Fighting bigotry against those you love

It grieves me greatly that I need to post this in public, but I don't think people will listen otherwise. I've held my tongue long enough and can stand it no longer.

Lately I've been subjected to a world of shame, hurt, and humiliation - all because of sheer bigotry. I will not stand for religious prejudice - especially against those I love.

People need to decide what's important to them. You have a couple choices here, but it's impossible to do both. One choice is to follow an individual, organization, or website unquestioningly - no matter how hateful and bigoted it is. The other choice is to show tolerance. I just can't believe it's at the point where I have to lecture people about which choice to make.

I'm mad because of what was said about a woman who has been a friend of mine for 15 years. And yes, she has been an occasional relationship partner. Plus, it so happens that she is not an adherent of Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. But she has never tried to push her religion on me.

When you knowingly follow intolerant websites or let individual bigots influence you, ultimately you have nobody except yourself to blame. I've kept quiet for a long time, but the straw that finally broke the camel's back was my discovery that the website in question made a deliberately false and malicious claim about my relationship partner's religion. The website is spreading hate propaganda. In recent years, Americans have lost enough jobs and child custody disputes because of religious bigotry like this. This follows a separate incident in which this organization spread religious intolerance.

I have to post this in public because I think people are too bullheaded to understand it if I keep it private. Besides, I've been humiliated enough in this growing crisis. I am literally ashamed of some of the things people have said in public.

Life is too short to be eaten away at by hate.