An airplane passenger took photos of what he perceived was a terrorist and posted them on Snapchat.
A Sikh worshiper onboard a flight to Indianapolis was the subject of a xenophobe's series of captioned Snapchats.
The first picture was of the turban-wearing passenger stowing his carry-on in the overheard bin, with the caption: “Never mind I might not make it to Indy.”
The racist passenger continued taking photos to fabricate a narrative that the flight could possibly be in jeopardy because of a terrorist.
He posted another picture of the peacefully Sikh sleeping passenger behind him, captioned with, “Update I’m still alive," followed by a string of emojis symbolizing relief.
When the innocent passenger got up to use the restroom, the prejudiced Snapchatter took a selfie expressing his panic.
“OK he just walk to the back of the plane then to the front then to his seat,” he wrote, accompanied by unnerved emojis.
Simran Jeet Singh, an assistant professor of religion at Trinity University, took screenshots of the series of photos taken by the unidentified, racist Snapchatter and posted them on Twitter.
So far his post has gotten over 7,200 retweets and 8,600 likes.
Mr. Singh, who is also a senior religion fellow for the Sikh Coalition, has written on issues based on xenophobia and hate-driven violence.
He shared his own experiences as a traveler.
“As a Sikh who flies frequently, I’m no stranger to the uncomfortable stares and misguided fears people have of me. I try to live my life by the Sikh maxim, ‘Fear none, frighten none.’ I think about this teaching often when I travel," he wrote.
The post sparked outrage on Twitter, and users also empathized with Mr. Singh.
She suggests we're fearing the wrong people.
The religion was founded in the 15th century and is different from Islam and Hinduism.
The American Sikh population numbers in the 500,000 range, and they have been subject to racial profiling and hate crimes since 9/11.
"How do I retain my confidence and dignity and on an airplane while also being thoughtful not to strike fear in the hearts of others?" Singh tweeted.
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