Be Respectful, Or Shut up

Is it possible, just possible, to be opposed to something, and not attack people over the Internet, and not act like a complete jackass? I was reading an article about how Maine will end up allowing same gender marriage after the November election if the voters there approve it, but some of the comments that readers could post at the bottom of the page were some of the most ignorant and quite frankly, hate filled things I have read... for the past couple of days at least. And this is just one issue. Everything these days, regardless of what it is, seems to attract people whom seems to think they have every right to start bashing people with language that sounds similar to (or in fact is) hate speech. Maybe those people don't know that it is possible that you can not like something, and still be respectful, or, not say anything at all.