Man's Facebook Response To People Who Think Sikhs Are Muslims Goes Viral

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A Facebook post by a man responding to people who think Sikhs are Muslims is going viral.

Since 9/11, men in the Sikh community have been the targets of hate crimes -- slurs, stereotyping, and in some instances, physical attacks. Many feel the mass shooting in San Bernadino by a Muslim couple that left 14 dead, has made things even worse.

Days after the Southern California massacre, a Jet Blue passenger posted a YouTube video of an elderly Sikh man sleeping next to him and captioned it, "Would you feel safe? Flying with Bin Laden."

Harmeet Singh's Facebook post seems to address that passenger's apparent anxiety over his seatmate's turban and beard.

"They say the average American does not know the difference between a Sikh and Muslim. They tell me the average American associates a turban and a beard with ISIS, Taliban, or Bin Laden," writes Singh on his Facebook page.

Singh sees such cases of mistaken identity as a part of his Sikh faith. "We are not the victims of mistaken identity; we are in fact doing exactly what our identity was supposed to do. It was supposed to absorb hate and ignorance so others would not have to."

Singh lives in the U.S. and says he hopes for a "better America where tolerance is not a word just thrown around."

"Till then you will never see us hiding, the 'Average Sikh' will be out there with our turbans and beards easy to spot and ready for any challenge that may be presented."

So far, Singh's Facebook post has received thousands of likes and shares.

CBSSF.com writer, producer Jan Mabry is also executive producer and host of The Bronze Report. She lives in Northern California. Follow her on Twitter @janmabr.