We have all, at some time in our lives,said "I hate you/that/this". For most of us it was/is a fleeting thing, something upsets us and we vocalise our thoughts. But for some, hate is not an emotion, it is a way of life. They become so ingrained with this that they cannot step back and take a good hard look at what they are saying/doing. People with real reason to hate, such as the Jews for what was done to them by the Nazis, the Kurds for the gassing of helpless people by Saddam, the families of those that died in the Killing Fields in Cambodia - their feelings and how they cope with a lifetime of misery and sadness that was not of their making I can empathize with. But the kind of hate we now see on forums, facebook and twitter, in blogs - this I don't understand. How can one hate a stranger? How can one hate people who are suffering emotional pain? There have been suicides because of what has been posted up 'for fun'; one forum owner sniggered this excuse recently regarding a threat to shoot someone. But it isn't funny; hate isn't funny, hate is an all-invasive state where resentments etc are taken out, anonymously, on total strangers. This can often stem from childhood; ill-treatment, verbal abuse, brutality can all engender hate in adults as can envy. I do not blame the parents as such, but anyone taking on the task of bringing up children really needs to understand that kindness, firmness and gentle training will result in a well-rounded adult, abuse, verbal or physical, and denigration will just build up resentment and in the end turn into hatred. It is too late for some people, but something needs to be done, sooner than later, as the internet opens up even wider to peoples' take on things that could go very wrong later. At present it is a 'hate Muslims and immigrants' time, a few years ago it was 'hate blacks and kill a Pak a day'. Only the human race can deal with this, there are no aliens or gods going to come down and lead humanity to a better life where all are brothers/sisters, it is humanity itself who must do this.
