MACEDONIA, Ohio — I was a young woman in Ann Arbor, Michigan, when I first felt the projection of hate. I had just parked next to a young couple with a bumper sticker meant to imply that I hated them.
As we exited our cars, I said, “I noticed your bumper sticker. I was wondering why you think I hate you? I assume you disagree with me, and I hope you don’t hate me. Isn’t that what this country is about — being able to disagree and still live together and treat each other kindly?”
Then I saw it: absolute hate in the young woman’s eyes.
Her belief about me was a projection of the hate in her own heart. She couldn’t fathom that I didn’t feel the same way. Her boyfriend pulled her away before she could hit me…