Because I don't want to be held personally responsible, in some way, for putting into the world the negative attributes attached to the word ‘hate’. Or to project that negativity onto other people.
I don't want to say the word ‘hate’ to describe anything or anyone.
Why it’s possible to not use the word ‘hate’
When Mat Honan wrote an impassioned and assertive thought piece about the nuances of GenXers and a plea to give us some empathy, Mat never used the word ‘hate’. It wasn’t necessary to persuade the reader.
It feels like it’s really just a choice to not use the word ‘hate’, not even to add emphasis.
What to do instead of projecting the attributes of hate into the world
The long-term idea with this commitment is to spend more energy on seeing the good and the positive, and less on finding reasons why something won’t work or is not a good idea.
Innovative ideas and people- both can become causes to me, especially if I have a deeper emotional connection to them. When something or someone becomes a cause I can be naturally assertive and aggressive.
I know this throws some people off, so I also feel that eliminating aggressive words like ‘hate’ from my vocabulary will help with another goal- softening my approach and being more diplomatic, which also comes naturally to me when I let it.
You don’t have to be racist, sexist or homophobic to consider making the same commitment, that’s a whole different form of hate which I don’t understand. But if you desire to more intuitively see the good and positive, start be eliminating the whole concept of what the word ‘hate’ brings with it.
Email me when David Cohen publishes or recommends stories