Got racism?

I do. As a white girl, I have rarely encountered overt racism that's reserved for those browner than I. Usually, it's of the variety of "so what kind of name is Garza? Oh, Mexican. Hmmm." But the last few months of writing op-ed pieces for the Daily News, I have been called a dirty Mexican, not to mention a stupid girl, an astonishing amount of times.

Today, a rabid reader named Doug sent me this viscious diatribe about my column on Cesar Chavez Day two Sunday's ago. Here's a link to the column.

And here's a choice excerpt from Doug's rant:

I see your people defecate in our parks, piss behind the walls of our homes near bus stops and I see them deal drugs. I don't want them here and you don't fool me a bit. You smell as much as they do. You're not honest. They don't come here and raise their own standard of living. They dilute our standard of living. Have you ever seen one blade of grass in front of an apartment where live?

Nice stuff, huh? He sure put this dirty Mexican in her place.