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Sikh man beaten with steel pipe in Fresno hate crime

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Air Langhi, May 9, 2013.

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  1. Air Langhi

    Air Langhi Contributing Member

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    FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno police say they're disturbed by the brutal attack on an 81-year-old Sikh man. They upgraded the charges against 29-year-old Gilbert Garcia. He now faces attempted murder and will likely be charged with hate crime and elder abuse.

    The 81-year-old victim is expected to make a full recovery, but does have a punctured lung, a fractured jaw and staples in his head.

    His nephew Paul Sihota said, "When it's time to get together we find each other."

    Sihota says his family is honored by the response from his community, and honored by the hundreds who packed the Southwest Fresno temple.

    Community members took the podium, held a moment of silence and spoke about "understanding the problem" and told the audience, "If we do not take strong step it will happen again."

    The community certainly has the support from both local and federal authorities who are aggressively investigating the brutal beating of Piara Singh.

    Singh was doing what he does every Sunday, volunteering at his local temple. That's when police say, out of nowhere, Gilbert Garcia attacked him with a steel pipe.

    Chief Jerry Dyer told a temple full of people that the crime has led him to one conclusion.

    "Mr. Singh was targeted because of who he was, what he was wearing, his ethnicity, his religion."

    Dyer called it an isolated incident, saying Garcia does not have a history of hate crimes and that it's not related to other attacks on members of the Sikh community.

    Chief Dyer added, "What we don't want is for people to become fearful or paranoid, if we do, they win, but we do need to be aware of the individuals trying to harm you folks."

    Sharnjit Purewal, Associate Secretary of the Sikh Council of Central California said, "Generally we feel like we're accepted, when something like this happens, it's shocking and very hurtful."

    The Council says it's next stop is action, and education.

    "Getting to know your neighbor is not a bad idea," said Paul Sihota. "Just because he wears a turban or some other different dress doesn't make him a terrorist."

    Members of the Sikh community are holding another town hall meeting this weekend to come up with ideas about how to raise awareness about who they are and what they represent. It's slated for Saturday, May 11th, at 5pm at the temple on South Cherry Street in Fresno.

    http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=9094041

    Maybe the OCP can visit mr. garcia.
     
    #1 Air Langhi, May 9, 2013
  2. ferrari77

    ferrari77 Contributing Member

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    Sickening.
    Just terrible!
     
    #2 ferrari77, May 9, 2013
  3. Fyreball

    Fyreball Contributing Member

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    Ignorance at its fullest. Great job, Gilbert. I hope that steel pipe gets crammed where the sun don't shine.
     
    #3 Fyreball, May 9, 2013
  4. Xenochimera

    Xenochimera Contributing Member

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    thats sikh
     
    #4 Xenochimera, May 9, 2013
  5. BigBird

    BigBird Contributing Member

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    [​IMG]
     
    #5 BigBird, May 9, 2013
  6. tmoney1101

    tmoney1101 Contributing Member

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    [​IMG]
     
    #6 tmoney1101, May 9, 2013
  7. Nice Rollin

    Nice Rollin Contributing Member

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    If you're gonna hate someone, at least do some research. Sikhism and Islam isn't even close to the same
     
    #7 Nice Rollin, May 9, 2013
  8. DreamRoxCoogFan

    DreamRoxCoogFan Member

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    That's the beauty of ignorance and bigotry though. They don't concern themselves with pivotal details.
     
    #8 DreamRoxCoogFan, May 9, 2013
  9. rezdawg

    rezdawg Contributing Member

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    I hate that this world is filled with stupid.
     
    #9 rezdawg, May 9, 2013
  10. hotballa

    hotballa Contributing Member

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    So where does it state that its a hate crime? All i know is a crazy dude beat up an old guy.
     
    #10 hotballa, May 9, 2013
  11. bigtexxx

    bigtexxx Contributing Member

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    First off, this is tragic and despicable.

    One thing I take issue with from the story, though, is where is the evidence that Garcia committed a hate crime? How do we know he wasn't attacking him for some other reason than the fact he was Sikh?

    I hate it when people just throw out that it's a hate crime just because the 81 year old was a Sikh. It could have been for other reasons.
     
    #11 bigtexxx, May 9, 2013
  12. DudeWah

    DudeWah Member

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    <br>
    What viable reason is there to attack an 81 year old man?

    If it's not a hate crime because he's Sikh it has to be that it's a hate crime against the elderly.
     
    #12 DudeWah, May 9, 2013
  13. DreamRoxCoogFan

    DreamRoxCoogFan Member

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    good to see hotballa and bigtexxx pairing up on this one. Why not ask Honey Bear for his take to make it a trifecta?


    kudos on staying committed to your roles for so long, it must be tough not to break character.
     
    #13 DreamRoxCoogFan, May 9, 2013
  14. AXG

    AXG Member

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    Everybody has a race, therefore it's racist.
     
    #14 AXG, May 9, 2013
  15. bigtexxx

    bigtexxx Contributing Member

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    Are you kidding? There could be any number of reasons. Verbal comments, being in his way, etc. None of them are justifiable or lawful in any way, but there could be reasons why somebody would do that.

    Where does it say that? The comments from the story claimed he was targeted for his ethnicity and religion.
     
    #15 bigtexxx, May 9, 2013
  16. bigtexxx

    bigtexxx Contributing Member

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    tell me where I'm wrong, rather than just trying to attack posters (which of course is a sign that you're unable to argue based on fact and logic)
     
    #16 bigtexxx, May 9, 2013
  17. hotballa

    hotballa Contributing Member

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    Again where does it say he was targeted because hes a shikh? You know there are ppl in this world who are just crazy right?
     
    #17 hotballa, May 9, 2013
  18. BEAT LA

    BEAT LA Member

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    I beat up random old people every day just for kicks.
     
    #18 BEAT LA, May 9, 2013
  19. DreamRoxCoogFan

    DreamRoxCoogFan Member

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    tell me where I attacked you, rather than just trying to put words in my mouth (which of course is a sign that you're deflecting).

    I merely stated the events that happened.
     
    #19 DreamRoxCoogFan, May 9, 2013
  20. bigtexxx

    bigtexxx Contributing Member

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    now you're backpedaling

    you lumped me in with Honey Bear and claimed I was acting "in character"
     
    #20 bigtexxx, May 9, 2013
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