Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past three days, you’ve all heard the news: Osama bin Laden was killed in a hail of gunfire, his body buried at sea in a well orchestrated CIA operation over the weekend. Moments after the news was official, it was a very bitter sweet moment when my wife and I saw people of all colors celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden in cities all over the United States. But none brought it home more than watching people rejoicing in his death at World Trade Center.

It brought back a lot of painful memories that didn’t just involve this one man. Aside from feelings of utter panic, helplessness, and a tremendous sense of loss for human life, brown folk, especially Sikhs, were suddenly viewed of as different. We weren’t included in the “us” and had become the “them” unless we could prove otherwise by elaborate displays of patriotism, which included waving the flag, belting out “U.S.A.” and in some cases, wearing a turban made out of the American flag.

It wasn’t a shock that the first hate crime victim after 9/11, Balbir Singh Sodhi, was a turbaned Sikh, but it was still a devastating blow. And just recently, Arizona Rep. John Kavanagh introduced a bill wanting to remove Sodhi from the state’s 9/11 memorial because he wasn’t a “9/11 victim.” Thankfully that bill was vetoed, but what I’m concerned with is that this bill was even introduced. And it was clearly attempting to remove the name of a man who didn’t look like “us.” Can we expect more instances where brown folk, Sikhs in particular, have to prove how American we are? Better stock up on those flags.

All over New York, police are strapped with guns to make us feel secure, and MTA police are armed with machine guns (not like the terrorists have bombs or anything). There are announcements telling people to “remain vigilant.” The same announcements after 9/11 that created the environment of mass xenophobia. A few days after 9/11, I remember reading about a Mexican farmworker in California being driven off the side of a road because the guys chasing him thought he was Middle Eastern.

Although very different in many regards, it reminds me of the Sikh reaction to Indira Gandhi’s death at the hands of her two Sikh bodyguards in retaliation for her hand in giving the order for Operation Blue Star. It was a psychological “win” for a short time.

Some Sikhs in Punjab were celebrating her death by handing out mithai; there were public demonstrations in places like the U.K., and Canada where the media showed Sikhs rejoicing in her death, even celebrating with fireworks, while many Hindus were in mourning. I understand the reason that many Sikhs were out celebrating her death back in 1984, just like I understand the reasons many Americans are celebrating Osama bin Laden’s death today. For the time being, his death is a psychological “win” for “us.”

September 11 took something away from all of us, and it took something extra from Sikhs and brown folk: the sense of security and the entitlement we felt to share in the pain of America. Osama bin Laden was a symbol of everything horrible that 9/11 represented, from the actual attacks, the devastating loss of life, to the hate crimes committed by Americans on Americans. And now he is dead, we are hoping it brings a sense of closure. So, we celebrate.

My wife feels very uneasy by the celebrations because of the memories that are being forced out, the strangeness of celebrating a man’s death, but also because we have a daughter and live right across the Hudson, a seven minute commute on the train or ferry into Manhattan. We constantly take our 1 year old, Kavya, into the City, so, if there is a retaliation attack spurred on by the celebrations, we could very well be in the middle of it. She wrote a blog post about her reaction moments after we heard the news (Read “Closure at a Cost” by Sona Charaipotra), and here is a link to my post (Read “Osama bin Laden is Dead. Now What?“)

I am also worried about a possible retaliation, but not just from terrorists. From other Americans as well. My thoughts immediately returned to 9/11 and the days, months, and years afterwards. Even today, a remnant of the aftermath from ten years ago, Sikh boys are bullied and called “Osama” like it’s no big deal, the general population are still completely ignorant of the Sikh identity, hate crimes targeting Sikhs are on the rise (link).

In the above video, entertainment journalist, Aseem Chhabra is being interviewed by New York 1 at Ground Zero. He is carrying an American flag, and has to explain to this duffer reporter that although he is originally from India, “this is my city, this is my country also.” I find it interesting that he joined in the celebration, but understand his reasons, and he is certainly not alone in celebrating. Osama bin Laden was a clearly evil man with no regard for human life, Muslim or otherwise, and the world is a better place without him in it. But is this a time to be happy and joyful?

Today, it’s a fist-pumping, flag waving, multicultural street party, but what happens after the party is over?