To the person who wrote the following remark:

[fpb]

Since when did Italy fight the Mafia? I thought they were too busy taking cash from them.

This is not about me any more. This is about my country. This is about the dead. This is about hundreds upon hundreds of heroes, judges and policemen, politicians and journalists and businessmen and common people, who have been killed in decades of creeping civil war trying to resist and turn back this murderous cancer of our life. This is about my country and my people. You are a vile, gutless, anonymous little racist who knows nothing except her miserable prejudices and who insults generations of heroes of whose existence she has not the least idea and whose courage she would never in a million years be able to conceive of, let alone feel, because her whole life is one long despicable grovel - to her own ignorance, to her contemptible little notions - to whatever social milieu spawned her. You are a despicable little anonymous coward with not the least notion of courage and independence; who would never risk her little finger, let alone her life, for anyone; who, if she really ever had anything to do with the Mafia, would sell them her mother, her father and all her relatives and friends just for the sake of an easy life and a quick buck. You are born to crawl, betray and insult.

To all my other enemies: God knows I have had enough to say about you. But I would like to be reassured that none of you would sink to this level of abjection. This is racism, pure and simple. If I had been Jewish, this scum would have written darkly of Jewish influence; if I had been black, she would have making "jokes" about cannibals and missionaries. This is the level to which you consent if you do not disassociate yourself, as I am asking you here and now, from this filth.

A few of you have more reason than others to do so. Heidi8, you have made a fuss about using inclusive language: let us see whether all vile prejudices bother you, or only prejudice against women. Aerynalexander, the same goes for you, twice over. Narcissa Malfoy, you are supposed to be Catholic: the Church has always condemned racism of all kinds. Let us see if any of you have principles, or only postures.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Edited to Add: I don't know why you've banned me from your LJ while simultaneously asking me to reply, but this is NM posting.

A rather late response since I've been reflecting on this.

Do I condemn calling all Italians mafia? Of course.

And that'd be a quick response. But as I said, I've been thinking further through this. Racism is not the only thing the Church condemns. It also condemns a lack of charity and it asks us to turn the other cheek. These are things in which I totally fail most of the time. It's so easy to forget that one is even asked to do this. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa.

Thinking along these lines, I remembered this from Holy Scripture.

Matthew 5:22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.

and turning to the Catechism,

Paragraph 1825 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church Christ died out of love for us, while we were still "enemies." The Lord asks us to love as he does, even our enemies, to make ourselves the neighbor of those farthest away, and to love children and the poor as Christ himself.

The Apostle Paul has given an incomparable depiction of charity: "charity is patient and kind, charity is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Charity does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Charity bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

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So, no, I don't appreciate the things you've said, and I utterly disagree with you on a number of things. But I think I should try to keep the above in mind, and will try to behave accordingly. No more insults from this quarter. I've deleted the I_Hate_FPB_Club, which was meant to be a joke when you said such a club existed, but was very uncharitable.

I hope you take this in the spirit that it is meant, and I'll pray for you and your intentions.

NM

[fpb.livejournal.com]

I will. And I may say that I appreciate this very much. Considering what might be called our joint past, what you have done is remarkable, and I not only thank you, I congratulate you.