Pretty Hate Machine

Well it's my turn to lead the Roundtable discussion once again. I think in honor of the passing of Jerry Falwell today's topic should be hate.

When I found out that Falwell died yesterday I was giddy. It was like a colon cancer had been cut out of the world, albeit much later than it should have been as the disease of bigotry and intolerance has spread to so many other vital organs, most notably the White House. I expressed out loud to several people how happy I was he was gone and that I was glad to learn that he died alone and I hoped it hurt and he was scared. Pretty much all the same stuff I wrote in yesterday's post.

Many people greeted my statement with the same twisted chuckle I had. There are others who are aghast at saying something so mean about someone who just died, even if he was a total douche bag.

Others will say that you shouldn't celebrate the death of someone. But a lot of these same people are the ones who would cheer the killing of Osama bin Laden. A dead religious fanatic is a dead religious fanatic, and it's a good thing either way. I don't support killing people, not even the death penalty for criminals, but I don't have any problem with celebrating the death of an evil person.

I got into an argument one time with some namby-pamby Christian type who told me that hate was always a bad emotion and I should love more. I told him that was bullshit. Hate is a human emotion like any other and it can be positive or negative. I gave him one easy example.

I hate war.

Nothing wrong with that kind of hate. And if you think it's wrong to hate war, well you got problems and your name is probably Dick Cheney.

Sure, lots of hate can be bad. The hatred that Hitler and the Nazis had for the Jews was terrible. The hate that caused the lynchings of countless black Americans by the KKK or their supporters over the years is revolting. The hatred of homosexuals by religious conservatives has led to the current spewing of nonsense by politicians like Mitt Romney and our idiot president that gay people are a threat to traditional marriage, which has in turn led to a rise in violence against gays and lesbians around the country. That hate has also led to the likes of people like Fred Phelps blaming the victims of those violent crimes for what has happened to them. He's the guy who led protesters at Matthew Shepard's funeral holding up signs like "God Hates Fags."

But hate can be used for good. Morris Dees hates racism and intolerance. He turned that hate into the Southern Poverty Law Center that works to fight against bigotry in all its forms. That hate has led to a major weakening of the Klan and other neo-Nazi groups.

I know that some of you are thinking, "But Deni, isn't the kind of venom you're spewing about people like Jerry Falwell just as bad as the hate they spread for women and gays?"

No, it's not. If you can't see the difference I just feel sorry for you. Think of it as this example. Hitler hating the Jews? Bad. Hating Hitler? Good.

So I'm OK with the hate that I have. I hate bigots. I hate gay bashers. I hate child molesters. I hate rapists. And I hate people like Jerry Falwell and those who follow them.

So the Roundtable questions this week are these. How do you feel about hate? Who do you hate? Even if you haven't said it out loud, isn't there someone who has died and your first thought about them was "good riddance?"

Be honest now.

Let me have your thoughts.