Sapristi! Of Spike Milligan and a casual, ignorant racist

Human nature is inhuman. Hypocrites are everywhere. Ain't no man righteous, not one.

And yet, it's still a bit of a surprise to be reminded of how matter-of-fact people can be about their bilious racism.

Whatever you are, and whatever your personal chagrin, you're bound to experience a pointless attack. Maybe you simply overhear somebody saying "all Muslims should be kicked out of the country." Maybe it's more personal, and somebody gives you the skunk eye and drops a dig at how you're dressed, the color of your hair or what you weigh. Or worse, there's an overt line that, at its mildest, might be, "Are you Polish? That name seems...POLISH." Like this means you're stupid or subhuman. Or actually Polish.

You wonder, "What's up with THAT jerk? I could've come right back with a line about his religion, his race, or pick on something about how he looks. Doesn't he understand he's no better than I am??"

It's as bizarre as when you read some neutral news article on anything from the price of cheese to the latest Paul Simon album, and some troll maniac leaves a comment about "That Nigger Obama!" or "9/11 Never Happened!" Huh? The guy in the tin foil hat is here?

You wonder how people like that function in daily life, without getting the punch in the face they deserve.

So here's a page on Amazon where two people have reviewed an obscure book on Spike Milligan.

The first review? Nothing wrong with it.

The second, by some guy in Sweden? He tosses in an ethnic reference for no reason except ignorant racism. Spike Milligan is Irish. Most of his fans are British (with some Australians). Why does this Swedish guy drop in a line of what race would be the only one suitable for reading a book HE didn't like?

Odd, isn't it?

If any religious group might be singled out for wanting to read about Spike, it might be Catholics.

You might, if you were stretching, and hated Catholics, say that if you want to read a book full of nasty anecdotes about the negative side of Milligan's personality, you might feel some "Catholic guilt" afterward.

Yet this Swede throws in his line about how you'd have to be not just a masochist to read the book but a Jewish one.

Huh?? What a Swedish meatball!