Why the Hate?
Hate
Definition:
Noun
1 a intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury
b extreme dislike or disgust : antipathy, loathing
c a systematic and especially politically exploited expression of hatred
hated; hating
1 to feel extreme enmity toward : to regard with active hostility
2 to have a strong aversion to : find very distasteful
Why?
Hate is defined using words like intense, extreme, strong, aversion, hostility, dislike and disgust. What inspires such an emotion? Is hate actually an emotion? Is it an inate survival response invoked by things our being perceives as a serious threat? Does anyone ever ‘choose’ to hate someone or something, or does the aversion, disgust and hostility emanate from us naturally when presented with negative or threatening stimuli? Are we preconditioned to hate by those who teach us when we’re children? Are the fears and insecurities of our trusted loved ones poured into us, teaching us to loathe certain people and situations?
Maybe all of these factors impact what or who we hate.
When hate is called forth by something that poses a serious threat to our well being, or even our existence, is it really emotional hatred or simply extreme fear? We don’t want to experience this stimuli ever again and we verbalize this by saying, “I hate this”.
When someone commits an act that causes us extreme displeasure, such that we would go to great lengths to avoid it, we can become very angry with this person and feel tremendous negativity towards them. We can describe this as hate. However, in many of these cases (almost always), this emotion appears because we CARE about something. It is impossible for someone to upset us by committing an act that we don’t care about. This person must have acted against something we value deeply or a closely held belief. This action makes us distrust the person and question their motives. We do not enjoy the ‘energy’ they bring to our lives and we’d rather not have them around us. We may even seek to persuade others that this is a ‘bad’ person and convince them to join in the hatred.
Some of these feelings of negativity can not be avoided. They are involuntary responses to stimuli that we perceive as detrimental. We should examine these feelings and attempt to understand the root causes. Then, we can make calmer, more reasoned, responses when these stimuli occur again. We can actually make these situations bother us less. In doing so, we understand ourselves better and become a little wiser. Perhaps, we even approach the source of our hatred and discuss the behavior that irks us so. Maybe a learning experience for both parties. Could end poorly, but, nothing ventured…
Feelings of hatred, left unaddressed can lead to physical altercations, violence and destruction. This is where a lined is crossed from emotions and thoughts, which we ALL have, into physical crime. It is unwise to ever let something ferment this deeply within ourselves. Better to face our hatred and learn to manage it. With that said, should we legally have such a thing as hate crimes? NO! But you’ll have to read that essay separately.