The tagline #NOH8 is not exclusive to a particular cause.
I’ve been watching the social fury surrounding a recent interview featuring Kirk Cameron. He was interviewed by CNN’s Piers Morgan, and after answering several questions regarding homosexuality, he was verbally assaulted across multiple media platforms. And when I say assaulted, I mean it was vicious.
I saw hate spewed from Facebook posts, from Twitter updates and even saw articles calling him vile and foul names. But each time I see another hateful post, I wonder, since when is it all right for someone to HATE another person simply because they share a different opinion? It’s as if we’ve learned nothing from history.
Regardless of your political views or how you feel about the issue, Cameron said nothing promoting hate. He said nothing promoting bullying, nothing calling for an uprising and nothing remotely evil. He simply answered a question with his honest answer. Something we should all be brave enough to do if ever asked something personal.
Homosexuality. Abortion. Private debt. Depression. Eating disorders. These are all things no one talks about. They are tough issues. They are often private issues. They involve family relationships, pride and fear. They involve tough emotions and even tougher understanding. They are issues that so many face every day, yet no one talks about them. I’m one of them. None of these things am I comfortable discussing openly. For one, I don’t want to ever offend or hurt anyone. Secondly, I don’t want to isolate or push anyone away. And thirdly, I don’t want to be personally attacked if my views were to differ from someone else’s views. Which seems to be what always happens.
No one shares open, honest and candid feelings for fear of the repercussions. Cameron did, and did so tastefully and eloquently without any remnant of hate speech. As Christians, we are called to love others, to embrace others and to not judge others. When I listened to Cameron’s comments, I didn’t hear hate regarding another human. I didn’t hear him saying he wouldn’t reach out to another human. I didn’t hear him judging. What I did hear, were his opinions based on his belief in the word of God and in his Christian faith.
I’m not going to say he was right or he was wrong, that’s not what this post is about. But what I am saying, is that he stated HIS OPINION and did so without shouting hate and anger. But the responses I’ve seen have done exactly the opposite.
Do you not see the irony here? A group of people who fight for equality, fight for peace and justice were not peaceful and just at all. A group who fights for understanding and for tolerance were not remotely tolerant of another person’s opinions because they differed from their own. A group who stands up daily against hate speech and bullying was the very majority that unleashed hateful speech and bullying comments about and toward Cameron. How does that make any sense to you? If you don’t agree with him, that’s your perogitive. If you do, that’s also your choice.
From Cameron following the interview: (You can read his entire statement here.)
“I believe that freedom of speech and freedom of religion go hand-in-hand in America. I should be able to express moral views on social issues–especially those that have been the underpinning of Western civilization for 2,000 years–without being slandered, accused of hate speech, and told from those who preach “tolerance” that I need to either bend my beliefs to their moral standards or be silent when I’m in the public square …. I believe we need to learn how to debate these things with greater love and respect.”
But do not beg for peace and tolerance if you can’t give it. You have the option to disagree, but you should not have the option to hate. How am I the only person to see this outcry as ridiculous? #NOH8 works many different ways.