I received an email this week from "friends," entitled "Patriotic Duty." This was the text of the email:

"MARK YOUR CALENDARS. We all know that it is a sin for a Taliban male to see any woman other than his wife naked, and that he must commit suicide if he does, So this Sunday at 4:00 PM Eastern time all American women are asked to walk out of their house completely naked to help weed out any neighborhood terrorists. Circling your block for one hour is recommended for this anti-terrorist effort. All men are to position themselves in lawn chairs in front of their house to prove they are not Taliban, and to demonstrate that they think it's okay to see nude women other than their wife and to show support for all American women. And since the Taliban also does not approve of alcohol, a cold six-pack at your side is further proof of your anti-Taliban sentiment. The American Government appreciates your efforts to root out terrorists and applauds your participation in this anti-terrorist activity. God bless America! IT IS YOUR PATRIOTIC DUTY TO PASS THIS ON."

The persons who emailed this to me are mothers, are wives, are SUV owners, homeowners...as well as white and Christian, considering themselves middle-class citizens in Shoreline. When I saw this e-mail, I felt very sick to my stomach.

When 9/11 happened, I got in a very big fight with this same neighborhood of people. One of the Shoreline Patriots said to me after 9/11, that she will never trust "them" again. I asked who "them" was. She said, "you know." I said, "Are you talking about Arab-Americans?" She said, "I just will be more cautious around them now."

I repeated the question of who "them" was, and how un-American it is to be prejudiced against one sector of Americans, such as Arab-Americans. I told her that was the very definition of racism and that her young child was hearing her talk like that. She did not talk to me for months thereafter, furiously defending herself as not a racist. Our teens continued to play together without us, both acknowledging that that mom was being racist. Months have passed, we do not talk about the war, nor Bush, because we know I do not agree with the war or the racist nature of our American colonialism in the world. Then they sent me that e-mail this morning.

Should I just hit delete? Should I just write them off as racists to never be trusted, couching it the way they do regarding Arab-Americans? Or should I be unafraid, and tell the list that was sent that e-mail that it was racist and risk all kinds of social repercussions for it? I opted for the latter. I decided to take the wrath of hyperpatriots, with limited education regarding American history, global politics and economy, attacking me for my voice of conscience. I opt for that wrath before the wrath of knowing I participated in race hatred. I decided this would be akin to standing by as a person rambled on with racist jokes and saying nothing. People need to know that this type of prejudiced hate e-mail is reprehensible.

Just look at that hate e-mail. It is pitting Muslims against everyone else. It makes fun of Muslim traditions. How would a Muslim family ever live on the block of people who sent that out?

Families are being ripped apart over the New American Righteous Racism. Yet, I implore people who subscribe to anti-racism to stand our ground here. No matter what it takes, we must speak up each and every time we get these types of supposedly cute little American jokes. Only in speaking up will these people realize that America is not going to foster a new anti-Arab sentiment, regardless of what Bush and the oil companies want.

McCarthyism is now looked on, mostly, as foolishness. Yet how many careers were totally ruined during the Red Scare? Let us not repeat our histories in Vietnam, in Cuba, in the Gulf during Daddy Bush's reign, and stop this anti-Arab, anti-Muslim sentiment. If we have to face some ostracizing from racists, so be it.