Hate. America on fire with hate. Hate fuels politics. There are Republican haters. Democrat haters. Trump haters. Millennial haters. Baby boomer haters. Pro-life haters, pro-choice haters, immigration rights haters, gay rights haters, women haters, minority haters. The haters, the hate and the ensuing vitriol seem endless.

The definition of hate

It’s a mighty strong word, one not to take lightly.

From Merriam-Webster:
(Entry 1 of 2) 1a: intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury
b: extreme dislike or disgust : ANTIPATHY, LOATHING
had a great hate of hard work
c: a systematic and especially politically exploited expression of hatred

 (Entry 2 of 2) transitive verb 1: to feel extreme enmity toward : to regard with active hostility
hates his country’s enemies
2: to have a strong aversion to : find very distasteful
hated to have to meet strangers

Haters gonna hate

I never realized how negatively the word hate affected me until someone casually commented on one of my Facebook posts, writing something like: “I hate how some articles use photographs that are deceptive…”

The commentator had a valid point, but I wanted to delete the comment solely because of that word. Hate.

I don’t want to associated with any kind of hate. I imagined the person who wrote it as literally seething with rage, red-faced, shaking a fist, and ready to punch someone. The mere idea of this upset me. It also upset me that something I had posted had possibly stirred hateful rage in a friend.

So I deleted the entire post.

The weight of hate

I never felt this strongly about the word hate before. At one time I casually tossed it around, saying, “I hate boiled Brussels sprouts,” or “I hate when my neighbor’s dog barks.” Now hate seems too volatile of a word to be used this way. Maybe I’ve become oversensitive. Maybe I’ve turned into a “libtard snowflake.” Whatever. I’m not going to apologize. These are exceptional times. We are living in what might one day be remembered as a dark time in history. We need exceptional measures to combat hate.

I propose we not use such a loaded word casually. Please let’s not toss it around unless we really mean to express intense hostility and aversion. 

If you actually are seething, feeling intensely hostile, enraged, red-faced and shaking, please find a way to diffuse it. Hug someone instead. Go for a run, a walk in the woods, or seek help. Please. The world needs your positive energy.