Emboldened by President Donald Trump, racists continue to make themselves known across the United States. One of their latest victims is northern California man Surjit Malhi, a 50-year-old Sikh and supporter of the Republican Party.
He was just finishing putting out signs in support of GOP Congressman Jeff Dunham and other Republicans when two not presently identified men met him at his truck and beat him. They started with abruptly throwing sand in his eyes and then proceeded to punch Mahli on his head, shoulders, and neck, according to a local CBS affiliate.
During the attack, the two men shouted “Go back to your country!” and at some point left the same phrase spray painted on Mahli’s truck. They also left hate symbols, like the white supremacist version of the Celtic Cross, which was used by groups like Norwegian Nazis in the World War II era down to more modern racists in the present day.
Commenting on the incident, Mahli shared:
‘I’m American 100 percent, no doubt, so they say, go back to my country? This is my country. If you are a real American and you love America, you should not do that. That is not the American way.’
He added that at times he thought his attackers were going to shoot him, and quipped that his turban helped save his life because it softened the impact of the attackers’ punches.
As of early Monday, the attackers are still on the loose although they’re being hunted by police as perpetrators of a hate crime.
The whole incident, although there are many other racist tragedies to broadly connect it to, is reminiscent of an attack an elderly Mexican man suffered not too long ago in the Los Angeles area. A woman who was eventually arrested and charged with attempted murder went after Rodolfo Rodriguez with a brick and, having other bystanders help her in the attack, left the man so injured he could not walk.
Concurrent to the stream of violent racist attacks, white supremacists keep pushing for the legitimization of their ideology. The organizers behind last year’s violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, are planning to have another one on that event’s first anniversary, this time in Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C. Right wing rallies continue to rock other locales — like Portland, Oregon — as well.
All the while, the sitting president of the United States continues to push the idea that immigrants pose a threat to Western civilization. That’s not hyperbole — that’s literally what he’s spewed.
Standing next to British Prime Minister Theresa May during a recent trip overseas, the president commented;
‘I think [immigration] has been very bad, for Europe… I think what has happened is very tough. It’s a very tough situation — you see the same terror attacks that I do… I just think it is changing the culture, I think it is a very negative thing for Europe.’
That kind of rhetoric leads directly to incidents like the recent attack on prominent Stanislaus County, California, community member Surjit Malhi. It has real repercussions, and the president does not get to escape responsibility for the violence.
Featured Image via Screenshot from the Video
