In August of 2012, a white supremacist entered a sick place of worship in Wisconsin and opened fire on the congregation. He ultimately killed seven people and took his own life as well. At the time, it was the largest and most deadly mass shooting at a place of worships in the US in almost 50 years. "The part that I felt most challenging was that this was the first time in my life where I wasn't able to see the humanity," he says.
Being a Sikh in America gives Simran Jeet Singh a very particular insight into the divisions that run between us: on one hand, his visible differences have made him a target for racism; on the other, his religion emphasises the connectedness of all humans, and urges him towards compassion, forgiveness and love.
In this thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation, Katherine and Simran explore building empathy, seeing the divine in everyone, and how being forced to confront white supremacy has helped Simran to develop a language to challenge those who would attack him. The Sikh value of Chardi Kala is hard to miss here: the sense of everlasting optimism that propels him forward.
Join the conversation! We’re also inviting your thoughts on each episode from now on - follow this link to join the conversation. Answers, challenges, ideas and further questions are all welcome - there will be a further episode in a couple of months focusing on your voices.
Katherine's new book, Enchantment, is released in March 2023. Pre-order now: US/CAN and UK
Links from the episode:
- Join Katherine's Patreon to receive episodes early and ad-free
- Sign up to receive Katherine's newsletter
- Find shownotes and transcripts for every episode by visiting Katherine's website.
- Follow Katherine on Instagram
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.