HATE and PHOBIA DEBUNKED: "...and some of my other best friends are Muslim..."

After the election, I was in for a Hell of a shock. My online explosion of relief, joy and patriotism at the election of President Trump fomented a backlash of vituperation. Facebook friends and strangers alike informed me that I was full of hate. And not just hateful, but phobic!

Then, suddenly, I remembered a famous scene from the controversial 1947 movie, Gentlemen's Agreement. It stars Gregory Peck as a Gentile magazine writer assigned to write about anti-Semitism in post-WWII America. He struggles to find the right angle for the article. Then...it hits him! He'll let it leak out that he's actually Jewish and write about the anti-Semitism from personal experience. (And with my maiden name, I can't be anti-Semitic. I might have to hate myself! It's a joke.)

One of his first tastes of anti-Semitism comes at a nightclub as he and the gorgeous Celeste Holm sip cocktails and share life stories. A co-worker subtly betrays anti-Semitism towards Peck. Celeste is quick to call him on it.

"Don't get me wrong," he protests, "some of my best friends are..." [Jewish].

"I know, dear," Celeste interrupts, "and some of your other best friends are Methodists, but you never bother to say it." (See video below: 41:20-41:30)

Fascinating logic. But I'm gonna say it anyways.

I don't hate anybody, of any color, gender, nationality, race, religion, orientation, etc. ad nauseum. You name it, I don't hate it.

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I bring it up now because my future posts are gonna be kick-ass and brutally logical. The supporters of Hillary Clinton won't like them, but I'm hoping they'll respect them.

I fully expect the charge of "racist" and "phobic" to be thrown at me willy-nilly. So, I'm heading it off at the pass.

I married a Caucasian man...and it shocked the Hell outta' me. Most of my (pitifully few) dates had been with men of color. Men from Central America, India, the Phillipines. I'd flirted with Mexicans and African American men. I'm an old-fashioned girl and they liked it. The idea of having a mixed race baby someday was exciting.

When my drop-down-dead-gorgeous-mixed-race great-niece was born this year, I was ecstatic. She's so cute I just can't stand it! And I'm ashamed of the other family members who fail to ever mention her in their letters. For shame!

I've had friends of every religion...Hindu (my favorite boss!), Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant, Russian Orthodox, agnostic, atheist and I-know-not-what. There's probably a Methodist or two in the bunch. And Muslim. I was in college when I met a lovely Muslim man from Somalia. He was the most gentle, kind, generous family-man I'd ever met. When I got very sick from chemical allergies, he did my chemistry homework for me. No questions asked.

I've had friends of every sexual orientation. A couple of lesbian friends kinda' came onto me. I took it as a compliment.

One time I dated a guy who was gay. At the time, I didn't know he was gay. I only figured it out after he told me about living with our gay co-worker and insisting (post-date) that it had not been a date. That hurt, because we had such amazing chemistry. But we stayed friends. In fact, we're still friends. A few years later, he married a lovely lady. So maybe he's bisexual.

One of my Facebook friends said it best. "I don't give a shit what you do with your genitals," she said. And neither do I...as long as it's between two consenting homo sapien adults.

So, at the risk of sounding like that anti-Semitic "drip" from Gentleman's Agreement, I'll say it anyways:

"...some of my best friends have been gay, Muslim...every race, color, creed and orientation..."

So take your charge of "hateful." Take your allegation that I'm "phobic" of this, that or the other.

  And you know exactly what you can do with 'em. Sideways. Where the sun don't shine.

And guess what!?! The same is true of President Trump. He doesn't give one shit what color, religion or orientation you are. What he does want is prosperity, safety and the rule of law...for all.

So if Swedish Lutherans start hiding explosives in hotdishes (casseroles, to you) and wiring the elbow macaroni to explode spraying cream-of-mushroom soup everywhere, he'll propose vetting them too. And he'll be called a Swede-hater and hotdish-phobic. (I'm allowed to talk like this. I'm from a long line of hotdish-making, Swedish Lutherans, so piss off.)

Oh, you still insist President Trump is a hater!? A phobic? Click here to read an open letter written by a lovely African-American lady who knows him personally. Consider that Peter Thiel, openly gay, is serving on President Trump's transition team and (rumor has it) destined for greatness. Then consider how many times Trump disavowed that fucked-up KKK leader, that passive-aggressive asshole who's doing President Trump no favors!

Then take a nice, long look in the mirror, you who call me the hater, the phobic. Cause, Baby, we are not the ones harboring hate and Φόβος (Greek: phobos meaning "fear") in our hearts. But you? You're reeking of it!