RED - White and blue turban solves problem for Santa Fe Sikh

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Red, white and blue turban solves problem for Santa Fe Sikh

Associated Press Oct. 15, 2001 20:15:00

SANTA FE - Narendra Singh Kloty is using his head to keep people from mistaking him as a Muslim extremist: He wears a red, white and blue turban.

Kloty, a 41-year-old American citizen originally from India, wears a turban because of his Sikh religion. But, he says, to many people, "the turban represents something not American, something Middle Eastern."

"I'm trying to tell people, 'No, this is very American. Red, white and blue.' That's what I'm trying to do without saying anything."

Across the state, New Mexicans can be found on the street curb selling flags or buying flags and most anywhere dressed with colors or emblems that represent the United States.

Dennis Tiede, a 59-year-old Vietnam veteran from Chimayo, said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., brought back an ardor for his country he hadn't felt in a while.

"All of a sudden I realize I do know the lyrics to 'The Star Spangled Banner,' I do know how to sing 'America the Beautiful' and I do know the Pledge of Allegiance," he said.

Twenty-year-old Nicole Lannaccone said the only person she knew who flew a flag before Sept. 11 was her grandfather. Now, she believes retailers are taking advantage of the attacks by encouraging flag-waving, she said.

"I think it's a strange bit of propaganda," Lannaccone said. "Flags are just another way of making money."

Tim Wild, 24, said flags are one way of showing patriotism.

"I don't need to have a flag on my car to say thanks for the freedom and safety I've been given up to this point," he said.

Kloty said his mother was concerned for his safety after people began associating turbans with Taliban Muslim extremists. He said he asked her to send him a red, white and blue turban from Bombay, India, when people began "throwing him the finger" as he drove in his car.

But Kloty, who owns a restaurant in Santa Fe, said he declined his mother's request for him to return to India.

"I said, 'No, this is my home,' " he said. "I'm an American citizen. My wife is here. My business is here.

"This is a great nation where I've seen so much love. There are people on this planet who cannot love their fellow man because they're fighting for their next meal."

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001


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