Dear barbaric, raving mad woman in the K-Mart parking lot:

I thought you were going to have a stroke, the way you were screaming at me. Mea culpa: I support gay rights and I think Bush is immoral. But do you really think I should "go move to California where all the gays are?" I didn't know "all the gays" were in California; I thought there were hundreds of gay people close by.

When we were inside the store, you were carrying on a civilized conversation, but--you sniveling coward--you waited until you saw me in the parking lot, and lucky you, my car was near yours, so you could scream at me as you drove away. You told me I was negative and "you don't like anyone."

I can understand why you would think that. In the course of our conversation, I said I was opposed to the March of Dimes, the Salvation Army, the Red Cross and the White House. All Amurican institutions. Never mind that the March of Dimes commits sickening animal abuse on a massive scale. Never mind that the Salvation Army discriminates against gay citizens. Never mind that the Red Cross murdered several Americans in the 80's because they refused to stop giving AIDS-tainted blood transfusions, and that they have been involved in one financial scandal after another.

Never mind that Bush has done his best to destroy the environment, shower riches on corporations at the expense of the poor and middle class, create a phony war that has killed hundreds of Americans and thousands of Iraqui civilians. Never mind that he lies every time he opens his mouth. Never mind that he has appointed a carnival of felons to high posts. Never mind that he has gone to shocking extremes to quash free speech.

"You don't belong here," you screamed at me. "You should go somewhere else."

Why, I wonder, do so many conservatives refuse to let any kind of reality interfere with their homophobic, racist, sexist, religious fundamentalist values? And why do they have to scream in parking lots or on the radio or on the sidewalk or wherever they happen to encounter people who prefer thinking to blind allegiance?

Barbaric, raving mad woman in the K-Mart parking lot: It is you who does not belong among thinking, compassionate people with decent manners.