tomspug
Absorbant
People say they "hate" the devil. They say this in proximity to their own experiences. They hate what he supposedly does to tempt them. Though the devil is apparently invisible, we still "know" him by how we interpret our experiences.
The reason I bring up the devil is because I think this is what we do when we "hate" celebrities, world leaders, prominent figures, etc. We don't know them personally, so we have no say about their personal character, but we hate them by injecting them into our own personal experience - a make-shift Satan. Say for example that someone you know personally or that has interacted with you personally says something hurtful. You may attribute that hurtful feeling not to the individual, but to the experience as a whole. If you had a bad experience in a particular school, you might hate that school, not the individual, in your mind.
Say that there is a political stance that you hate. In our lust for a Satan-esque figure (allowing us to indulge in hatred without having to engage with an actual reality that would require us to resolve our hatred), we find individuals that apparently represent this view. The negative experiences we attach to them would be, say, our circumstances and how we interpret their relationship to a political viewpoint, or maybe a political discussion that resulted in anger, embarrassment, or pain.
The problem is that we LIKE hating people. We like it so much that we would prefer these imaginary Satan representations of actual people or ideas to the resolution of those feelings. It's a kind of high to be infuriated, although its not a positive experience. We see this often on the forum. A person can rant and rant and rant until they are actually hurt by a real interaction. What keeps a lot of people coming back is the harmless hating, the ability to fuel these imaginary feelings with no repercussions (apparently).
To give examples. Some people hate Oprah. Some people hate Letterman. Some people hate Gibson. Some people hate Obama. Some people hate religion or a particular religion. Some people hate an entire country (can't get much more ridiculous). But in each of these examples, how many of these hated figures do we know on a personal level. Notice how we become a lot more forgiving and attentive of people we agree with or feel share experiences with us. Why can't we do this with everyone?
Impossible. Of course, because hatred is an exercise in justification. When we hate something, we try to establish reasons why it is OK and maybe eventually decide that it is actually GOOD to hate. Well, hatred of an individual, in my opinion, is NEVER good. It accomplishes nothing good, and it gives you nothing beneficial as a result. Let's recognize it for what it is: indulgence. I won't go any deeper than that without getting all metaphysical, but that's how I feel about it.
One other note: I think that being judgmental has a lot to do with it. We observe the "facts" (or whatever we have available to us at the time) and use them to determine whether or not someone is worth hating. Imagine if we did this with our friends (we wouldn't have any).
The reason I bring up the devil is because I think this is what we do when we "hate" celebrities, world leaders, prominent figures, etc. We don't know them personally, so we have no say about their personal character, but we hate them by injecting them into our own personal experience - a make-shift Satan. Say for example that someone you know personally or that has interacted with you personally says something hurtful. You may attribute that hurtful feeling not to the individual, but to the experience as a whole. If you had a bad experience in a particular school, you might hate that school, not the individual, in your mind.
Say that there is a political stance that you hate. In our lust for a Satan-esque figure (allowing us to indulge in hatred without having to engage with an actual reality that would require us to resolve our hatred), we find individuals that apparently represent this view. The negative experiences we attach to them would be, say, our circumstances and how we interpret their relationship to a political viewpoint, or maybe a political discussion that resulted in anger, embarrassment, or pain.
The problem is that we LIKE hating people. We like it so much that we would prefer these imaginary Satan representations of actual people or ideas to the resolution of those feelings. It's a kind of high to be infuriated, although its not a positive experience. We see this often on the forum. A person can rant and rant and rant until they are actually hurt by a real interaction. What keeps a lot of people coming back is the harmless hating, the ability to fuel these imaginary feelings with no repercussions (apparently).
To give examples. Some people hate Oprah. Some people hate Letterman. Some people hate Gibson. Some people hate Obama. Some people hate religion or a particular religion. Some people hate an entire country (can't get much more ridiculous). But in each of these examples, how many of these hated figures do we know on a personal level. Notice how we become a lot more forgiving and attentive of people we agree with or feel share experiences with us. Why can't we do this with everyone?
Impossible. Of course, because hatred is an exercise in justification. When we hate something, we try to establish reasons why it is OK and maybe eventually decide that it is actually GOOD to hate. Well, hatred of an individual, in my opinion, is NEVER good. It accomplishes nothing good, and it gives you nothing beneficial as a result. Let's recognize it for what it is: indulgence. I won't go any deeper than that without getting all metaphysical, but that's how I feel about it.
One other note: I think that being judgmental has a lot to do with it. We observe the "facts" (or whatever we have available to us at the time) and use them to determine whether or not someone is worth hating. Imagine if we did this with our friends (we wouldn't have any).
