Why do we Hate?
Hate is a powerful word that is frequently used when hurt by someone or something. How hatred is created is the question gone unanswered. When an individual hates, they may be just hating a quality of themselves seen within the person they are hating.
When I was in fifth grade, I remember these two girls talking mad shit about another girl. One of them said “Ugh, I hate her!” One other girl listening to them said, “Hate is such a strong word, it is better to say ‘You strongly dislike her.’” She was right, however, the two girls stopped, looked at each other and at the same time said, “I HATE HER!” and laughed it off. Fifth grade, that is around the age of nine, ten, or even eleven. These girls were using the word hate like if they had known enough of the girl they were hating on. Obviously when you are younger you use words and say things that you do not really mean. You especially do things that you do not realize will hurt or offend others.
Sara Ahmed, in her work of “The Organisation of Hate,” talks about the concept of hate and how people come to the hatred towards another individual. One particular phrase stood out to me when reading Ahmed’s work.
“Hate may respond to the particular, but it tends to do so by aligning the particular with the general; ‘I hate you because you are this or that’, where the ‘this’ or ‘that’ evokes a group that the individual comes to stand for or stand in for.” — Ahmed
You do not really hate some one for one single thing. The hatred comes from whatever they had done that triggered a spark from one thing that happened before that you did not like. Therefore, the hatred towards an individual is simply a thread that extends until you cannot accept it anymore. Most of the hatred expressed today is against people who portray certain characteristics. Perhaps one individual of a particular trait did something to create a form of hatred, so therefore every individual with that particular trait will be hated upon.
Tied up in Hate
In an article by Sue Giesler, “Introspection: Why You Hate In Others What You Hate About Yourself,” she presents the way people are hating others because they are the ones with the flaws.
“Sometimes what we consider an imperfection in other people pushes our buttons or touches aspects of ourselves that demand our attention.” — Giesler
This connects to Ahmed’s explanation of Audre’s story about the white woman. Ahmed states, “The hated body becomes hated, not just for the one who hates, but for the one who is hated.” One woman is hating on the other’s body, but in reality she is hating on her own body. Here both Giesler and Ahmed demonstrate how an individual finds a form of hate about themselves within another person. Another statement by Giesler, “Most of the times, we hold others to a standard we impose on ourselves.” As an individual, we are bounded in the judgment of ourselves within other people. When the said standard that Giesler implemented is not met, hate is then formed because there is a feeling of disappointment that leads to hatred.
Overall, the concept of hate is one that is held in every individual. The way of expressing such feeling is up to the emotions that the individual faces. Inevitably, hate is needed in order for society to understand the importance of love.
