Tom Gorman tells readers how to politely call him names if they have a difference of opinion

Friday, March 31, 2006 | 7:08 a.m.

I've received a lot of phone calls and e-mails after candidly acknowledging in Wednesday's column that I have hired day laborers without first checking whether they were legally in this country.

I wondered aloud how paying a fellow to help with yard work is contributing to the nation's burgeoning immigration problem and, I'm now told, the downfall of our Republic as we know it.

Because I'm rather new to the role of writing opinion-laced columns, I'm thrilled by feedback, even if this week's was mean-spirited and vitriolic.

The form and tone of reader reaction speaks volumes about people. Usually, it is thoughtful and articulate. Sometimes it is knee-slapping funny and occasionally it is sad or poignant.

I knew with Wednesday's column I would be exposing myself to heaps of criticism. Indeed, if phone calls and e-mails could kill, I was a corpse by midmorning.

(And despite several suggestions, I don't plan on moving to Mexico. I don't speak Spanish very bueno.)

I'm assuming the people who were most rude are the same ones who dart dangerously around me on the freeway and run red lights. Lack of civility plays out in so many different ways.

If you have considered writing or calling a columnist or reporter about something he or she wrote in the paper, don't hesitate to do it. I love it and I think most of my colleagues do, too. But please consider a few things.

("Shame on you, You are a bloody disgrace," one woman said. "Hiring these people is despicable and disgusting. You are breaking the law," said another caller. "I'm sure there's a newspaper in Mexico City that would hire you," said a third. I hope they feel better now.)

I invited her to speak her mind. We agreed to disagree on matters of philosophy, but the conversation was engagingly intellectual, civil and respectful. Those are wonderful calls.

Heh heh heh.