Red Rugby Ruckas. 10.3.08

My son, my daughter and I are proud redheads, I am not one to cry and have taken jibes through my growing years well, with humour and that "oh well what can I do, I am the minority".
I wanted to vent my spleen about Saturday. I took my son to see Wales play (and win) the Grand Slam at our local pub. As we settled down for the match it caught my ear that the table next to me were constantly spewing out "rather be anything than ginger" hilaroties. I tried to ignore this but I have to say its becoming hard when your strong, intelligent 9 year old boy sits next to you, the best athelete in his year but "cursed" with red hair.
My switch finally closed when Martin Williams No7 Welsh player another Red, was having treatment for a cut on his head. The Father of this group commented that the sight of the blood covering his skull was better than having ginger hair. I confronted him while my boy visited the toilet, asking him if this was a new form of Racism, he looked away obvouisly caught unawares by this nutter before him. His rather large manly daughters flew to his defence claiming that I should be able to take a joke. I said no more, sat in a rage wanting to strike this coward.
2 things trouble me;
1. Why did I react, am I losing my self confidence to laugh these things off.
2. Because I did react why didn't I complete the act by putting him through the window (only joking).
I don't want my son or daughter to cower and be eroded by these acid remarks, and I can only hope that their innate humour and loyalty to their friends will carry them through, oh and by the way, it seems as though Catherine Tate is used as a passport to allow abuse!

Alan Williams