Many fear the unknown.

Because we hate fear,
We soon hate what we fear —

By this theory,
It is ignorance we fight against.

But cruelty may have
A different wellspring:

The desire to punish those
Who do not recognize the boundaries
We have placed upon ourselves,

Or that we will be discovered
To be the very thing
We claim to hate.

We all know this,
We just don’t think

It applies to us