Redditors Get A Lesson In Tolerance

[Kindly Refrain]

http://cheezburger.com/6616079360

Redditors Get A Lesson In Tolerance of the Day

Redditor european_douchebag recently posted this pic of a Sikh woman with the caption: "i'm not sure what to conclude from this."

Redditors promptly piled on to criticize her facial hair, which she is bound by her religion not to cut or alter in any way.

Then the woman caught wind of the post and responded:

Hey, guys. This is Balpreet Kaur, the girl from the picture. ... I'm not embarrased or even humiliated by the attention [negative and positve] that this picture is getting because, it's who I am.

Yes, I'm a baptized Sikh woman with facial hair. Yes, I realize that my gender is often confused and I look different than most women.

However, baptized Sikhs believe in the sacredness of this body - it is a gift that has been given to us by the Divine Being [which is genderless, actually] and, must keep it intact as a submission to the divine will. 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. ...

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: and, 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. ...

I appreciate all of the comments here, both positive and less positive because I've gotten a better understanding of myself and others from this."

[cbayer]

1. Now that is an impressive response.

I am going to post this in Religion. Thanks so much for it.

[Kindly Refrain]

2. The orignal poster actually apologized

It's in the link.

[cbayer]

3. Which is also impressive. Tolerance breeds tolerance.

Intolerance breeds hate.

Great story all the way around.

[msongs]

4. unlike others, she chose not to riot, kill, and destroy. an got more to show for it nt

[foo_bar]

9. (I'm afraid to ask, but) who are the "others"?

"Unlike other _____, she chose not to riot..."

Could you fill in that blank for me?

a) Carbon-based lifeforms
b) People with facial hair
c) Non-Christians
d) Muslims

I'm sorry if I seem confrontational, but I'm curious about the basis on which you'd contrast this woman with "others" who "riot, kill, and destroy", since it comes off as a bit of a non sequitur (not that "you're a credit to your otherwise murderous creed" would be any less distasteful if the woman in question were Muslim (or North African, or whatever your intended target would be), but your statement seems especially galling in light of recent events.)

[obamanut2012]

11. What others?

I haven't seen any Sikhs rioting lately, just some being murdered by some Neo Nazi.

[DreamGypsy]

5. The human body is an engine of chemistry and genetics...

and that engine produces a lot more variations than the usual limits of our culture ... or even the union of all our cultures.

The response given by this woman is an incredible learning opportunity. I was inspired by her honesty and insight.

Thank you, Balpreet Kaur.

[barbtries]

6. true grace.

and courage.

[Matariki]

7. That was awesome all around.

[Lyric]

8. I want to say something about this.

This is something that's very close to my heart, because like Balpreet Kaur, I am a woman who naturally has facial hair. Unlike her, I remove it every day. But I have quite a lot of it, and because my skin is so pale, it's much more obvious when it's not removed.

It's incredibly humiliating. Part of it is because of an underlying medical condition, but part of it is just because of my East European Slovak/Jewish genetic heritage. My mother had it, her mother had it, and so forth. I can't afford to have electrolysis or laser hair removal, so I shave it off every day just like a man. But it's always in my mind.

I am always aware of when my face might be a little prickly, even if you can't see the regrowth yet, and I avoid letting people touch my face. I struggled for years with feeling unfeminine...undesirable...freakish...disgusting. I have to plan outings well ahead of time because I have delicate skin, and the constant shaving irritates it. A woman with obvious razor burn all over her face and neck is just as strange as a woman with hair, so I plan outings 6 hours in advance so that any irritation has time to subside before I go anywhere, and I always wear makeup to hide whatever redness is left over.

I am in absolute AWE of this woman. As someone who shares the same issue that she faces, I can appreciate her inner strength and fortitude in a very personal way. I wish to god that I had that kind of self-esteem...perhaps if I lived in a society where my body's natural state would not be reason enough for other people to point and giggle and make hurtful comments, I could do what she does. But I don't. And I do not possess a strong enough sense of self-worth to accept myself as I am.

I've read so many comments on this story today, all over the internet. I've seen a lot of people admiring her strength and the beauty that she has as a natural, confident woman. But I've also seen a lot of hurtful, thoughtless comments from people who simply cannot believe that standing up for a personal belief could ever be worth "looking like a freak".

I also saw people claim that it must be terrible for her, because no one would EVER want to have a relationship with someone like her. That, at least, I can 100% say is completely wrong. There are perfectly normal, wonderful men out there who care more about who you are than about the hair your body grows, and I suspect that Balpreet will have no problem at all finding a husband and having a perfectly lovely life.

Just wanted to weigh in on this. It's not something I talk about very often, but...today it just really hit me in the gut.

[jwirr]

12. I also have facial hair and shave it off. She is very courageous and so are you. Thank you.

[renate]

10. I love, love, love what she wrote

What grace, wisdom, and confidence.

[progressoid]

13. Here is european_douchebag's apology...

I know that this post ISN'T a funny post but I felt the need to apologize to the Sikhs, Balpreet, and anyone else I offended when I posted that picture. Put simply it was stupid. Making fun of people is funny to some but incredibly degrading to the people you're making fun of. It was an incredibly rude, judgmental, and ignorant thing to post.

...

I've read more about the Sikh faith and it was actually really interesting. It makes a whole lot of sense to work on having a legacy and not worrying about what you look like. I made that post for stupid internet points and I was ignorant.

So reddit I'm sorry for being an asshole and for giving you negative publicity.

Balpreet, I'm sorry for being a closed minded individual. 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.


http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/10gr4s/i_posted_the_picture_of_a_sikh_woman_on_here_and/