Off Topic But Worthy: Stop Racism In New Zealand

(a cross posting from my personal blog - I know you'll forgive the blurring of the boundaries in this instance)

Stop Racism - it's not much to ask ... is it?
Especially when you read Protecting My Child’s Innocence by mrsgooding

This is the moment when I thought, "Fuck 'em, racist bastards - STOP IT!!!"

But sometimes, there are things that you can’t ignore. Especially if they are emotionally affecting someone you love more than life itself.

That someone is my only daughter, Bea.

Yesterday, she came home from school hysterical after a very traumatic bus ride. Five teenage boys taunted her and THREW STONES at her INSIDE the school bus while taunting her saying she doesn’t belong here and that she’s an Asian b*tch. If she was not in a public place, who knows what extent they’d go to in their desire to be hurtful and destructive. I shudder at the thought.

It took all my herculean effort not to break down while my daughter narrated what happened to her over the phone.

I rage at the thought that this happened while my daughter was on her own without her family to protect her.

I rage at the thought that this is happening to a child who’s done nothing to deserve this treatment.

I rage at the thought that my daughter is being robbed of her childhood, her innocence. She is only 11! My daughter has started questioning her right to be in this country (this is not the first act of racist bullying she’s experienced). She may not be born in New Zealand but she is a New Zealander and has lived here more than half her life! We pay our taxes, we obey the law and we deserve to be treated with respect.

I rage at the thought of doing nothing.

And all mrsgooding asks is:

Spread the word.

I am hopeful that each time my sharing gets read, it will make a positive difference in the way people view others. Remember, it takes one tiny step to make a difference.

TOP. RACISM.

Stop it now.

This is a battle worth fighting for. A war worth winning.

So you have two things to do:

1. Read the whole post: http://livingmyotherlife.com/2008/11/25/protecting-my-childs-innocence/
2. Spread her story by re-posting it, linking to it, tweeting it, Facebooking it, emailing it ... you do it however you need to
   

If it gets big enough it will be change, and seeing as that's all the rage at the moment we may as well have change that means something to us here in New Zealand.