Haters vs. "haters"

My hometown newspaper - the Eagle - has been publishing a series of editorials this week. The opinion pieces, which are written by non-journalists, are billed by the Eagle as a remembrance of the horrific events of September 11, 2001.

Up until today, however, the editorials have largely avoided 9/11 and the uncomfortable issues that day raises. Not a word (so far) about the heroes who saved lives pulling victims from the World Trade Center, or who fought back against the Islamic terrorists in a hijacked plane over Pennsylvania, or who died on the battlefields in Afghanistan and Iraq. For the most part, the authors of the editorials have contented themselves with promoting pet political causes that have nothing to do with the worst terrorist attack in American history. The Eagle may as well have used the space to peddle Twin Towers Cola or Flight 93 designer jeans. It would have been just as disgusting as what they did publish, but at least it would have been honest.

Today's editorial (written by Karan Watson and Nancy Watson) was about the suicide of one of their friends. The authors seemed to be blaming anyone and everyone who was a "hater" for their friend's death.

To anyone acquainted with modern multiculturalism, the Watson's definition of "hater" was all too familiar. Those who do not wholeheartedly endorse the Watson's view of "tolerance" are somehow guilty of murdering their friend. The Eagle is not exactly known for thought-provoking journalism and rational debate, but even by its own already low standards today's editorial was more than a bit over the top.

One problem I have discovered in arguing with multiculturalists is that many of them see disagreement as not just wrong, but a criminal act that indicates you are not quite a human being. You are a "hater" if you disagree with the homosexual lifestyle, affirmative action, abortion on demand, or any other position they hold as sacred. It was not hyperbole or journalistic license that led the Watsons to accuse those they disagree with of slaughtering their friend. They really mean it.

Perhaps it is time to remind the Eagle that the world is a bit more than what they encounter in the pampered, privileged bubble they live in. Unlike the Watson's fictitious "haters", real haters are killing innocent victims every day all over the world. China, Cuba, and North Korea routinely imprison, torture and murder people with rarely a peep of protest from the journalists at Eagle. Hitler's rise to power led to an orgy of blood-letting and a world war. The Soviet Union and the Communist Bloc came terrifyingly close to world domination while strangling the life and soul out of its subjects. The United States threw off the evils of slavery only after fighting a vicious civil war, and nearly a hundred years later almost did so again in order to get rid of lingering racial discrimination. Throughout history Jews have been a favorite target for bloodthirsty maniacs. And just try being a homosexual (or a Christian) in places like Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan, and others the Eagle would prefer to forget.

Perhaps it is time to remember who the real haters are.