he was lying face down handcuffed on the street. His death, and many other horrifying acts of social injustice both before and in the wake of his passing, have rightly led to international moral outrage and plenty of peaceful protests in the name of justice. There are countless other cases where courts give higher sentences or bail to minorities and African American offenders. This has been going on for a long time anywhere from pulling innocent people over for no apparent reason, to killing innocent African Americans. Fueling this are the attitudes associated with racial profiling. The biggest form of systemic injustice in modern day America ranges from Police brutality in the streets to the sentencing in the criminal Justice System particularly against minorities especially those of African American descent. Therefore, do you guys think this was a form of racism? More importantly, what is racism? The defination per dictionary states: Racism is the prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior .

Matt: Now that the full details of the incident and the resulting court cases are complete, we can be sure about what exactly happened on May 25. The lack of concern for George Floyd’s life has revealed a presence of systemic racism in the Minneapolis police department and American police as a whole. The officers who are responsible for Floyd’s death used unreasonable force to deal with the situation for no reason. 

Jayant: I believe what happened that day was surely an act of racism. Racism is treating others differently just because of their race, and that is exactly what happened on May 25, 2020. George Floyd was brutally killed just because he used a fake $20 bill, however, many other people of a different race have done worse and were not killed. Therefore, yes this was an act of racism. 

Tara: Okay, now do you guys think  George Floyd threatened the policemen’s life? Because we can’t tell what George had said to the police officers. We can’t be sure if George threatened the policemen’s lives by saying something that indicates that. However, from an objective evidence point of view with the available videos, the FOUR police officers had full control of George’s movement and there is no reason to overreact to anything that he said. Police actions were simply immoral, Floyd’s life is being taken away for unjust reasons. Now what do you guys’ think? 

Matt: Thankfully there was appropriate video footage released, both from body cameras and witness’ cell phones. The body cameras of the first officers on scene reveal the context of the situation. A corner store manager called the police because George Floyd and another man supposedly tried to use a counterfeit bill to purchase items. While this is illegal, it is such a minor offense. I have worked in multiple grocery stores for years and have dealt with many counterfeit bills. Usually when someone had a counterfeit we would just confiscate it, and depending on the reaction from the person giving it, we would either refuse their purchases or give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they did not know it was counterfeit. Regardless of whether the shop owner should or shouldn’t have involved the police is not the point. The officers knew exactly how insignificant the situation was and acted completely unreasonably. At the very most, the officers could have just written a ticket for George Floyd, but as we know, that is far from what actually happened. Moreover, Store owner, Mike Abumyyaleh, recounted that Floyd was a regular customer saying he, “may not have even known that the bill was counterfeit.”Cup Foods owner says he will pay for George Floyd's funeral

 Corner store that initially contacted police

Jayant: I totally agree with Mr. Zassick here. At no point was George Floyd a threat to the police officers. Moreover, he only used a fake bill which should only cost him a ticket, not his death.

Tara: Okay, now what would you say, Was racial profiling involved in that incident and do you call this a systemic racism?

Matt: Like Tara said, people do in fact make harsher judgements about black people. Unfortunately stereotyping is prolific in America, especially with police. It goes so far that police use racial profiling as a technique to make contact with suspects. Stereotyping is indoctrinated in modern police tactics which creates major problems. Chimamanda Adichie, the author of the very famous “The Danger of a Single Story” Ted Talk can offer some support here. In her talk, Adichie explains that single narratives of a person because of how they look or where they are from can dictate their treatment by other people. Her definition of the word ‘nkali’ is important, “It’s a noun that loosely translates to ‘to be greater than another.’ Like our economic and political worlds, stories too are defined by the principle of nkali. How they are told, who tells them, when they’re told, how many stories are told, are really dependent on power.” In the case of George Floyd, the Minneapolis Police department indoctrinated the idea of ‘nkali’ into their officers. The officers were taught that because of a person’s skin color or criminal record, they are not worthy of humane treatment. Once a person has the wrong profile from a police perspective, they are not assumed to be innocent until proven guilty. They are guilty and need to be proved innocent. 

Jayant: I think that people unconsciously make harsher judgments about African Americans. In a study it was proved that Black people are 3.5 times more likely than white people to be killed by police when they are not attacking or do not have a weapon. I consider Floyd’s death as an example of systemic racism; treatment of George Floyd was objectively immoral since Floyd’s natural rights were completely disregarded. Floyd, who was handcuffed and struggling to breathe, obviously posed no threat to Chauvin and the three other officers at his side. Floyd clearly seemed profiled and received ill treatment. I believe if it was another gentleman of another race then that individual would not have been dead right now.

Tara: That really shows how wrong our society is. Now, what do you think happened to the culture of the police department? Why have they lost sight of its mission to serve and protect?

Matt: Peoples’ beliefs regarding equality would need to change, and the police would have to refrain from acting on instincts, such as shooting a person just because they are deemed to be suspicious, but rather be rational and use logic before making life-or-death decisions.

Jayant: I agree, even though people have gained positions of power and authority does not mean they will carry out their duties in a righteous manner. Things would need to change to help put an end to this discrimination against African Americans.

Tara: Mhm, how do you think we can enhance police accountability in the US?

Jayant: Most people perceive that if a police officer did something, he or she was doing it for their protection or the greater good of society. So, the bar for charging and convicting police officers is higher than the bar for regular citizens.

Matt: I agree Moreover,  Police officers who have acted unlawfully or in a case that is considered police brutality, those officers are being let resign instead of getting fired which gives those bad officers ability to work in another department and injustice against victims continues. This needs to change.

Tara: Amazing, thank you so much for sharing some insights and opinion on these issues with our audiences Dr. Zassick and Dr. Singhal. We really appreciate it.

Jayant and Matt: You are very welcome Tara

Tara: And for my Audience, a quick summary would be:

African Americans have always been low down and victims of racism in their daily lives. In this segment we only talk about African Americans, however, we know racism is all over the world. More than African Americans, every other race is a victim of racism. How do you think you can help while sitting home? A simple solution is to be just nice to others, smile when you see each other, help when you see someone in need and just by doing that you will be making a change in society. That’s all for tonight guys have a good night.

 

References

Counterfeit bill: 

Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas and Wright, Will. “Little has been said about the $20 bill that brought officers to the scene.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/19/us/george-floyd-bill-counterfeit.html, Accessed November 11, 2021. 

Store Owner Testimony:

Burke, Minyvonne. “Owner of Minneapolis grocery store says he told employee ‘call the police on the police’ as she witnessed George Floyd death.” NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/owner-minneapolis-grocery-store-says-he-told-employee-call-police-n1216461, Accessed November 11, 2021. 

Cup Foods Image: 

“Cup Foods.” Google Maps. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cup+Foods/@44.9341344,-93.264591,16.85z/data=!3m1!5s0x87f627de182a8011:0x300d50dfaad63d78!4m5!3m4!1s0x87f627de19ee94ad:0x656965ff9de6fce5!8m2!3d44.9342949!4d-93.2622641, Accessed November 11, 2021. 

Single Story Ted Talk:

Adichie, Chimamanda. “The Danger of a Single Story.” TED Talks, Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg, Accessed November 11, 2021. 

 

 

 

Tax on Pads- Singhal Systematic Injustice

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Women have always been looked down and considered inferior. Woman from the start of humanity have been considered the “other” and men were considered the “one.” This thinking started way back when women stayed home and cooked meals and took care of the house, while men were out working in fighting wars. However, now women are equal to men. They can do everything and anything a man can do. Even though, they can do anything and everything men can do, they are still not considered equal in society today.

This can be seen in day-to-day basis. Woman on average make less than men, women are still expected to take care of the house and the people living in it, women are less likely to get hired just because they are a woman, and examples like these can go on forever. However, one systematic injustice I noticed with woman, in general was when I was out with my sister, and she was buying tampons. She told me and I noticed there is a luxury tax on them. Luxury tax is a type of tax that is applied on luxury items. Hearing that I was shook. Menstrual cycle is something that every woman goes through in her life. Therefore, it’s a necessity, the government cannot tax a tampon as a luxury item as it is an item that every woman requires. Luxury tax should only be applied on expensive cars, private jets, yachts, etc. This is clearly systematic injustice towards women. This also goes along with de Beauvoir’s theory of one and the other. In this scenario, Men are the one and Women are the other.

The solution for this is that the law should be repealed. Tampons should not be taxed as luxury item as it is a thing that women require and need. Fortunately, Ohio has repealed the law and now tampons are no longer taxed as a luxury item. However, there are many other states in the United States that are still taxing tampons as luxury. So, I think the laws should be repealed and tampons should not be taxed as luxury.

Petition · Make Pads + Tampons EXEMPT from NY State Sales Tax · Change.org

“Sign the Petition.” Change.org, https://www.change.org/p/ny-state-legislature-make-pads-tampons-exempt-from-ny-state-sales-tax?redirect=false.

Children in Foster Care Systems Especially Children of Color- Week 10

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In the novel “The Leavers” by Lisa Ko raises some important questions that we as a society have yet to answer and come to a conclusion to. In the novel, Lisa Ko talks about Polly Guo and her son, Deming. The son was put up to adoption and was adopted by American Parents who changed his name to Daniel. This raises the very important question of Adoption and what is right and what is not. Another issue raised is that how hard can it be for someone to change identities and eventually find their own.

Being a person of color is hard enough in today’s world. Moreover, one can only imagine what it is like being put up for adoption being a person of color. In the novel, Deming is of Korean descent and later due to being adopted had to change his identify and since then had an identity crisis. From personal experience of moving to America, I had a hard time fitting in. Moreover, at this time in my life, I think I don’t completely belong in either India or here.

However, regarding adoption, “According to a 2017 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report, the number of children in the foster care system nationally has increased for the fourth year in a row. A similar report last year stated, “Nearly three quarters (71%) of U.S. states have reported an increase in the numbers of children entering foster care from 2014-15” (Julieburdick). Moreover, children of color are less likely to be adopted.

 

Works Cited

Julieburdick. “Foster Care in America: Realities, Challenges and Solutions.” KVC Health Systems, 2 June 2020, https://www.kvc.org/blog/foster-care-in-america/.

Ko, Lisa. The Leavers: A Novel. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2018.

Kools, Susan M. “Adolescent Identity Development in Foster Care.” Family Relations, vol. 46, no. 3, [National Council on Family Relations, Wiley], 1997, pp. 263–71, https://doi.org/10.2307/585124.