an attack on grammar (and diversity)

after my recent "meet the pomegranate" blog post, i received this comment from a reader:
"First, this is NOT the proper way to process a pomegranate.  You do not cut it if half.  You cut a small section of the top off, score the rind, then separate it into parts.

Second, why do you people not capitalize properly.  You are in America.  We speak and write English in America.  When I see English grammar butchered, it drives me nuts."

i'd like to first thank him or her for his suggestion.  i received a comment from another reader suggesting this same method, so i definitely plan on giving it a try later today when i make my favorite meat sauce: a pomegranate-balsamic reduction. 

second, i'd like to suggest to him or her that he definitely has a place in the kitchen of gordon ramsay but probably not on my blog.  one thing i love about writing "the petite pig" is the feeling that i'm part of a larger food community where homecooks (like myself), avid eaters and even professional chefs can come together over our common love of food.  it's a community where ideas, recipes and techniques are shared openly.  it is not the restaurant kitchen of some hotheaded celebrity chef where there is barking and ordering and a right way and a wrong way to do things.  i do not run my kitchen that way and i definitely do not write my food blog that way.

third, and my real issue with this reader is his or her's second comment.  "why do you people not capitalize correctly.  you are in america.  we speak and write english in america."  i've had other readers take issue with my stylistic choice to not use capitalization.  despite the criticism, it's a choice i stand by.  it worked for e.e. cummings.  why can't it work for me?  but i feel that this comment is not an attack on my freedom of expression but on the value of diversity.

i realize that i live in america.  but america is a melting pot of cultures and people and of course, their food.  i feel incredibly lucky to be exposed to so many cultures without traveling more than a few steps outside of my door.  it is the immigrants of america that have helped make the american food scene what it is.  more than ever, we in america can experience the assorted tastes and foods of all those that make up the world. 

i'd like to think that all of us are in a better place because we have access to so many cultures but i know this isn't the view held by all.  i grew up in a small apartment in maryland with five of my family members.  dinners were cozy and chinese.  one of our favorite meals was fried fish, which as some of you may know creates a pungent smell.  this dish particularly upset one of our neighbors, who felt the need to post a public letter encouraging us to move because we and our food were not appreciated.  it was the first time in my life where i felt the demeaning nature of racism.  this reader's comment called upon those feelings again.  to me, this reader might as well have written, "why do you people not cook properly?  cook american?"   

english is not my first language.  american food is not my first taste.  but it doesn't mean that i don't belong here.  what doesn't belong is any tolerance for racism or food fascism.  neither are welcome at my table or my blog.   

--------

thanks to everyone who offered their comments.  this post is now closed for comments so we can get back to the heart of this blog: food.