The issue of hate has circulated in the social arena for quite a long time as people seek to establish a solution to this issue. It has existed since time immemorial, and was the cause for the slave trade that led to the demeaning of the African people. The same hate has found its way into the modern world where there are various reports of people who have experienced the bitter ends of hate. All over the world, there had been crimes that were propagated by hate; the killing of Jews by Hitler and the anti-Semitism movements, the massacre in Rwanda in the Hutu-Tutsi war. All these are issues propagated by hate. But what exactly is hate? This essay explores this issue from the point of Suliman’s point of view (Suliman, 1).
There are many definitions of hate but none seems to be satisfactory. This is mainly because when one definition is explored, another aspect of hate arises which does not map to the one explained. What then could be the definition of hate that makes it so bad? Hate can be propagated towards an individual or towards a group (Sulivan, II). Group hate is much more serious as it can lead to crimes against an entire race. This is the case that happened with the Nazis and Jews in Germany and also in the Rwandan massacre. However, it is agreeable that tribal hate can precipitate individual hate since an individual from a superior race can despise one from those termed as an inferior race. The end result is that there exists so much hatred between the people. Peaceful co-existence is just not possible.
There is another twist to hate that makes it even harder to understand. There is the issue of sexism (Sulivan, III). At times, men have it hard even imagining hat being a woman could be like. Similarly, people who are heterosexuals often have low regard for homosexuals. This complicates the issue, and makes it hard to get a proper definition for hate. At times, activities planned by a group of people are disregarded because the authorities feel that their activities could be a violation of the rights of another group, which is termed as hate. What definition do the authorities use to justify this position? It is hard to understand what hate is to these people.
In trying to demystify this issue, a definition of hate can be derived from a comparison with love. Just like there is possessive love, romantic love, friendship, romantic and family love, there also can be different types of hate. The bad thing about hate is that it ultimately leads to the suffering of one group of people. As such, the big question arises; why should people suffer for being who they are? The answer is hate. This is why hate is so bad and should be discouraged at all instances.
Perhaps, the negative effects of hate can be derived from the definition given by Elisabeth Young-Bruehl. There is obsessive hate, narcissistic hate and hysterical hate (Sulivan, III). Obsessiveness can be seen in the case of Nazis and Hutus who feel that the minorities should be gotten rid of. Hysterical hate us complex and happens in an instance when an individual feels a compelling hate towards another. Narcissistic hate comes about with sexism. From all these perceptions, it can be seen that there is no single instance where hate leads to a positive outcome. There is discrimination, enmity, deprivation and at times murder. Why then should it be propagated within the society? No way. Every one should rise up and condemn the propagators of hate as they are the killers of civilization.
Work Cited
Sullivan, Andrew. What’s So Bad about Hate? 1999. New York Times, Sep. 26 1999, p.50. Web, 23rd April 2012, http://archives.evergreen.edu/webpages/curricular/2006-2007/sss/files/sss/What%20is%20so%20bad%20about%20hate.pdf
