A friend stumbled across a white supremacist Web site and, after reading with horror and morbid fascination, forwarded the link to me.

The Web site is called stormfront.org, and is basically just a place for bigots to congregate and discuss how unfair and difficult it is to live among people who do not sunburn within a week of shorts season. They whine and complain that Jews, Hispanics and Blacks are taking all their jobs and make more money than they do. A 2008 article by Williams M. Rodgers III on prospect.org begs to differ, stating that “Today, African American men working full time and year around have 72 percent of the average earnings of comparable white men. For African American and white women, the ratio is 85 percent. And during good times and bad, the black unemployment rate is typically stuck at about double the white rate.”

One man on this white supremacist forum sniffled that he was fired, the only white man to be let go. He was sure it was because of his skin color. I’m leaning towards his lack of punctuation skills, (apparently a requirement for anybody who wants to post on these messageboards). Many people have a signature featuring a quote from a historical figure, often taken grossly out of context. Others sport slogans; one read along the lines of, “Europeans make, Jews take,” complaining that Europeans do everything and that those of the Jewish faith are somehow thieves by “taking” jobs that require high levels of intelligence, like doctors and lawyers. Apparently disappointed with their own pathetic lives, these people make themselves feel better by trying to blame somebody else for their shortcomings. Still others complain that minorities are crowding America with languages other than English – totally ignoring the fact that white presence in America came after the widespread slaughter and conquering of an entire nation of Indians.

Of course, the fallback defense is the classic, “If they can be proud to be black/Jewish/Hispanic/female, why can’t I be proud to be white?” They scream hypocrisy and injustice and try to claim that they are merely celebrating their own heritage. Apparently, someone forgot to mention to them that being white is not a nationality or heritage to flaunt.

People don’t have “white” family backgrounds, they have German, French, English, etc. family backgrounds. Normal, culture-loving people are proud of their specific family roots – “Kiss me, I’m Irish!” –  not of the mere fact that they have pale skin.

The most ludicrous, asinine and ironic post I found on this site was the post from a woman complaining that some posters insinuated that only blonde haired, blue eyed people are “true whites,” and she was offended by this sentiment. Many others wrote back to reassure her that the majority of white supremacists really aren’t that bigoted and narrow-minded, and those who are don’t know what they’re talking about.

“Don’t let it get to you,” one poster said. “Some people on here are dimwits in general, but ignore them, they’re just making rash comments.”

As nauseating as I found the experience, the irony of this last comment is just too overwhelming not to appreciate. If this woman had any empathy, insight or depth of character at all, she would realize how misguided and hypocritical her worries are. How can someone feel slighted over not having light enough hair while hating people for not having light enough skin?