I updated the software on my phone this week and with it the apps – which subsequently opened once downloaded.
To my surprise Facebook Message Requests opened with a host of messages dating back quite a few years – that's right tech savvy people, I didn't know this part existed.
Kema Johnson...and the uninvited Facebook message she received.
Anyway, one message caught my eye as it was from a person I have never met nor do I have any mutual connections with him.
It said: "Hi wassup"
"U ended up being with a white guy....whitewashing your indian cultural identity i see...smh"
While I work in the media and I'm aware there are always people who will have personal opinions about me and/or my work, I was shocked about the content of that message. This was discrimination on a different level.
Too often discrimination goes unnoticed and people argue these days that we're becoming too "soft" or too "politically correct" but when it comes to comments about race and culture that's a personal attack that is unacceptable. It could be ignored but it shouldn't be.
First of all hurtful, hateful language should not be tolerated.
It's not enough to simply avoid offence especially when it's intercultural.
As a woman with an Indian background I am appalled that type of ignorance exists. If we can't accept each other, how can we expect others to accept us?
All of us are privileged to live in this great country, a country that has provided my family and me the greatest of opportunities.
Secondly, I didn't marry a "white guy".
I married a man. A man whom I fell in love with for no particular reason or choice but at the same time for many reasons.
A man who embodies traits that continue to give me hope that there are still good people in this world.
A man who has respected me from the day we met, who has accepted me the way I am and accepted, understood and embraced my Indian culture and all the values that go with it.
A man that loves the Australian side of me and the way I mix my background into all aspects of my life and am proud to say I am an Indian-Australian.
A man who is intelligent and open minded, so much so he hasn't tried to change me in any way and was happy to marry me in a completely religious Hindu ceremony. Not out of obligation, or because he was forced but because he wanted to and accepts my background and embraces it as part of his own life.
What makes him and all the people in my life great is that they recognise the innate dignity and worth of each and every person. We all have the right to make our own choices.
The people I have surrounded myself with in my personal and work life are people that know this country is big enough for all of us, no matter what walk of life we come from, and that we can live together and share what we are proud of and embrace our differences.
Race isn't something that enters our daily lives but when it does it's largely in positive ways that help us learn and grow together.
The choice this person made to send this message to me tells me they're not ready for that.
In 2011 I spoke out about diversity in Australia's media and entertainment industry. I did it because working in media and entertainment should be about a person and their work and talent not about what they look like or where they have come from.
I've lived in Perth since I was four years old with my family who moved here from Singapore. I love my life here and was always looking for people I could relate and aspire to and struggled to find them.
I was brought up as a Hindu and learned, enjoyed and embraced my south indian roots and I was taught to respect people regardless of their race or background.
I grew up waiting to see "everyday" people on our screens, magazines and papers, so when my Indian background was seen as a hindrance in the commercial world on that day in 2011, I spoke up about it pointing back to my beloved country that tells the world we are multicultural, (I'm pleased to see we have been progressing slowly).
My choice to speak out was covered widely and I can only assume that's what sparked this person to send this message – a message from someone who appears to be of Indian background slamming me for marrying a "white guy".
Some of us continue to fight to be treated the same, to have the same opportunities, to be recognised for our hard work.
So it's extremely disappointing to see anyone – let alone someone within your own culture - throw judgement without knowing me or my husband. All because of colour.
We're not born with these biases, they are learned so therefore can be change,but judging by this experience I think some people still have a long way to go.