In the wake of all the recent tragedies that have occurred, I have seen a lot of hate being justified. People hate others of different religions because this somehow means that they are inherently evil. People hate those who may even be of the same religion because of their sexuality. People are always finding excuses to hate other people and blaming it on the other person, calling them out as being wrong and unnatural and disgusting.

Let me tell you something. The unnatural thing here is not my sexuality, or her religion, or the color of his skin. The unnatural thing is your intolerance, your prejudice, your hatred, your fear.

Fear is not an automatic response, we are taught to fear. Most of it is for our own good, of course—we are taught to fear spiders because some spiders could kill us and we are taught to fear heights so that our fear will keep us from straying too far over the edge. Sure, it isn’t typically broken down like that, but that’s the why. So why, then, do we fear the other? Why does the “majority” fear the “minority” to the extent that this fear turns into bigotry and hatred?

The truth is, we learn to hate others. We learn racism, sexism, etc. We learn to treat others as though they are inferior. Children learn hate and intolerance from their parents. Sure, many children grow and change their worldview, but others teach the hate and intolerance of others to their own children. It's a cycle that needs to be broken.

A general note: When you use your religion to spread hate, you are doing yourself and your religion at large a disservice. Not only do most religions teach love above all else, but by justifying your prejudice as being religious, you are showing others that your religion is about hate, not love.

Let's work a little harder to spread love, not hate.