On Hatred

It is not evil that is our greatest enemy. Nor is it corruption, oppression, or racism. Rather it is hatred which is the greatest danger to life.

It is hatred which causes us to see another human as less. It is hatred that causes us to view our kin as the enemy. It is hatred that causes us to close our own hearts.

Hatred is vitriolic because of the way it spreads. It digs its heels in like a cancer and fortifies with a wall of fear. The hateful person sees enemies everywhere. It is for this reason that he must lash out.

It is easy to distance ourselves from those who act out of hate. It is a simple thing to demonize them and abandon their humanity. After all, we are only treating them the same way they treat themselves.

But it is not more hatred that can heal the heart. Only love can do that. So it is up to us—all of us—to perform the most heroic of acts. It is up to us to meet hatred with compassion. That is the only way for the cycle to stop.

It is easy to hate the hateful, but that does not get us to the truth. That does not help us to understand the human before us: trapped in a prison that is no less confining because it is invisible.

We must recognize that suffering that hate imposes not only on its recipients, but on those that inflict it.

Hatred is all-consuming. It denies all that is good and beautiful about life. Hatred cannot coexist with laughter, with joy, with love, and with compassion. The most succulent parts of life- those elements which make life truly valuable are not tasted by those consumed by hate.

When you are in a state of hatred, you cannot dance with reckless abandon. You cannot embrace the mystery of life. When one is filled with hate life is not an adventure, but a war.

We must come to terms with not only the hatred around us- but that which is within us as well. There is not a one of us who hasn’t looked upon another with judgment or contempt. Each and every one of us has, at some point, lashed out out of anger and frustration- unconcerned with the damage we may cause to another.

In order for us to move forward, we must reckon with that. We must grapple with our own fallibility, weakness, and cruelty. We must, most importantly, forgive ourselves. We must recognize that whatever hatred we’ve clung to does not serve us, but rather prevents us from living the fullness of life.

If we do this, we can look upon the hateful—the racists, the bigots, the nazis—and we will see not only monsters but reflections of ourselves. Healing may be an inside job, but it takes a village to do it.

These racists are not heartless evildoers who wish for the destruction of society. Rather, they are the lost and forgotten. Their hearts are not absent but clouded with pain. It is not the sword that will put an end to this hatred, but rather the purifying light of love. Whether we recognize it or not, these people are not our enemies, but our brothers and sisters imprisoned. And it is we who hold the keys.

So the next time you encounter hatred—in the form of racist insults, protests, or threats; react not in kind. This only adds fuel to the fire. Rather recognize that the person before you is acting from deep pain. Acknowledge that person. Acknowledge the human trapped behind the facade.

And maybe, just maybe, that will be the key to their liberation.

_{Image sources: (1)(2)(3)}