Are we free to hate?  If so, why?  We have freedom of speech, but hate speech is a crime.  

Hate is acceptable except for under the most extreme circumstances…  Why do we do it?  Because we can.  Because we can’t help it.  Because we like to.  We’re human beings with human emotions and one of those emotions is hate.  The problem is that hate is normal.  We all do it.  We really don’t think about it.  We always worry about the hate of others.  That is… unless their hates match our own.  We all feel justified in our hate.  It fills us with a sense of superiority and control.  What useful or positive purpose does hate serve under any circumstances?  It just seems a bit hypocritical of us to condemn only certain kinds of hate.  Can’t we just somehow decide as a species that hate is not a behaviorally correct attitude?

We can never bring an end to war or bigotry without ending the hatred first.  As long as we continue to allow ourselves this acidic emotion we are no better than those haters we criticize.  We can’t end hate with hate.  We can’t end war with war.  We can’t end torture with torture.  We can’t end terrorism with terrorism.  We can’t end bigotry with bigotry.  Sometimes you fight fire with fire…  most times you use a hose.  

You can’t end hate with hate.