I live in Miami and I didn't have an angry reaction to Hardaway. I was truly saddened by his comments. Hate doesn't do anything to the object of obsession. It only effects those who carry it around.

I wish he didn't hate, just for the sake of his health and well-being. But as we all know, it's your right in this country.

Even though there's nothing illegal about it, to hate in America is illogical. If you don't like someone, then just get away. Don't stew hatred. This country has so much space, so many options, so many different places for different types. This is a privilege. Not every country has as much space, options and freedom as America.

If Tim Hardaway wants to hate, then that's his right. It's just sad to see a rich, healthy, young athlete with the whole world at his feet, holding such a bitter pill in his heart.

In my neck of the woods, the three most over-represented groups in AA are the Irish, lawyers, and gay men.

Draw your own conclusions.

I am not sure i understand the point of this post.

"I am not sure i understand the point of this post."

Me neither. But there are apparently two points, one explicit and one implied. The first is that there is a "right" to hate, and not just individuals but entire groups. Of course, everyone has the right to hate whomever they damn well please, and I'm unaware of anyone ever having denied the existence of such a "right." On the other hand, there are many people - including the writer of this post, apparently - who respond to accusations that certain behavior is disgusting, offensive, and immoral by invoking their "right" to engage in such conduct. That would technically be known as a "strawman." The second, implicit point is that indiscriminate hatred of entire groups of people is a legitimate and unfairly criticized attitude. It's good to see that point of view acknowledged, as it is the essential animating principle of the Republican Party. While the hatred of queers is especially prominent, if you hate blacks, Mexicans, feminists, Muslims, liberals, environmentalists, or union members, you should always know that you are right at home as a Republican.

"I am not sure i understand the point of this post."

Me neither. But there are apparently two points, one explicit and one implied. The first is that there is a "right" to hate, and not just individuals but entire groups. Of course, everyone has the right to hate whomever they damn well please, and I'm unaware of anyone ever having denied the existence of such a "right." On the other hand, there are many people - including the writer of this post, apparently - who respond to accusations that certain behavior is disgusting, offensive, and immoral by invoking their "right" to engage in such conduct. That would technically be known as a "strawman." The second, implicit point is that indiscriminate hatred of entire groups of people is a legitimate and unfairly criticized attitude. It's good to see that point of view acknowledged, as it is the essential animating principle of the Republican Party. While the hatred of queers is especially prominent, if you hate blacks, Mexicans, feminists, Muslims, liberals, environmentalists, or union members, you should always know that you are right at home as a Republican.

There already are parades advocating drinking. They're called Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day. And I don't see much of a movement to stop them.

In my neck of the woods, the three most over-represented groups in AA are the Irish, lawyers, and gay men.

Draw your own conclusions.

OK, my conclusion is you're a recovering alcoholic otherwise you wouldn't have such a grasp on the demography of an anonymous organization. Good luck with your recovery.

In my neck of the woods, the three most over-represented groups in AA are the Irish, lawyers, and gay men.

Draw your own conclusions.

OK, my conclusion is you're a recovering alcoholic otherwise you wouldn't have such a grasp on the demography of an anonymous organization. Good luck with your recovery. If you're not a recovering alcoholic you're just making stuff up about AA membership and are just taking a dishonest shot at the Irish, lawyers, and gay people.

22% said they didn't care. That's great! That makes me hope for America again!

I think the poll is terribly sad, but I also think it is not entirely accurate.

I think the more important question regarding Hardaway's comments is:

Would you want there to be a law?

I think you're right that people want to hate and everyone has their own value set to determine what is good to hate and what is not. I hate terrorists and fascist dictators. I also hate communists. I hate rapists and child molesters. Those are GROUPS of people I hate. I think those are GOOD things to hate.

For many people (I don't agree with them) homosexuality is the same thing as molesting a child or committing rape. They understand that they cannot intrude because consenting adults are involved, but they find it is vile and disturbing as rape is to most of us. They can hate that and they should be able to express that hate. Exercising that speech may come with a downside, such as me not wanting to hire them or do business with them, but if they're willing to accept those consequences, they can say whatever they want.

What I think folks are getting fed up with is not being allowed to say they hate gays. That doesn't mean they want to start loading them on to cattle cars or make laws to have them executed. Suppressing their opinions can lead to that kind of fed up over reaction.

You know who I hate? People with brown eyes. Let it be known I don't like people with brown eyes. I don't like being around people with brown eyes. I'm afraid of them. I don't think there should be brown eyed people in America.

LOL @ brown eyed folks. I'm a "hazel" and as everyone knows, there's no trusting half-breeds.

Anyway.

legaleagle is a jerk and a liar, and I am done with him.

As for alcoholism, we have two issues here: profession and ethnicity.

Lawyers and doctors are known to take up more than their share of alcoholics.

Ethnically it's the American Indians who take the prize in this nation, poor souls, and outside it the statistics point to the Slavic nations. I will dispute with you on the Irish. Historically (1800s) they were indeed the drinkingest ethnos in the world, but much of that was because they were relegated to the lowest social scale - also because they organised politically in public houses. In Boston the Irish are still nasty drunks (but so is everyone else in that dump); elsewhere, the Irish play up their reputation for the humor value. Ditto the Scots; and by extension the Welsh and Cornish.

Re, gay men - I wouldn't be surprised, given the levels of clinical depression, but you'd need to correct for that depression. Maybe it's just depressed men who booze it up. What's the genetic relation between being gay, depressed, or alcoholic? No-one's answered this to my satisfaction. It seems to me that happy homosexuals don't get drunk all the time. Like happy straights.

"God hates alcoholics"

This is bad news for Bush.

Mr. Hardaway should be more careful with his use of words.

As the saying goes; Hate is but another manifestation of love.

Or as gay people are so fund of putting it .... "I hate you bitch" !!

This is a good sign. He didnt get a pass for being black.

The point of this post is that it's ok to hate; it's natural and perhaps necessary. It uses hatred against people who fall in love with another of their own gender as an example. There is no law against hate, however. Many, I dare say most, religions comdemn it as a savage instinct that feeds all sorts of evil, including murder and torture. Present psychology understands hatred as a self-obsession, a fear of one's own sins projected onto others or a need for the despised to accept you -- we hate our ex-spouse really because we want to regain the love. People hate alcoholics because they remind us that the ytoo have the capability to be obsessed. Whether the majority of relitions are right and the conseus of psychology is right is not my point. I would say, it's no wonder society frowns on haters -- most people believe hate is part of us, but the worst part of us. The crimes that spring from it are illegal, but the emotion itself is not -- it's just despised.

BY THE WAY -- this post badly misreads the unscientific poll. The questions with the most answer only indicate that 29% think that most Americans hate in this way (not that they agree with it) and 22% do not care about "Tim Hardaway's comments" -- which means some don't care about the hatred expressed AND some may not care that Tim Hardaway expressed them OR both.

The problem with the "poll" is that it is itself cowardly, as there is no category to indicate agreement with Hardaway.

What I said was that the poll "indicates that 29% of the voters either agree with Hardaway or think his comments accurately reflect what most people think." While that's true enough (although I'm sure there are people who disagree in that category), considering that 15% characterized what he said as "courageous" there are probably more people who agree in that category too.

Why there were no simple agree/disagree choices, I do not know. Why have "stupid," "unnecssary," "in bad taste," "insulting and hateful" as separate categories?

If there had been a courageous but stupid button I would have hit that. He must have known he'd get in trouble for being a moron.

It's hard to do satire when you have a 101st Fighting Keyboardist banner. Can't swing both ways.

How I know it! My keyboard gets all sticky when I try!