Posted 10:31 pm Saturday, September 29, 2012
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Student inspires, ignores ridicule
By Rebecca Hoeffner
rhoeffner@tylerpaper.com
The best stories are ones that make you sit back and think and inspire you to rethink your own actions and, better yet, your reactions.
rhoeffner@tylerpaper.com
The best stories are ones that make you sit back and think and inspire you to rethink your own actions and, better yet, your reactions.
A tale floating around this week of a Sikh woman is one of those stories.
Balpreet Kaur is a student at Ohio State University and someone snapped a photo of her while she was waiting in line at the library and posted it to reddit.com.
She doesn’t look like a typical American girl. Along with her T-shirt and yoga pants, she wears a turban and has noticeable facial hair as a side effect from unusual hormone levels in her teenage years.
“I’m not sure what to conclude from this,” wrote the person who posted the picture.
Hundreds of people ridiculed the way Balpreet looked in the photo before a friend showed her the site.
She decided to make a comment of her own, and shocked some with her response.
“If the OP (original poster) wanted a picture, they could have just asked and I could have smiled,” she wrote. “However, I’m not embarrassed or even humiliated by the attention [negative and positive] that this picture is getting because, it’s who I am.”
She went on to graciously and politely explain that she looked the way she did as an expression of her faith.
She doesn’t look like a typical American girl. Along with her T-shirt and yoga pants, she wears a turban and has noticeable facial hair as a side effect from unusual hormone levels in her teenage years.
“I’m not sure what to conclude from this,” wrote the person who posted the picture.
Hundreds of people ridiculed the way Balpreet looked in the photo before a friend showed her the site.
She decided to make a comment of her own, and shocked some with her response.
“If the OP (original poster) wanted a picture, they could have just asked and I could have smiled,” she wrote. “However, I’m not embarrassed or even humiliated by the attention [negative and positive] that this picture is getting because, it’s who I am.”
She went on to graciously and politely explain that she looked the way she did as an expression of her faith.
“Just as a child doesn’t reject the gift of his/her parents, Sikhs do not reject the body that has been given to us,” she said. “By crying ‘mine, mine’ and changing this body-tool, we are essentially living in ego and creating a separateness between ourselves and the divinity within us. By transcending societal views of beauty, I believe that I can focus more on my actions. My attitude and thoughts and actions have more value in them than my body because I recognize that this body is just going to become ash in the end, so why fuss about it? When I die, no one is going to remember what I looked like, heck, my kids will forget my voice, and slowly, all physical memory will fade away. However, my impact and legacy will remain … By not focusing on the physical beauty, I have time to cultivate those inner virtues and hopefully, focus my life on creating change and progress for this world in any way I can.”
She went on to say that she appreciated all the comments because she could learn about herself and others from them, and apologized for possibly saying something that hurt anyone.
It’s not often that a bully is confronted by the one they’re picking on in a way that is patient and kind.
Hundreds of comments flooded in telling Balpreet what an awesome person she is and that they wish they could be like her.
The bully responded four days later with an apology for Balpreet and her faith, and said they exchanged emails and planned to meet.
“Balpreet, I’m sorry for being a closed minded individual,” the anonymous writer commented. “You are a much better person than I am. Sikhs, I’m sorry for insulting your culture and way of life. Balpreet’s faith in what she believes is astounding.”
Can you imagine how much nicer the world would be if we all responded to rudeness this way? In one of the counter-intuitive lessons life is so famous for throwing our way, we have something to learn from a young college student.
She went on to say that she appreciated all the comments because she could learn about herself and others from them, and apologized for possibly saying something that hurt anyone.
It’s not often that a bully is confronted by the one they’re picking on in a way that is patient and kind.
Hundreds of comments flooded in telling Balpreet what an awesome person she is and that they wish they could be like her.
The bully responded four days later with an apology for Balpreet and her faith, and said they exchanged emails and planned to meet.
“Balpreet, I’m sorry for being a closed minded individual,” the anonymous writer commented. “You are a much better person than I am. Sikhs, I’m sorry for insulting your culture and way of life. Balpreet’s faith in what she believes is astounding.”
Can you imagine how much nicer the world would be if we all responded to rudeness this way? In one of the counter-intuitive lessons life is so famous for throwing our way, we have something to learn from a young college student.
