Love Those Who Hate

The special interest groups have lobbied and made hatred illegal. Not only is the act of committing a crime punishable, but that punishment can be increased if the motive for the crime is perceived to involve some animosity the perpetrator has toward the victim. Someone can stand on a corner and hate someone else, but as long as they don't say or do anything about it they won't be prosecuted. They may be prosecuted for a hate crime if hatred was not truly a motivating factor if their victim belongs to a group of people who are perceived to always be on the receiving end of the hatred. In any case, hatred itself is deemed wrong, and we have a law against it. Who says we don't legislate morality? The law was passed because of the vitriol that the special interest groups have against those they perceive hate them. So hatred against those who hate urged a law to be passed against hatred. Clear as mud?

The law has been on the books for a while now. This year we are seeing increased hatred against those who were originally seen as the haters: white Christian men. Specifically, we have seen an anti-Christmas bias growing. With this sentiment, one Christian pastor has had his nativity display vandalized. The local authorities have made the observation that this may be considered a "hate crime". However, the pastor just wants to forgive those who have done the vandalization. This is a far cry different from those who pushed for the hate crimes legislation to begin with. It should serve to mark the difference between those who are falsely portrayed as haters and those who truly hate, no matter what group of people with whom they have been perceived to belong.