Lao-Tse, in his great teachings of Taoism (a philosophy, not a religion), said, "By opposing an enemy you give it strength."

One has to think about that at some length or read the Taoist literature at some length to get what he was driving at, though. If you just read the statement above and react to it instantly, you won't get what he was driving at at all, and you'll just get angry...thinking he is advising knuckling under to evil. Well, he isn't. He's advising an independent course of your own, rather than a life based upon reaction against others.

So I won't go on about it much, cos it would just provoke arguments here that would go on and on and on...

But here's another example of the same thing. Mother Teresa was asked if she would attend an antiwar demonstration. She said, "No, but I will attend a peace demonstration."

By locking horns with people over sore issues, specially people you can't change, you bring a lot more strife into the world...and you stimulate those very people into gearing up for major conflict with YOU...and their commitment to their cause becomes stronger. By planting a garden, on the other hand...by making something beautiful...by playing great folk music of your own...or by contributing to brotherhood in your society in many positive ways, you improve the world around you and you find peace and harmony in your own experience of life.

And, no....I'm not going to fight with anyone here about that. ;-) I don't wish to, and it wouldn't improve the situation for either them or me.