Target domestic terrorists first

We all know about the tragedy that happened in Oak Creek, Wis., gurdwara. It raises more questions than we know the answers. Slowly we will come out of it and adjust, and we may never know the answers to it all.

I travel a lot. Last year I had to go to India three times in a year and traveled through different countries making stops for connecting flights. Being a turbaned Sikh, I am frequently asked “Do Sikhs feel safe in America?” My answer used to be “yes.” What do I tell them now when a whole community was targeted?

Yes, there have been sporadic incidents of harassment and killings before of Sikhs due to mistaken identity, but America stood by us. I remember one time in India, I was bragging about care in U.S. schools when one person in the audience shouted, “But you also kill students in schools.” He was referring to a school shooting. We have shootings in schools, colleges, movie theaters, churches, streets of Chicago and other metropolitan cities. When will it end?

The U.S. spends so much trying to curb terrorism overseas, why not curb the evil here first? These criminals are not trained by terrorists overseas, they are all born here, raised here and cause harm here. If the U.S. cannot keep an eye on these “domestic terrorists” how can we keep an eye on terrorists overseas? It happened to us this week, and tomorrow it will be someone else’s turn. We will mourn and move on, and the devil will keep smiling on us.

Thakar S. Basati

Palatine