FLOYDS KNOBS, Ind. (WHAS11) -- Just days after Guarav Zane Sharma and his family moved into their new home in Floyds Knobs, he received an unexpected housewarming gift in his new mailbox.
“My son, he ran to me and he said, ‘Daddy, Daddy we have bacon in our mailbox,’ and I was like bacon in our mailbox?” said Sharma.
Opening it up to see for himself, sure enough Sharma found a pile of cooked bacon in his mailbox.
“I walk in, I look at my wife and I say, 'bacon, what does that mean?” says Sharma.
Confused and a little worried, Sharma shared the strange story on social media. His friends weighed in and helped him come to the conclusion that the bacon was an act of hate.
“They think because of your color, maybe, or your look, for them, you are like a Muslim,” explains Sharma.
Some Muslims do not eat pork as part of their Islamic faith. Sharma, a Christian who immigrated to America from India in 2009, says he believes whoever put the bacon in his mailbox was trying to intimidate and offend, assuming he was Muslim.
“I wanted to move here because I always heard Americans are the most loving people in the world,” said Sharma.
Unsure of how to respond, Sharma and his family decided to take an artistic approach.
“We posted a sign that says, ‘Thank you for the bacon, join us next time for dinner,'” said Sharma.
Sharma only kept the sign out for 48 hours but hopes his message leaves a lasting impact.
“You are only spreading hate, this is not love, I think as Americans we need to learn how to spread love around the world,” said Sharma.
Sharma says he's trying to laugh off the not so warm, but rather greasy, welcome to the neighborhood.
“I was like, man, that was really unhygienic. How am I going to eat it?” says Sharma.
But he says he hopes from now on, the American flag planted next to his mailbox is the only sign he'll have to display.