Dear Alexei,

I feel your pain. I have the exact same conflicted feelings about the MAGAts—the virulent, hateful, bigoted, self-righteous idiots out there who still worship Trump and would gladly enlist in a genocide campaign against ethnic minorities and “lib’ruls” like me. Many of them live right here in my neighborhood, with their “thin blue line” flags, their “Don’t Tread On Me” banners, their big, fierce dogs, their huge trucks and SUVs bedecked with hateful bumper stickers…they have sprouted like noxious weeds all around, ready to kill on command.

Like you, I strive to be empathetic, strive to understand the pain and inner suffering behind their hatreds and delusions…but can do so only in theory, for when a truck full of young thugs waving tattered flags and Trump stickers roars by me, I am still seized with the impulse to brandish my middle finger…unless I take three breaths and realize that in doing so, I become just like them, my own worst enemy. Hatred is, after all, a form of subjective involvement with the hated object. It is important, I feel, to remember that all hatred is rooted in fear and wounded vanity, and these are the emotions most easily aroused by toxic demagogues everywhere—whether it’s Hitler, Trump, or Putin. One way I have found of adapting to this predicament is to sport a bumper sticker that no one can take offense at: “Grow Gardens, Grow Community, Grow Awareness.” Thanks again for your insights, and keep posting!