So sad

Sandeep Dhaliwal: Texas mourns 'trailblazing' Sikh sheriff's deputy

He was shot from behind at a routine traffic stop. No motive is known yet, but a suspect is in custody, but he had permission to wear his turban and beard on duty, so one does wonder whether it was directed towards him as a peace officer or him as a Sikh. There are lots of people out there who are anti-Muslim who see the turban and misidentify Sikhs as Muslim, because let's face it, hate is partly based on ignorance and stupidity.

So it does, indeed, look like a hate crime

Sikh temple shooting suspect Wade Michael Page was white supremacist

I didn't want to jump to that conclusion, but of course it was my first thought when I heard that a Sikh temple had been targeting for a mass shooting, innocent people going about their activities in preparation for worship and a meal, attacked for being different. Whether the shooter did this because he hated those he perceived as 'other' or if he mistakenly, like many, believed Sikhism to be some off-shoot of Islam (which it isn't at all), I don't know. As he is dead, we may never really know. On the other hand, he will not harm anyone else again. Sadly, though, there are plenty of people like him out there. Fortunately the greater number of people are tolerant and supportive or diversity.

Thinking of those killed or injured, their families and friends, and the Sikh community itself, in this time of sorrow.

UPDATE: On the subject of hate crimes, I saw this while looking at other news:

‘Suspicious’ fire leads to destruction of Joplin mosque

About a month after the Joplin Islamic Society’s roof was damaged in a suspected arson, the entire building burned down in a suspicious early morning fire on Monday, leaving little but charred remains.

People sometimes stay there during Ramadan, which is going on right now. To lose a house of worship during a holy month must be even more bitter, but at least no one was hurt.