I saw this posted elsewhere, and felt it was important to share.

[Chili]

10. I have a question

(and thank you all for your responses because, truly, I'm having a hard time with these people - and even feel bad for calling them "these people" )

Most of us are taught that strength is: honesty, humility, compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, courtesy, empathy, love for family, friends, community, and the courage to express it all. The more we have these qualities, or work towards them, the stronger our hearts, minds, souls, lives. Many of us get that from families who worship a higher power, and many of us don't need that influence at all.

So are all of these people born to those who think that way, and so they infect their children with hatred, and their children infect their children, and on and on? And while their loss in the Civil War effects those in the south, what about those in the north? Seeing confederate flags in Michigan floored me. And, LOL, I'm not some young inexperienced naivete - I was bussed as a kid to an all white school, and we black kids got into fights every day - were called the "n" every day, were spit at, shoved, kicked - I kept my Girl Scouts utility knife in my pocket for defense (never used it - and shocked my poor mother!). So I'm used to seeing it all, haven't forgotten. But 50 years later, I'm still shocked because I thought time should have diminished some of this animosity. But it seems to have flourished.

Or is this all just a form of mental illness?

I don't know. I don't see how the eff it can ever change and it's depressing sometimes.