Tonight Show

In response to, Tonight show, Jay Leno,
2nd Aug, 2007

I enjoy my daily dose of Jay Leno each night at 11:30pm after the news. But today he disappointed me. It was not something that anyone must take lightly who has even a shred of respect for ethnicity and culture. Probably people as ignorant as him in the media are the reason that many innocent lives were distorted post 9/11 when people attacked innocent Punjabi Sikh men because they thought they were Arabs or middle eastern. Tonight Jay Leno intended to make fun of science of cloning, celebrities, but as a result ended up making fun of common people who were going about their chores of the day. I have no idea where this has been shot but it is an offensive act. Making fun of people is fine if you are educated enough to make the difference between the right and the wrong. Cracking a joke is a very serious matter. You need to be sure of your act and your audience. Jay leno wanted to show a cloning of an old music band and if it was in the Middle East how they would look. In the process he ended up showing four Sikh men in there ethnic gears. It has irked me highly. If this kind of media portrayal were not done there would not have been such misunderstanding among common people regarding Sikhs.
Dear people, Sikhs are a separate religious sect that belongs to the northern region of India. They have their own state: The mighty state of Punjab. Please do not mix them with Middle Eastern people. If you care to notice it properly you will very easily see the difference. Firstly, they tie their turbans in a totally different fashion. They wear a weapon around their chest called, kirpan. They have beard and long hair, kesh. They wear an iron/steel bangle on their right hand called kara. Well, as easy as it gets they do not wear the long robes associated with the Middle Eastern men. The Punjabis wear kurtas and lose pants called salwars. At this point I am not sure if they have a colloquial term for it in their language or not. Well, people, it is always a good thing to be educating one selves about others. If you expect other to be respectful to you then it makes sense if you are sensitive to their feelings as well.
I feel sad at some people who think that they have the right to make fun of others because they consider themselves better among the rest. I ask them what gives them the right to poke fun and who laughs at them. Even if one person out there does not find the joke funny it kills the purpose of being a professional comedian, then his whole point of being out there is beaten. So even if I like you, Jay Leno. You have not done your homework. Such hue and cry about racial minority and still some ethnicities are ignored is a serious offense.