General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I know this is going to be unpopular but I am friends with and I understand many Trump supporters [View all]athena
(4,187 posts)These people are extremely afraid.
I find it very hard to respect someone who allows fear to fill their heart with hate. Tolerating intolerance is not the solution. If we were living in 1930s Germany rather than 2010s America, would you be saying that we need to respect Hitler's supporters and treat them with kindness and generosity?
I don't think we're the ones being assholes to them. We need to stop beating ourselves up for not being likable to these people. The problem is with them, not with us. Trying to get them to like us is not going to solve the problem. At some point, we need to stand up and say, "Your views are not acceptable to me. Hate is not acceptable. You should be ashamed of holding such views." We have to stop allowing them to normalize hate and intolerance.