Is hating the haters hateful?

Is it wrong to hate the haters?

This hater conundrum is not exactly a rant or a rave. OK, maybe it's a rant. I guess. Sort of. But only because certain kinds of haters tick me off. Which makes me a hater, I guess. But not really.

You see, the only people that really, really bother me are people who discriminate, separate, hate and banter on about what category or group someone belongs in, simply in order to show or prove how horrible that group is or make themselves feel better about their own categorization. In other words, bigots.

And yes, I guess I have to put myself in the so called vegan/vegetarian category. And yes, I sometimes post about it being a better lifestyle choice. But I do not believe that makes me any better than those in the so called omnivore category. In this case, I don't hate the person, anyway. I hate the behavior.

But then, there are people who spend their entire lives belittling, separating and discriminating against those who don't belong in their group, category, country, etc. and bragging about how superior they are to others. It's pretty hard not to hate them, isn't it?

They are hateful, horrible people. And I am sorry if this makes me seem hateful myself, but I do harbor hatred toward them for being so haughty, self centered and inconsiderate of others.

Does that make me hateful too? You know, I don't think so. I think it's OK to stand up against people who purposefully spread hatred or are purposefully rude, mean or abusive. And it's OK to do so simply because they regularly display hateful behavior and are proud of it.

Like Hitler, for instance. How could any decent person not hate him for what he did?

Hatred and bigotry are not good qualities for anyone. They're not acceptable. They're not cute or admirable in any way, shape or form. They're wrong. Plain and simple.

And if someone continually practices those behaviors, they're no friend of mine. And I don't think I'm a hater for saying that. In fact, I think standing up to the haters is both necessary and justified. It doesn't make you hateful. It makes you a strong, caring individual, crusading for peace and love and all that other hippie stuff.

What do you think, though? Does hating the haters make you hateful?