Ohio State Football Player Tweets: Show Atheists "Some Hate"
Hate, as an emotion, can be a very powerful motivator for both good and bad. The hatred of racism has helped propel civil rights. The hatred of sexism has helped propel women’s suffrage. When one sees hate fuel good things, it is usually hate directed at an unjust or cruel idea or social norm.
It is the hatred of the other kind that concerns most of us: hatred toward people, especially when manifested physically, such as the brutal beatings of homosexuals, lynching of black southerners during the Civil Rights era, etc. This is the type of hate that normally brings about bad things. History is certainly rife with examples.
Everyone is perfectly free to hate anyone they want. But when someone directs hate at an individual or group of people or asks others to “bring the hate” or “visit the hate” upon someone else, then one’s freedom of thought is now a physical manifestation of and subject to criticism, laws, and the appropriate consequences and repercussions associated with the physical action or manifestation.
We have a prime example of this at The Ohio State University: the difference between hating someone and bringing the hate upon someone. OSU football player Jake Russell (#21, punter) tweeted late night on January 24th, “my roommate max rouse (look him up on Facebook) is an atheist, please show him some hate.”
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion/religion-society/ohio-state-football-player-tweets-show-atheists-some-hate
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