Opinions and Bullying

I am constantly amazed at how short sighted we can be to our own hypocrisy.  I mean we all say bullying and hate speech is wrong... unless of course it is directed at something we disagree with.  I see it all the time.  Someone says something controversial and everyone pig piles on them to suppress their free speech by shouting them down.  I sit here shaking my head in utter confusion.  How can I teach my children to not be bullies and still have strong opinions.  We all know that a person is a person and no matter what their lifestyle, creed, race, gender, or age they are deserving of respect.  Their rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness should be protected no matter what we personally think.  I love the line in "The American President" when he says "Freedom of Speech is allowing someone to say at the top of their lungs that which we would spend a lifetime attacking at the top of ours."  This is a hard concept for me.  I really don't like angry speech.  It makes me upset and sad, it riles me up.  I hear Gay people use angry talk to refute those who believe the Gay Lifestyle is wrong all the time.... OK, I get that they are hurt and offended, I even get that some of this is in response to equally angry speech.  I consider all angry speech to be a form of bullying.  We must protect the right of people to share unpopular, even ignorant opinions so that we can discuss them.  If I have a horrible opinion that is just flat out wrong you aren't going to convince me by beating it out of me, I need to be educated with kindness.  I need to feel safe enough to talk about it, how can I learn if I can't talk it out.  Shouting at me and insulting me is only going to cause me to dig in my heels and hold that opinion even closer.  It's the same with bullying.  We damn the action, but we don't deal with the issue.  Kids see us bullying all the time, we shout and yell and sometimes hit those who differ from us instead of talking.  We assume the only way we can be friends and have mutual love and respect is if we agree and approve of everything people do.  Not true.  My own mother sees some of my choices as wrong, I'm sure she would differ in how I raise my children, what I'm willing to live with, and how open I am to things she thinks are dangerous.  Does that mean she hates me?  Absolutely not.  I learn more about who my mother is, and her sweet spirit when I allow her to share her views while remembering that I don't have to adopt them.  Maybe if we all applied this in our conversation there would be less hatred of people who are "different" and more understanding of who we are and more acceptance.  It is a 2 way street.  You can not expect me to accept you for who you are when you won't accept me for who I am "close minded" as you might feel I am.