Sikh Labour Candidate: Reports Tory Rival to Police.
Sikh Man with Turban.
A Labour Sikh candidate, in Ludlow, Shropshire has reported his Conservative rival to the police. Kuldip Sahota felt the comment of his Conservative fellow candidate, about Kuldip talking through his "turban" was offensive. The Conservatives have responded by backing their candidate Philip Dunne, who is the incumbent MP, for the area.
West Mercia Police will apparently be investigating Dunne's comment as a race hate comment. Mr Sahota, said the comment by Dunne, made him feel small and embarrassed in front of his, and, the wider community.
Sikh Conservatives on Twitter were sad, that their fellow non-Sikh candidate, Philip Dunne, had said this comment. Whether these Conservative Sikhs will now back or even vote for Philip Dunne, remains to be seen.
Mr Sahota has stated that it shows that Boris Johnson, is a racist for not removing or suspending Mr Dunne. But is Mr Dunne being racist? Could it be that it was just an ill-thought-out throwaway comment? People say things all the time that perhaps having thought about it, they would not have said. What happened to freedom of speech, i e, the example of having a view or views, that others may not agree with, but, you have the right, to hold that view. This was the bedrock of freedom of speech until political correctness came along and it has closed down debate about many issues.
Is Mr Sahota like many of us today, too thin-skinned? Any comment anyone says, in whatever context it was meant, is racist, homophobic, Islamophobic, anti-female, anti-Semitic, etc.
When a person has made comments as Mr Dunne did, it is taken as an offence, instead of laughing it off, shaking it off, if you let the comments of others get you, you are a fool. It is easy to react, to retaliate in kind to those who offend us, but if you do not react and show the offender hasn't got to you, you have surely won a victory, because that offending person hasn't stolen your peace. Not all of us, however, have a Teflon mind, in other words, not allowing offending comments to hurt us.
It understandable on the other hand, however, why Mr Sahota would be offended. However, Christians have to stand being mocked day and night, especially on programmes. People say, Jesus or Christ, as a throw-away comment or even a swear word. Unless I'm living on another planet, you do not hear Christians reporting religious or race hate crime, to the police, though under the law, surely they have the same right to do so, as anyone? Why is that?
Maybe the Teflon mind comes into play here. As Christians we do not let comments offend us, we forgive them and be at peace with them, mostly. That doesn't make Christians soft, Christians have and do take action, as in passive protest, on issues they feel strongly about. Some Christians have used violence and war, however, to achieve, their aims, but that is another story.
Finally, then, Mr Sahota has a right to be offended and seek justice, but maybe he might have spoken to Mr Dunne, as to why he said what he said, before taking action. Politics is already a dirty game right now, and maybe, Mr Sahota should have forgiven Mr Dunne. Both men appearing together in unity, despite cultural, political and religious differences, just being human, might have been a small victory against the nastiness of this general election.
Candidates in Ludlow, Shropshire Election.
List of the Candidates:
Philip Dunne, Conservative
Kuldip Sahota, Labour.
Heather Kidd, Lib-Dem.
Hilary Wendt, Greens.
