I thought I would take a break from the music to discuss a concept that plagues individuals from all walks of life... Hatred. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines Hate as "an intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury". In general terms, hate is a great dislike for someone or something. It come in many forms from a simple statement made in opposition of someone's good and productive state to actions taken to remove the being or principal of which one hates. Regardless of how it manifests, hate is an element of everyday life that we as humans do not welcome yet seemingly cannot avoid.
The concept of hate has been discussed far and wide since the beginning of time. From this single syllable, many off-spring such as jealousy, loathing, etc. have come forth as mediums for hate. In psychology, Dr. Sigmund Freud defined hate as "an ego state that wishes to destroy the source of its unhappiness". Furthermore, hatred is believed to be long-lasting, many psychologists consider it to be more of an attitude or disposition than a (temporary) emotional state. In effect, hatred is a psychological disposition of which we are all forced to either suppress or allow to be expressed, which sadly more often occurs.
My experiences with hate have led me to this conclusion, to hate another is to hate yourself. Coretta Scott King once said "“Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.” Being on both ends of the spectrum, the hater and the hated on, I have seen the development of hate over time and its destructive nature within relations. An individual may hate on another because that person is in a better situation and their admiration is released as hatred. Another individual may hate because they have been taught for so long to believe one thing that anything in opposition becomes a direct threat to their philosophy as is in the case of hate crimes. Yet another individual may hate as a result of personality complexes such as stubbornness or control issues. Regardless of how hate comes about, there is a common thread amongst all situations of hate and that is that the individual has issues within. Often times the easiest way to resolve a conflict internally is to diminish the worth of another. Although this is a means of correction in the eyes of many, it is also a temporary one. If you are upset with the wealth others have accumulated, "hating" on that person will not fix the issue of your lack of wealth. In fact, to hate on someone else is really just a means of postponing having to address your own feelings of self-worth, or the lack there of. As one engages in hatred, the thing often oversee is a very simple one, how can that change my situation. If instead we choose to examine our personal shortcomings and dedicate our efforts towards overcoming them or agreeing that they are simply our own human imperfections, maybe then the occurrences of hate in this world will decrease.
As I close, I choose to leave you with a poem by James Stephens entitled Hate:
My enemy came nigh,
And I
Stared fiercely in his face.
My lips went writhing back in a grimace,
And stern I watched him with a narrow eye.
Then, as I turned away, my enemy,
That bitter heart and savage, said to me:
"Some day, when this is past,
When all the arrows that we have are cast,
We may ask one another why we hate,
And fail to find a story to relate.
It may seem then to us a mystery
That we should hate each other."
Thus said he,
And did not turn away,
Waiting to hear what I might have to say,
But I fled quickly, fearing had I stayed
I might have kissed him as I would a maid.
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