Dear Jessica Brennan,
(a ranty poem-ish blog)
Hate is hate.
You can wrap it up in gender,
Colour, faith, sexual preference,
Or class structure.
You can call it politics
Or religion
Or history
Or charity
Even decency,
Statistics or privilege.
Call it what you like.
You can blame your parents,
Your friends,
Your job,
The geography you landed on,
Or your sparkly, diamond-encrusted church.
Hate is hate, and hate is fear.
You can ask your God,
Your Goddess,
Your lucky stars
Or ancient changelings and fairies
For all I care.
You can say,
“I was only kidding”,
“She misunderstood”,
“They’re all too sensitive”,
“I’m too old to know better.”
“Things have changed”.
Well.
Yes. They. Have.
On this, we agree.
But hate is hate, and hate is evil
You can list a thousand reasons why you’re right,
It’s good for the economy
It helps build empires
It snags you more “followers.”
I don’t give a toss because love is love, and hate is hate.
Love lifts up
Hate tears down
Love gives hope
Hate destroys the spirit
Love looks for truth
Hate tells a lie
(It slides right off the slippery tongue)
Love spreads kindness
Hate fractures for self-promotion
It divides
I don’t care what your apathetic teachers taught you
How your Daddy voted,
What your toxic mother beat into you
Or that your Bible told you so.
Maybe read it again.
Love is love
Hate is hate
This rings as clear as the bell in your steeple.
You can form committees and initiate dialogue,
Hold prayer meetings, write policies and conduct focus groups
But, come on.
Love is love
Hate is hate.
Stop pretending to be confused,
We all know the difference.
Love,
Mum xo
