LOOKING through the mail of Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone makes me wonder what hatred some teachers preach in class.
The Australian Education Union this year campaigned against the Howard Government's wickedness, boasting of ``the critical role that public education plays in achieving a harmonious, tolerant and peaceful society''. Harmonious? Tolerant?
Here's the harmony and tolerance that blooms when a teacher at a state school in Melbourne's inner-north gets a Year 4/5 class to ask Vanstone to free the children held in our detention centres.
``Dear Minister, . . . I think you are a racist pig,'' goes one typical letter, decorated with a picture of a pig's head, helpfully labelled ``you''.
``Dear Minister, . . . You completely and uterly (sic) suck,'' says another, signed by ``your Nemisis (sic)/arch enemy''.
``You should be fired and turned into a hobo . . . I hate you nin (sic) hundred zillion plus one.''
Another letter, also decorated with a pig's head, reads: ``Your (sic) being a racist pig just because their (sic) not Australian and don't speak english doesn't mean you can put them in prison.''
``You Imbasil,'' writes another child from the same class. ``You are so raset (sic).''
``I think you are being very racest (sic),'' agrees yet another.
``I will tell my parents not to vote for you (not that they ever did),'' warns a classmate.
``You are a racist!'' writes a student who signs off as ``arch enemy/nemesis/rival/hater''.
Other letters from this class are far more polite, and show a genuine concern that children will spend Christmas in detention. But no wonder they're worried, when someone has told them that the detainees -- none of whom are real refugees -- are ``fed disgusting food and not treated nicely''.
Of course, any sensible reader will immediately notice that the ``peace movement'' led by our teacher-preachers yet again seems scarily hate-filled. Ask the police where they feel in most danger -- at a ``peace'' protest or a building workers' rally.
You'll also notice, I'm sure, that the teacher of these 10 and 11-year-olds would have done better giving them extra lessons in spelling rather than politics. Why weren't the letters at least corrected and the children made to rewrite them before they were bundled up and sent to the Minister?
Typically sloppy, I'm afraid, leaving the students unable to spell the abuse they recite.
To be fair, this school, which I won't name, is not the only one to have sent Vanstone letters from students unable to spell ``racist'' -- an evil they now seem to see everywhere.
But that's a progressive education for you: Never mind the facts, learn these opinions -- these right and angry opinions on ``refugees'', ``genocide'', ``global warming'' and the ``stolen generations''.
This careful coaching of opinions is sadly obvious from so many letters to Vanstone.
Half-a-dozen Year 4 children at a Catholic school in Melbourne's outer-north each sent her letters with the same paragraphs, carefully copied.
``Stop spending public money on court cases arguing to keep children behind razor wire,'' chorused several, showing a very mature phrasing from authors aged only 10.
In no letter I've seen did a child hint at having been taught the other side of this story -- that to free the children you must also free their parents.
And that would encourage the people smugglers who have already drowned so many children in their lethally overstuffed boats.
But who wants facts when you can feel so righteously angry at the rest of Australia?
So repeat after me, children. Vanstone is a racest. I mean, rascest. Umm . . . rasist? Whatever, she's it and we hate her.
Good. Are we all feeling more tolerant now, children?
