What is Hate?
I study hatred with great diligence,
For that's a passion in my own control,
A sort of besom that can clear the soul
Of everything that is not mind or sense.
~― William Butler Yeats
Unfortunately almost all if not all current societies are riddled with Hate. That is the the feeling of extreme dislike or disgust towards someone or something. The intense hostility and aversion towards someone or something or an idea may arise from fear, anger or being hurt or injured.
No matter how moral we claim to be, there comes a time when that intense emotion of dislike is only what we can feel, especially towards those who have wronged us, and it is made more intense if the wrongdoer fails to acknowledge that whatever their actions or words they greatly hurt our feelings, and we can't help ourselves but feel a sense of distaste towards that particular person and anything whatsoever related to them.
Hate can be at times short lived, in other times it can long lasting, depending on how one feels afflicted and wronged, after time it may get to pass. According to Wikipedia, hate can be a learned response from external influences, such as from being abused, mislead, or manipulated. It is the deep psychological response to feeling trapped or being unable to understand certain sociological phenomenon.
Some philosophers such as Aristotle viewed hate as distinct from anger and rage, describing hate as a desire to annihilate an object and is incurable by time. While the Scottish philosopher David Hume maintained the idea that: "that hatred is an irreducible feeling that is not definable at all."
My experience with hate especially towards someone in the past arose from that feeling of being manipulated, and the person taking advantage treating me not as a person but rather as an object, which I am not. Of course I did all I could to maintain a sense of peace while the person was around or in their presence but once I got my freedom, once I could express my pain, I could go on a rant full of anger, and what would make it worse was realizing that the individual most of the time remained ignorant of the effects of their actions.
At first I thought maybe I was overreacting but then I came to the realization that if you are feeling something, especially a violation there is no overreacting, otherwise if it was not there my subconscious and conscious both would be at peace.
And overtime I have to think that those intense emotions from time to time with different circumstances they are unavoidable, hate is a part of who we are and it takes great awareness and self-control to not let the emotion take over and do something to satiate the pain, to seek justice for being wronged.
There are also thinkers who advice on studying those who we greatly hate, positing that we possess similar traits to those who we hate, and without conscious awareness and scrutinizing their character, we too will become like they, and one day without our conscious awareness hurt others and continue to lead ignorant lives thinking everything is fine.
A can of worm I am not willing to currently open is that of hate, across different borders, different cultures and different societies. There is so much hate and the spread of it is accelerated by the use of social media channels where everyone is trying to justify their thinking, many choosing not to listen but rather to maintain self righteousness.
It is very sad that we fail to see the fundamental thing in that all these things that cause the hate are all human constructs, and despite our color differences we are human, made of fresh, bones and blood. We are all humans.
I have decided to stick to love...Hate is too great a burden to bear.
~― Martin Luther King Jr
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