The climate of fellowship in the world becomes icier and icier every day, it seems. There are hundreds of groups who seek to vilify the members of hundreds of other groups, and there seems no point to any of it.
The rich hate the poor for being, well, poor. For daring to buy steaks with their food stamps. For daring to buy cheap food with their food stamps. For being fat, lazy, dirty, disrespectful...
The poor hate the rich. For their big, pollution-rich SUVs. For their apparent hatred of anyone beneath their station. For their exclusive clubs, their privileged education, for being fat, lazy, disrespectful, condescending...
The thin hate the fat. For being unhealthy. For eating a doughnut instead of a salad. For daring to be fat in public. For being round and soft, and unapologetic as they eat in public. For taking up more than their fair share of space. For being, well, F A T. 
Fat people hate thin people. For wearing skin-tight pants, or a revealing bathing suit. For eating a doughnut without guilt. For being a "skinny bitch" who "needs to eat a sandwich." For being unhealthy...
The religious people hate the "heathens." For their non-belief, and refusal to accept what they know is right. For their sin. For their unapologetic sex, and reckless lifestyle. For their homosexuality. They hate other religions for being "wrong."
Men hate women. For their creepy uterine witchcraft. For their irrational mood swings and uncontrolled bleeding. For their emotional responses and their absurd demands.
Women hate men. For their weird smells and controlling nature. For their lack of compassion and their allergy to monogamy. For their apparent aversion to hygiene.
It all seems so irrational, and sad.
Some of these stereotypes are spot on. Some are ridiculous, and over-simplified. Some are a mix of both.
But why does it matter? Why do we focus so much on how different we are, and forget the very simple fact that we are essentially the same? We are all the same type of animal, struggling in one way or another to make it another day, creeping ever more near to our ultimate demise. Every single one of us. The fat person. The rich person. The Pagan person. Each one of us, struggling toward the same end.
What do we gain by being hateful? What do we gain by exclusion? Will I live longer, or have a happier life if I prove to a Christian that the bible isn't real, or is skewed? Will I live longer if I prove to a man that I can wield a hammer just as well as he can...even while menstruating?
Well I gain riches or social standing if I prove to a thin person that my fat body is every bit as valid as their thin one?
I can't get my brain around the hatred.
I don't want to be hated for being fat any more than a Christian wants to be hated for his bible.
I don't want to be hated for being poor any more than a man wants to be hated for his penis.
I don't want to force someone to marry on my terms.
I don't want to force someone to practice Buddhist rituals.
I don't want to force someone to gain 50 pounds.
Why isn't it ok, that some ideas are different from others? Why is there such a constant battle for supremacy and rightness?
Why isn't there more patience, and effort to understand one another?
Why is there such a lack of empathy?
You will die. It is fact. No matter how much money you gain, or how many people you convert to your religion. No matter how much weight you lose or gain, or how many houses you own or lose. You will die.
And I don't want to reach my end, feeling like I have fought and scraped for rightness the entire time. I don't want to feel as if I've wasted my years, trying to make everyone see things my way.
I want to be loved. And I want to feel as if I've loved.
It's really just as simple as that.
But why does it matter? Why do we focus so much on how different we are, and forget the very simple fact that we are essentially the same? We are all the same type of animal, struggling in one way or another to make it another day, creeping ever more near to our ultimate demise. Every single one of us. The fat person. The rich person. The Pagan person. Each one of us, struggling toward the same end.
What do we gain by being hateful? What do we gain by exclusion? Will I live longer, or have a happier life if I prove to a Christian that the bible isn't real, or is skewed? Will I live longer if I prove to a man that I can wield a hammer just as well as he can...even while menstruating?
Well I gain riches or social standing if I prove to a thin person that my fat body is every bit as valid as their thin one?
I can't get my brain around the hatred.
I don't want to be hated for being fat any more than a Christian wants to be hated for his bible.
I don't want to be hated for being poor any more than a man wants to be hated for his penis.
I don't want to force someone to marry on my terms.
I don't want to force someone to practice Buddhist rituals.
I don't want to force someone to gain 50 pounds.
Why isn't it ok, that some ideas are different from others? Why is there such a constant battle for supremacy and rightness?
Why isn't there more patience, and effort to understand one another?
Why is there such a lack of empathy?
You will die. It is fact. No matter how much money you gain, or how many people you convert to your religion. No matter how much weight you lose or gain, or how many houses you own or lose. You will die.
And I don't want to reach my end, feeling like I have fought and scraped for rightness the entire time. I don't want to feel as if I've wasted my years, trying to make everyone see things my way.
I want to be loved. And I want to feel as if I've loved.
It's really just as simple as that.
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