The most dangerous opinion in the world is the belief that your life, or the life of someone you respect, is worth more than the life of someone else.
I think the truth lies between the extremes above though. To hurt someone for their beliefs is never right or just, but there are precious few beliefs that do not lead to actions which must be opposed with all of your strength.
While I might view an antisemite, a racist, a sexist or any number of other bigots with contempt, it’s not their beliefs which are the issue. I pity them for their small-minded beliefs. If I hate them, it is for their actions, for their calls to violence and oppression.
If you believe that every life is sacred, I will respect your belief. If you stand outside abortion clinics, making an already-difficult time worse for those women you target, I will oppose you without mercy or equivocation.
“Watch your thoughts, they become words;
watch your words, they become actions;
watch your actions, they become habits;
watch your habits, they become character;
watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
Apparently, for all the beauty of the quote, it’s not Buddha. It’s apparently by a man called Frank Outlaw, owner of a supermarket chain, in 1977.