If you want to take a breather from the national mood of celebration over the assassination of Osama bin Laden, there are a few voices amid the chaos calling attention to what some of the rhetoric means for communities of color.
One of those voices is Himanshu Suri, a member of Das Racist. (Which is fitting, since the group’s raison d’etre can be traced to flare-ups of American racism, and rage against the machine of it).
About a month after 9/11, Suri was still in high school and told an interviewer that when he wanted to volunteer downtown, his mother wasn’t having it, “My parents were scared,” he said. “People don’t see a difference between Sikhs and Muslims.”
Over on his Tweetstream, @Heems has been reTweeting some of the xenophobic knee-jerk reactions to bin Laden’s death that were only nominally connected to this event, and mostly just propagate the decade-old post-9/11 backlash. He began with a sentiment that occurs to many Americans with roots on the subcontinent or the Middle East whenever big 9/11-related news hits :
HEEMS himanshu k suri
GREAT DAY TO GO OUTSIDE AND MAKE SURE PEOPLE THAT LOOK LIKE MY MOM AND DAD ARENT GETTING BEATEN UP…
And below are the grim highlights of his reTweets. (Graphic language left intact).
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HEEMS himanshu k suri
haha!! RT @GreenMyselfandI: Osama I hope hell treats you well… actually not. THE TERRIBLE TOWELHEAD IS DEAD. that was my nickname for him.
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HEEMS himanshu k suri
RT @mbrenneman90: Bastard towel head fuck should have been ass raped till he died from bleeding of the asshole. #towelhead
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HEEMS himanshu k suri
RT @juzcallmedee: They deep out there too! RT @HawkThe9 Towelhead in here walkin around with the mean mug and a bookbag
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HEEMS himanshu k suri
RT @Sean_Campbell21: finally pegged that towelhead shitbird #osama. may u rot in hell u grizzly dirty piece of dog shit, oh and ur “virgins”
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HEEMS himanshu k suri
RT @musicallylive: Most wanted sand-nigger is dead! Good job American soldiers!
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HEEMS himanshu k suri
RT @bigwalt1970: Now the sand nigger is dead I wonder if gas prices will go down?
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HEEMS himanshu k suri
yay daniela RT @DanielaBellaa: Yeah Osama Bin Laden the Sand Nigger is officially dead, woot woot <333
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HEEMS himanshu k suri
RT @ABIGCRYFORHELP: RT @IAmSoShutUp: Sooooooo….it takes one sand nigger to kill another sand nigger? That’s right I said it!
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HEEMS himanshu k suri
RT @BRPRESIDENT @PregnantNpullin lmao!!! Sand coon!
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HEEMS himanshu k suri
RT @tomegerton1993 Whey fuck off you dirty, smelly Arab!
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HEEMS himanshu k suri
topical RT @SweetzNStiletoz @BarackObama said to Bin Laden “I go hard N yo mutha fuckin sand niga..im in ya land niga
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HEEMS himanshu k suri
RT @MRSLOVINME4EVER @tammy_troubleJA @BigTiggerShow I HOPE GAS DO GO DOWN NOW THAT THE SAND NIGGA IS OUT THE WAY.
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Amid a mostly depressing list, Suri also included this one, from professor and writer Vijay Prashad:
HEEMS himanshu k suri
follow this brown god RT @vijayprashad Retributive justice reduces the moral horizon; restorative justice is what the world deserves.
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And if you want a reminder that popular music and anti-racist ideology aren’t mutually exclusive, get yourself some DR below.
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