#rootsgear

[radha824]

Ho ho ho... Ishq Tera Tardpavey #UglyChristmasSweater #DesiEdition by @rootsgearofficial #BalleBalle #RootsGear #UglyChristmasSweaterParty #IssaVibe #ListenToRadha #FakeSnow #FakePresents #PartyTime #Latergram #Sukhbir #OhHoHoHo #IshqTeraTadpave (at Coppell, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/radha824/p/CYCRyTPlHfc/?utm_medium=tumblr

[therootschiro]

Enjoy the weekend Roots community! #rootsgear #swag #therootschiro #community #culture #weekend (at Blaze Pizza)

[jagoayeea]

SS17 Rootsgear x Rupy C. Tut 🌻🌷🌻🌷🌻🌷🌻🌷 Snatch it @rootsgearofficial @artbyrupy #rootsgear

[vishsingh88-blog]

Backstage posing as u can see, before the show started. #swaggin #runwayready #singhs #sikh #model #hanjihello #Rootsgear #singhstreetstyle #fashion #bomberjacket #chucks #turbanandbeard (at Loft 29)

[vishsingh88-blog]

Raxstar and boys from nyc @raxstaruk @singhbikram #hanjihello #Rootsgear #fashion #models #desi #singh #sikh #singhstreetstyle #nyc

[terrymardi]

@Repost from @rootsgeardotcom - It was an honor to be on a panel alongside @iammickeysingh @raxstaruk @kawachi_india DJ Ice @terry_mardi at the Urban Desi Conference #urbandesi #Rootsgear #raxstar #hanjihello #mickeysingh #udc2016 #terrymardi #asianmusicseminar

[noyzhiphop]

Recently, I was traveling through the US and my trip required me to take three flights within the span of 10 days. As a dude with a turban and a sizeable beard, the not-so-random ‘random’ selections for additional security screening is something I’ve come to expect at airports worldwide. There are the odd cases when I’ll pass by without the extra hassle, but for the majority of the time, I know what to expect and will let the negativity roll off my back. In most incidences, the security staff will at least be courteous about it, but after being stopped for the third time on my third flight (airports are already no fun to begin with), I began to grow impatient.

After passing through the preliminary screening, the security guard began calling for assistance without at least offering the common phrases of ‘wait right there’ or ‘step to the side’. In my frustration, I tried to ask him what was up:

“Can I go?”

“There’s an extra step.”

“For what reason?”

“Your headgear.”

“What about it?”

“……there’s an extra step.”

His inability to explain why I was being stopped shows that he was just following procedure. There was no tip-toeing around the fact, or pretending that this was somehow random in any way. Prejudice is policy. Desmond Cole wrote a great article on the way the Toronto police’s carding practices left him and many other black Canadians feeling dehumanized by being preferentially targeted just for existing. Carding, much like random airport checks, assume guilt and criminalize people of colour. It’s part of a reality where the fears of the policy makers are weighed as more important than the dignity and self-respect of the people.