It started out as a whisper and picked up momentum, like a spark blown into a wildfire by the Santa Ana winds: sick and dying in Mexico, due to the swine flu. Suspected cases here and there, a death in Texas of a sick child – the first confirmed death in the U.S.

The child, a toddler, had traveled with his family to Brownsville, in search of medical care – the best medical care in the world. And in our wonderful U.S., the media and health experts flexed their well-honed muscles in the form of unclear and inaccurate information, stirring up fear, concern, and hatred.

Throughout history, instilling fear and blame have occurred during infectious disease epidemics. Remember, not too long ago, the spread of HIV was blamed on gay men and Haitians. Reactions like these follow a pattern seen time and time again. People fear what looks different or what they don’t know. The term for this is ignorance. When taken with a real or perceived threat of a possible contagious disease/epidemic, the “fire is fanned” and grows out of control.

The possibility of an epidemic has become an excuse to vent prejudices about Mexican people that previously existed. On his April 24^th show conservative talk show host Michael Savage shared the following with his listeners: “No contact anywhere with an illegal alien!” He went on to say, “And that starts in the restaurants where you don’t know if they wipe their behinds with their hands! Make no mistake about it: illegal aliens are the carriers of the new strain of human-swine avian flu from Mexico.”

Jay Severin, another talk show radio host, called Mexican immigrants “criminalians” on his show and went further saying that the hospital emergency rooms were “essentially condos for Mexicans”.  He was suspended.

These are just two examples of emerging hatred. The reactions have flown across the Internet, multiplying exponentially like a virus, an epidemic of prejudice and bigotry. And this hatred expands to include other members of the Hispanic population because, you know, “they all look alike”.

I look into the large espresso eyes of my Guatemalan son and I am jolted, awakened to what he could be faced with as he grows into a young man and, beyond that, into adulthood. I fear for him. I am sickened by how people react and respond. I am one of the thousands of adoptive parents that will advocate for tolerance, compassion, and education. I will not condone racism, stand by, or let it happen. Will you?

Judy writes about parenting a multicultural, multiracial family at The International Mom’s Blog