Probably the only time I'll ever post something like this

If you haven't noticed, I'm definitely a lover of the internet/social media. I'm happy to post regular updates and pictures and even the occasional video. But there is one thing I always try to avoid: the political statement. For a couple reasons. The first being that people tend to get a lot more aggressive and cruel hidden behind the anonymity of the internet, neither of which are helpful to any discussion. The next being exactly that - it is very rarely ever a discussion that follows, but rather a long list of comments pointing fingers, calling names, and reinforcing negative stereotypes (of every side involved). 

If you know me only through my internet presence, then chances are you have no idea where I stand on the social/political spectrum (or you can only make a guess based on indirect indications from other posts).  If you know me personally, though, it should be quite clear where I stand, especially in regard to a few key issues currently in the political foreground - in fact, I often feel so strongly about my opinions I'm quick to get hot-headed in an argument, which is why I try to avoid arguing all together. I realize once I've let my own anger into the equation, it has turned into fighting and no progress is being made. No progress will ever be achieved by fighting. 

But no matter how strongly I feel about my own social/political opinions, there is one thing I feel strongest about: you can't fight hate with hate. Which is why I'd like to discuss my problem with the current logic that says:

You hate me ∴ I hate you

While clearly you can't expect everyone to agree on everything or to share the same opinions and ideals (what kind of boring world would that be then, anyway?), my biggest problem is with the downright animosity being spread. 

What's that saying? When you fight fire with fire everyone gets burned. When trying to overcome a problem or achieve a certain result, you must work together. By fighting hate with hate, you are doing exactly the opposite. You are alienating yourself and the opposition, until the divide becomes so great that there is no middle ground on which to meet. You are reinforcing the sense of "us" versus "them" when it is the collective "we" that is needed to make a true change. I believe it was Martin Luther King, Jr. who said it best when he said "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

Of course, your problem still might be with the order of things. "They hated me first, but now I'm the one being called out for hating back?" I'm not trying to point fingers at anyone or say that any one side has more right to hate than another. In a perfect world, no one would hate anyone to begin with. What I'm mostly trying to figure out is how being the victim of hate or persecution leads to the conclusion that spreading more hate and persecution is the best solution. 

One of, if not my favorite responses to hate/discrimination, came in the wake of the Chick-Fil-A fallout with the LGBT community. A quick recap for those of you who don't know: Chick-Fil-A is a fast food chain from my home state of Georgia. It is already quite popular in the southern US and continues to spread. However, it recently came out that the chain supports staunchly anti-gay organizations. Most of the responses I've seen to the news fall under the "you hate me ∴ I hate you" category, somewhere along the lines of: "villagers, bring your pitchforks and torches, and let us burn down the bigoted houses of Chick-Fil-A!" But this video - while admittedly not completely harmless - takes a different approach that, to me, is pretty clear in it's message that "even though they hate me, me hating them isn't going to achieve anything." Plus a little bit of humor and a catchy tune never hurt any cause! 

And just a warning: if you're easily offended by drag queens and/or fast food, it's best you don't watch this video.