DADvocate

Reflecting on recent events, the shooting of Dr. Tiller, the soldiers in Arkansas, the guard at the Holocaust Museum, Rev. Wright's comments about Jews, and David Letterman's crude joke about Sarah Palin's daughter, my mind traveled to thoughts on the processes that build hate in the human mind. This is not to claim any esoteric insights but rather a mild exploration of what I've seen over the years.

As a child in parochial school, nuns taught me in no uncertain terms that hating someone was a ticket to hell. To this day, I refuse to say, or write, that I hate someone. I feel disgusted by some. I find some people loathsome. I recognize negative traits, even evil, in others. But, I don't hate them, perhaps out of fear of burning for eternity but, whatever the case, I don't hate them.

I wonder what, if any, sort of process or events that occur in a person's childhood and formative years that contribute to hating. Physical abuse, emotional abuse, inadequate love and caring from parents, I'm sure the list is almost endless. I'm also sure that two people experiencing the same life events could come out totally different.

Watching others from their teen years on, I noticed one pattern at least: that hate needs constant care and cultivation to grow and flourish. One couple I used to spend a lot of time with used to watch televangelists. They would sit on the couch and exclaim how they hated, yes they used that word, televangelists. They called them thieves, hypocrites, and worse. They would sometimes call and fake a donation to a televangelist claiming to be from the Mary Magdalene Home for Women or such. I always wondered why they watched if they found it so repulsive. I didn't care for televangelists either and simply didn't/don't watch them.

It's easy to see how the shooters in the recent events, and events past, often read materials and/or were part of groups that supported their hate. Often, their minds were so warped that books, TV shows, etc that had no intention of supporting hate were taken as such. Charlie Manson and the Beatles "White Album" come to mind as an excellent example of misinterpretation.

Interacting with others either feeds or starves the hate. Sometimes a hater finds moderation in others. Other times a hater finds fertilizer for hate. As with the couple above, they built their hate up over years of watching televangelists and similar activities.

Read some of the comments on this blog post regarding the Willow Palin joke.

...let’s clarify for all the hyperventilating GOPasaurs,

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A neo-con loony shot up the Holocaust Museum, another shining example of the smelly piles of hate coming from the right,...

Neo-con loony? The guy hated neo-cons and may have been plotting to attack an conservative magazine office. Hate doesn't care about the truth.

I'm sure most people who hate don't consider it hate. They probably think something along the lines of "It's not hate. It's disdain they deserve because of who they are." The haters dehumanize the hated to the point that expressing hatred towards them feels as natural as ordering a Happy Meal at McDonald's.

I'm reminded of a truism: If you want to change the world, change yourself. You'll be guaranteed success. But, apparently, some find it quite rewarding to hate. They enjoy the burning fire and don't want to change. If whomever they hated changed so that they could no longer be hated, the haters would have to find some other object for their hate.

But, I still don't understand the need to hate. It takes a lot of effort to maintain hate. What a waste of emotion and energy, if nothing else.

P.S. Two other things I learned from the nuns and still live by today. Never test God or tempt the devil.