Attitudes Fueled By Hatred

On January 31st at the Sample Gates on the IU campus two groups with opposing viewpoints about the war squared off against each other in simultaneous protest rallies. On one side there was the group calling themselves “Against the Occupation of Iraq”. The opposing viewpoint was provided by a group of College Republicans. The liberal bias that typically flows from the IU campus can sometimes be overwhelming and in this case it was obvious they didn’t like the competition. Members of the group “Against the Occupation of Iraq” were heard yelling obscenities along with other gestures of aggressive behavior. IU professor emeritus Jim Hart encouraged those in attendance to use anger and to stay angry with the statement, “The most powerful emotions we have are love and hate. We have to keep our anger and indignation white-hot”. At one point he told the College Republicans to “keep quiet, you might learn something”. What Mr. Hart and others in our community need to realize is that they too might learn something if they didn’t allow their political viewpoints to cloud their ability to keep an open mind. The basic principles of freedom allow us the opportunity to participate in social activism and we should remember these same freedoms are applied to everyone, even if they don't share our opinion. We should always be cognizant of differing opinions and respect them as we do our own. Having differing opinions is not a bad thing and certainly not on a campus where students should be challenged to think about important issues on a daily basis. It should concern every citizen of this community when individuals or groups perpetuate their attitudes or agendas with hatred and anger. Isn’t it ironic that the very people that oppose the war and protest to give peace a chance would happen to be the very same people that perpetuate local incivility against those with differing opinions? In this instance, I must admit, that I admire the College Republicans for their peaceful and civil approach to their protest and furthermore it seems Mr. Hart and his group could take a lesson from them. I wonder where our “Safe and Civil City Coordinator” was that day?