Over-use of "hate"

Some proponents of the temporarily halted Human Rights Ordinance excessively use a form of  "hate" to characterize opponents of the ordinance. They use the term so venomously that the intent must be malicious, not  misguided.

One can honorably hate spinach.

One can -- reasonably or not -- dislike gays or Catholics or Jews -- and still be considered  a respectable conversationalist. To hate people, however, is to wish them harm -- as an individual or as a group. 'Tis hard not to conclude that excessive use of hate and its derivatives by some pro-HRO spokespeople is intentionally malicious.

Frank Versagi is the editor of Versagi Voice.