People who'll say all kinds of nasty things that only serve to illustrate just how far we've gone down a dark and twisty rabbit hole as a nation of keyboard warriors.
For those that do exactly that, in my opinion, it's a sad reflection on you. Not me.
But (and here's the kicker!) it doesn't have to be.
Yep, you read that right - and I'll repeat it for emphasis, plus add in two words.
It doesn't have to be that way.
Only you give my words that power by how you choose to react to both them, and to the concept of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori - Māori Language Week.
But, why don't we call it what it really is - the week that narrow-minded, ignorant racists arc up on social media.
In a world where it's faster to scroll past something you don't like on to something you do, than engage, it never fails to amaze me how many choose option B.
So, let's get a few things straight.
1) "It's being forced upon me."
Yeah, nah. It's not.
This week is there so others less racist than you can enjoy it. Can broaden their own knowledge. Can embrace a language that has been around for centuries and was spoken in this country long, long before our ancestors arrived here.
My advice - if you're that determined to continue living life as a racist, just scroll on sunshine and get on with your day.
2) "It's just all made-up words."
Hello – you speak English, right? Hands down, the single most messed up language known to man.
It may surprise you to know things like tractors and cows weren't exactly plentiful when the Māori language originated - hence the need to create a word.
It's a crafty wee thing called transliteration.
Besides, about 29 per cent of words in English originate from French or Latin.
To quote Canadian freelance fiction reviewer James D. Nicoll - "The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore.
"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."
Let's just look at a couple of these.
Chances are this morning, if you have little ones in the house or grandkids staying, they demanded to watch some cartoons.
You know, from the Italian word "cartone" and French "carton". Yeah, English stole that one back in the 1670s.
Anonymous – Greek from the word anōnumos. Stolen in the 1600s.
Lemon – 1400s, from the Arabic "laimun" and Persian "limun" by way of old French "limon".
Emoji – Japanese.
Cigar – Spanish.
Tea – Chinese.
Coffee – Turkish.
Massage – French, but also possible Arabic or Portuguese prior to even that.
I think you get my point, but if not – let's just look at a few agricultural words to finish.
The word agriculture itself actually comes from Latin.
Beef comes from French.
Tractor – also Latin from "trahere" meaning "to pull." It was only Anglicised in the late 18th Century.
The word cattle has evolved substantially over time.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, it comes from the Anglo-Norman French word "catel" – a variant of Old French "chatel", by way of medieval Latin "capital" and a few more variations thrown in there on top.
We put a social post on The Country's Facebook page on Monday night showing the Māori word for Sheep – Hipi.
Someone piped up with "just a made-up word so it is irrelevant."
Really? Do you think English invented the word and didn't poach it from another language already?
You'd be wrong mate.
Sheep is actually of West Germanic origin – related to the German word "schaf" and Dutch "schaap".
Then there's another comment: "Can't wait for them to share the name for cow…woke shite."
Cow – of Germanic origin; related to Dutch "koe" and German "kuh".
Yeah, you guessed it – English stole that one too. Awkward.
Farm – from Old French "ferme", from medieval Latin "firma" meaning fixed payment, from Latin "firmware" which translates as fix or settle.
Dog. Nobody knows, so you can have this one, English.
So, if you're still with me and haven't left to go all keyboard warrior on me before actually reading this the whole way through, maybe take a breath.
Try not to get all defensive about the bastardised English language this week – it's not worth it anymore.
As of last week, the word "yeet" can now officially be found in the dictionary.
Have fun defending that one.
