Hate is Not Okay

Over the past few days I've been seeing this popping up on my Facebook feed as "friends" have joined it:

One would have thought things like this far behind us- somewhere in that corner of recent history people try studiously to ignore. But no, apparently it's still being flaunted out there in the open.

This is not okay. What you see above is a group praying for Obama's death. Take a look at the numbers, too- there's over a million supporters. When did this become acceptable, and on Facebook, of all places? The matter is not one of free speech; people are, after all, perfectly entitled to voice dissent and disagreement and anger if they wish it.

But "I fervently hope my president dies" is another matter altogether. It matters not whether you agree or disagree with someone. Having harm wished upon one is something no one deserves, not even the lowliest. And like Obama or not, he has been, as all presidents before him, elected into office by the people. It also takes a considerable amount of ability to lead an entire country, or even to get into office in the first place. Could the majority of us do any better, with the responsibility of a nation on our shoulders? 

Here we have a country and a government system for which we ought to be grateful- the government is not perfect, but at least we have the free speech that haters themselves are using and abusing. Do you want to live  under a government where governmental leaders can be killed whenever disagreements arise? I thought not.

Some of the commentators on the page try to justify their actions by claiming that "liberals would have done the same, if it were Bush in office." Really? I don't remember that. Personally, I might not have agreed with many of Bush's views and actions, but I did and do still hold a significant measure of respect for him. 

Death is much too grave a sentence to deal about so freely. 

What makes me incredulous is how long this page has been up, and that it has not yet been removed. If you are on Facebook, bring this problem attention by joining this page instead, then sign the "Clean Up Facebook" petition.

Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. When you next stumble across a hate-promoting-group, please stop, think, and report.