Do you ever feel like this?

“People can tell you to keep your mouth shut, but that doesn’t stop you from having your own opinion.”― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

“All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated and well supported in logic and argument than others.”― Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt

“Writing sharing. It’s part of the human condition to want to share things – thoughts, ideas, opinions.” ― Paulo Coelhog

“Disagreeing with someone’s opinion does not mean the opposite thought is coming from hate. It does not mean the person with a different point view is a hater. It simply means people have different ways at looking at the world around them.” ― Selena Robins

 

It’s time to REALLY Shake this off.

 

Thank you, Taylor Swift for the catchy tune that has had celebrities and even non-celebrity-types parody the song, making it a YouTube and social media entertaining sensation.

However, the coined phrase — “haters gonna hate” — bandied around is taking the edge off the true meaning of the word hate.

It’s time to shake that shit off. Especially when I hear tweens calling each other haters because another child happens to have a different opinion about a boy-band, nail polish color or a popular snack.

Hate – [heyt] – Verb (used with object), hated, hating. Feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward. Detest.

Thanks to pop culture this is now trending, big time — “haters gonna hate,” “you’re a hater.”

These phrases have now become synonymous with people who dislike something or express an opposing opinion.

I’m not talking about the people who spew vile rhetoric, hurling insults or being an all-around asshat in a discussion.

I’m talking about people who happen to have a difference of opinion about a movie, musical band, book, yoga pants, purple eyeshadow…basically anyone who disagrees with the majority, or even with a few people.

It’s also thrown at people on social media who offer their thoughts on someone’s behavior—-that someone putting it all out there on social media and inviting people to comment.

These opposing views are NOT hate-filled.

The people with opposing views are NOT haters.

They are people with an opinion.

Hate is a powerful action verb that can have an impact on the receiver when they are called a hater.

You know what’s even a more powerful action verb —- listening.

I know, we’ve all heard the saying, opinions are like assholes and everyone has one. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who doesn’t have an opinion on something. It’s in our nature to express how we feel about the world around us.

It also doesn’t mean that people are jealous (another word that is tossed around) because they don’t agree with how others feel about a book, movie, sparkly running shoes, someone’s behavior, or the price of gas.

It doesn’t mean that our opinion, or their opinion is correct.

It doesn’t mean we are going to change anyone’s mind and sway them to change their opinion.

It certainly doesn’t mean the person or people who have a different view are hateful or haters.

I’ve been known to express my opinion every now and then on a variety of topics. Sometimes I’m in the minority with my opinion, but it never means I hate the other person’s viewpoint. Ever. I don’t hate someone because I don’t agree with them. I don’t agree with them because I’m right and they’re wrong (just kidding), I don’t agree with their thought process or how they viewed a certain subject, or the points they made to express their point of view.

It’s really as simple as that.

Hate has nothing to do with it, and in no time would I ever throw out….haters gonna hate because someone has different tastes in music, books, eyeshadow, or—fill in the blank, basically any topic.

I will tell what I do hate. Racism. Terrorism. Bullying (again, having a difference of opinion is NOT bullying—I’m talking about the harmful bullies). Deplorable acts of violence. When it comes to these things, yes, I hate them and people who commit unspeakable crimes are hateful.

Saying that someone is a hater because they don’t like a certain movie, diminishes the real meaning of the word.

We are flawed human beings with weaknesses.

We all have bad days.

We all have rant days.

We all make mistakes.

We all have a lapse in judgment.

We sometimes say and do dumb-ass shit. Someone calls us on it. They are not haters. They are people who are going to hold us accountable for our dumb-ass-shitness.

We’ve all screwed up at some point, sometimes real bad, and when we do, we are going to gain support from people willing to give us a free pass, no questions asked. No opinions given.

However, we are also going to face people who don’t understand, who are not ready to accept an explanation without more information, and who, yes, right or wrong, will give a strong opinion about it. These people are NOT haters. They are people trying to make sense of a situation.

We are flawed human beings with tremendous strengths.

We have compassion.

We have passion.

We have the ability to love and be loved.

We have the ability to be forgiven and to forgive.

We have opinions.

We have FREE WILL

So, please, let’s stop with the haters gonna hate and

let’s stop the labelling people with a different opinion as  haters. 

Do you agree with my opinion piece?

If you don’t agree with me, let me just say…..”I know people.” 😉