Maine is not a perfect state and, yes, believe it or not there are incidents of bullying going on in our classrooms, and it's been going on for years. And, yes, some of the bullying is directed against more recent immigrants such as the Somalies. 50 years ago there was similar bullying directed against French-Canadians. Some thought the bullying was all in fun. Some still think it's fun. They're all wrong when they think that and it takes a whole lot of community meetings and protests to make it better.

In this case the "ham sandwich" was just the tip of the iceberger. A year ago in Lewiston one misquiged soul rolled a pig's head into a mosque where Somalies were praying. He thought it was a joke. They were appalled. He was indicted for a hate crime. Anyone here who thinks this was a "funny" incident, or an over reaction of PC, is no friend of mine.

Charley Noble