CRAZY HORSE PATEL?
Police records in Birmingham, Alabama, show that Native Americans have been ticketed dozens of times for minor traffic offenses. But those tickets were actually issued to Asian Indians, according to columnist John Archibald of the Birmingham News.
Instead of checking a box that said “Asian,” the police mistakenly checked “Native American,” Archibald asserts.
“Because in Alabama, one Indian is as good as another,” he writes. “Bhuvanesh Gopala might as well be Red Cloud. Shannaz Megheni might as well be Sacajawea. It is embarrassing to all Alabamians. It is an insult to Native Americans and Asian Indians. It says we don’t know who you are, and we don’t much care.”
An insult? Perhaps so, but if you’re going to lose credit for something, why not for breaking the law?
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
[Comments? Contributions? Please email us at melvin@melvindurai.com. We welcome jokes, quotes, online clips, and more.]
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