Racism is not an opinion.

It is a disease. A disease that infests this society on every imaginable level and clouds every aspect of life. Racism is hate.

Hatred is not funny.

It is not something to be applauded and celebrated. It should not be used to convey a point or garner attention or increase popularity. It cannot be defended under any circumstance or excused for any reason. And those who try to do so are but greater fools in this grand design.

As a mother and a teacher and a human, I cannot sit back and ignore this issue any longer. I cannot allow others, be they friend, foe, brother or sister, to perpetuate this evil- this disease. I cannot allow for my children to grow up and face such a terrible and cruel world with no true hope for acceptance and peace.

Neither can you.

My voice may be but a small inconsequential sound in the background of this grand theater, but I will gladly scream my throat raw in order to be heard. I will always speak out against such atrocity.

I can only hope that you’ll be standing next to me doing the same.

I wrote the above in response to a journal entry made in the public forum over at CafeMom (but we’ve talked about this mommy board before, haven’t we?). In this journal, the “author” attempted to address the hot topic of immigration using her own questionable style of “humor” and “logic” to get her point across. That point being that everyone who chooses to come to America (the land of the free) should be able to speak the “language” properly. She was even “clever” enough to throw in a “charming” anecdote about a recent vacation in Germany where she mastered the daunting task of learning the word Danke.

Well, I won’t even begin to point out the serious holes in her “logic”. Nor did I attempt to do so there.

However, I did feel it necessary to address the serious holes in her “humor”.

The journal began with a something very similar to this: I don’t care if you came from Mexico, Puerto Rico, or Kunta Kinte-ville…

And ended with something very similar to this: No speaky the English, you can go back home.

Wait? Did this woman actually just tell people to go back to Kunta Kinte-ville? Did she really just refer to Africa as a town of slaves?

When I expressed my dismay (Wow. I can’t believe that you actually said Kunta Kinteville…), I received the virtual equivalent of a self-satisfied smirk.

The next morning, she had been “removed” from the site (an action not solely carried out on account of this incident), and the little cafe was full of “opinion” this and “opinion” that. Thus, the need for the opening line above. By that evening, she had returned under the guise of a new name (same smiling face) and posted an official “apology” on all of the journals mentioning the incident- including mine.

She apologized for me twisting her words, and she apologized for all of us “who took it wrong”.

Funny stuff, I tell ‘ya.

She was booted yet again, came back, was booted, came back, was booted, came back…

What was it that Einstein said about insanity? Ah, yes… Insanity can be defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Monday, I received the following comment on not only my Butter Me Up and Call Me Happy post but every single entry that I have made on this blog thus far (plus an extra 82 messages even after she must have realized that comments had been re-set to be held in moderation before posting):

SINCE YOU ARE MUCH BETTER AT WORDS THAT I AM…

I ONLY HAVE THESE WORDS FOR YOU..

FUCK YOU COURTNEY!!!

YEAH, IT’S MERCY HERE YOU FUCKEN BITCH. YOU LOVE TO KICK STONES, BUT WHEN PEOPLE THROW STONES AT YOU “YOU FUKIN DUCK AND DON’T LIKE IT!! WELL TAKE THAT YOU FUCKIN DRAMA SEEKER! I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU GIRL! ALL I SAID WAS FUCKIN KUNTAKINTE..BIG FUCKIN DEAL..YEAH I SAID IT AGAIN! KUNTA FUCKEN KINTE!! BIG FUCKIN DEAL AND YOU TOOK THAT AND MADE ME LOOK LIKE I WAS A RACIST! HOW DARE YOU.

TRUST ME COURTNEY…I WILL COME ON HERE AN RUIN YOU’RE NAME TOO! SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT WHEN IT COMES AROUND!

YOU TOOK WHAT I SAID ANDDISTORTED IT YOU FUCKIN BITCH. DO YOU FEEL LIKE A HERO NOW? I WOULD LOVE TO SLAP THAT FACE OF YOURS…AND THE ONLY THING STOPPING ME IS THAT I CANNOT GET A HOLD OF YOU AND YOU’RE LUCKY FOR THAT! YOU ARE NOTHING BUT AN ATTENTION SEEKER WITH YOUR…
SCREAM UNTIL YOUR THROAT IS RAW..SHIT! GET A FUCKIN LIFE..YEAH, MY THROAT IS RAW…FUCK YOU!

WHY DON’T YOU PAY MORE ATTENTION TO YOUR KIDS A LITTLE BIT MORE INSTEAD OF LOOKING FOR DRAMA AND SPENDING ALL YOUR TIME DISECTING WHAT PEOPLE SAY, YOU LOSER!

YEAH, GO AHEAD AND PRINT THIS AT CAFEMOM..SEE IF I CARE. I’M NICE BUT DON’T FUCK WITH ME!

KELLYSMOMS TOO YOU ANOTHER FUCKIN DRAMA QUEEN!! I’M NOT DONE WITH HER EITHER. AND YOU TOO TREESX4…

PEOPLE GO CHECK OUT TREESX4 CHURCHY SITE..SHE’S THE BIGGEST INSTIGATOR THERE AND SHE USES HER CHURCH SITE AS A FRONT.. JUST LIKE TREESX SAYS WITH HER MICKEY MOUSE PICTURE..DON’T LIKE WHAT I HAVE TO SAY..THEN FUCK YOU!

WELLL I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU FUCKIN “GARBAGE DRAMA QUEEN!”

And, although I have absolutely nothing constructive left to say about the issue at this point, I will leave you with this parting shot… You have clearly missed out on all of the finer points of a lower education when you can’t even spell your curse words properly.

FuckEn, indeed.

(I have since refrained from posting at Cafemom and have decided to return to MySpace… Hell, at least even the teenagers there pretend to be adults.)