WHO'S BRAVE ENOUGH TO COMMENT ON THIS?

After reading this week's igned article on Courseweb, I am strangely compelled to compare the phenomena of hate groups to the phenomena of fanatical sports team fans. I pose the following question, what is the difference between hating somebody for their ethnicity or chosen religion, and hating Cleveland browns fans, or WVU? One might say it is just a friendly rivalry. But is it? Could hate groups just be a broader and more expansive version of rooting for your home team so to speak? Malcolm X in the 60's promoted white hate in New York and throughout the United States. Radical Muslim fundamentalists today promote Anti-American sentiments throughout the middle east. The hate groups on the internet for the most part do not explicitly advocate violence, but they promote an attitude of supremacy. This is very much like how most Steeler fans would not directly advocate aggression towards a Cleveland or Baltimore fan, but suggest that Pittsburgh is better than Cleveland or Baltimore. However when the inevitable instances of violence do take place, I find myself asking, yet again, the same exact question. What is the difference between the violence exchanged between ethnicities or races, and violence exchanged between a Steelers fan and let's say a Ravens fan? Is there not hate speech, Aka "trash talk" or "talking smack" exchanged? Numerous sports websites, blogs contain as the author states "flaming" material expressing anger towards the opposing teams, their fans, their city, etc. The answer is there is very little, if even no difference between the two. It boils down to every individual's education level and their ability to think critically and ess whether or not they want to "take stock" in that bullshit. The inherent beauty of our right to freedom of speech, and all the other privileges granted by the first amendment is from this right to think freely, and to speak one's mind comes a multitude, in grand exponential form, of free flowing ideas for inspiration, creativity, progress, and capital. The acknowledgement of the necessity of freedom to express one's most candid thoughts being germane to the continued success of a truly free democratic regime is in a sense the true embracement of one's citizenship here inside the United States. If you can acknowledge the fundamental importance of a man standing atop a soap box advocating an idea at the top of his lungs that which you, yourself would spend an entire lifetime opposing at the top of yours; then and only then can you stand up and sing about the "land of the free" at the next ballgame, and truly understand and appreciate it's importance in our everyday lives. WHAT DO YOU THINK? COMMENTS AND CRITICISMS ARE DEARLY APPRECIATED...