21 October 2007

Monday's Musing

Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.
- Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968)

Enough said? Or not? I often wonder what hatred really is and why it exists. Do we hate that which or those who we do not understand? Is hatred a reaction to the hated or does it just come from the hater's internal anger, without reference to that which is hated? Why do some hate when others do not? Who does it hurt most? The hater? The hated? The bystanders? Everyone?

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12 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

MLK had it exactly right.

Emotionally damaged people often express self-hate by irrational or obsessive hatred of others. They seek out targets. As MLK states, eventually, their hatred destroys them.

I make it priority to avoid such people as soon as they become known to me. Don't bother to ponder the why's. It is a waste of time.

11:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It hurts everyone & IMO, the hater next. Or most of all. I think hate is a horrible thing to have inside a person & it ages & makes one miserable.

2:55 AM  
Blogger Lorraine said...

Romi- Like guilt- I think hate is a wasted emotion, it serves no purpose.
Just steer clear of things and people you have an aversion to.

6:44 AM  
Blogger Agnes said...

I just feel that hatred requires a lot more energy and is extremely exhausting. For me, it's much easier to forgive, if not, at least forget and move on. :)

10:16 AM  
Blogger Marlene said...

My parents divorced 33 years ago and my mother has carried a hatred for my father ever since. I say "carried" because the hatred does seem to be a heavy burden she is not willing to put down.

11:07 AM  
Blogger sophanne said...

The hater is the most damaged. The challenge to humanity is to evolve enough to learn that the effective resonpose to hate is to remove oneself from it (rather than return it.) I do believe that there is a certain evolutionary element to it- more and less enlightened and all- otherwise it would be an easy fix.

3:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmmm. Interesting musings and interesting comment by anonymous. That comment in particular explains the actions of certain people I have known.

4:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

As usual, your Monday morning musings are thought provoking. I totally pilfered last week's and hung it on the wall at work for this week's "huddle" in the ICU I work in. A huddle is where we share info meant to bolster ourselves and the care that we bring to the most sick.

As for hate: I don't. I find it drains me. I don't even "hate my ex." I just don't think about him. I avoid negative/hateful people and try always to diffuse tense situations with humor. Just my thoughts.

Ruth

5:31 PM  
Blogger ...Sarah said...

I guess the hated would be hurt, but it likely makes the hater sicker to have so much hate built up. I am a total believer in karma. You get what you give.

6:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Interesting topic. Studied it in college - Abnormal Psychology.

Haters poison everything and everyone they come in contact with. They don't have friends, they have followers. I call it "taking hostages." The rule their minions like all tyrants do. With negatives like fear, sarcasm, vicious behaviors, cruelty and of course, they are the ultimate gift givers. The ones that follow them become tainted & warped.

Eventually, the Hater becomes bored with his/her followers and purges them for no real reason. pain.

Dr King was a very wise man.

11:56 PM  
Blogger Yarnhog said...

Hatred is all about fear. People hate that which they fear, and most often, they fear that which they don't understand. That is why it is critical to increase communication between countries and cultures and religions, not isolate ourselves from them (says the former diplomat).

12:44 PM  
Blogger Sereknitty said...

I believe that hate really stems from fear, and usually a fear that isn't understood.

6:40 PM  

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