One idea is that an aspect of hatred is the subconscious avoidance of one’s own complicity in inhumanity in general, if not in terms of the specific hatred-arousing wrong we conceive or perceive others to have committed.
I’m posting this notion for collaborative criticism, because it needs further thought. But the notion that hatred invovles a sublimation of one’s own potential complicity has crossed my mind many times over the years. ——- It has happend when people, including myself on some occasions, are enraged at the wrong-doing of others, be it rape, murder, torture, child abuse, and so on.
———It’s understandable that those acts of inhumanity arouse intense displeasure in the minds of those who experience empathic offense and a violation of decency, not to mention those directly affected.
——–But to compare notes, the approach I try to take regarding the extreme wrong-doing of others is to constructively process the shock, sadness, and anger while avoiding hatred of the offender. —— I do that not to be self-righteous or holy or to make light of the wrong-doing. —–Instead I strive to avoid hatred toward the extreme wrong-doer as a way to take greater responsbility for how my own actions affect the well-being of others. ——–With that sense of responsibility, one can then be more clear-headed about how to prevent further harm and how to fix some of the social damage to the community. ——– My guess is that hatred detracts from that process, by focusing more on deriving pleasure from exacting revenge on the offender than from deriving pleasure from helping to repair the social damage and prevent it from happening again.
———I’m happy about the fact I’m not a murderer, rapist, or other extreme abuser. ——But I am aware of my own potential for causing harm. —–By avoiding hatred toward the enemy or toward the murderer, the rapist, the torturer, or the genocidist, my own connection to such human beings stays in my awareness.——
I’m not saying it’s easy or that it’s always possible to avoid hatred when someone has caused extreme harm to us or a close loved one. —— Instead, I’m saying that we may better promote our self-interests—–as individuals, communities, and societies—if we make it a priority to prevent, and when necessary, punish extreme wrong-doing, without hating the wrong-doer, be it an impoverished rapist or a grossly over- privileged genocidist.
I say that because when we hate, we dehumanize.—– When we do that, we become less aware of our own potential for causing harm, not only to others, but also to ourselves.——- Hence, hatred detracts from one’s self-interest, at least in the long run. —— A close loved one of someone who has been raped, murdered, or otherwise extremely abused is likely to have a hard time with avoiding hatred toward the wrong-doer. —— But the vengeful torment of the bereaved generally wanes over time. —— That vengeful agony of the bereaved is a type of incapacitation. ——- It’s up to fellow community members to support the bereaved in the long, painful process of healing by focusing on repairing the community, instead of continuing the cycle of brutality.——It’s arguable that working on helping others thru preventing further harm and thru repairing the social damage does more to turn the victimhood of those who’ve been wronged into victory than seeking revenge or otherwise seeking to get pleasure by inflicting suffering on the wrong-doer or on those whom we’ve put into a category with the wrong-doer. —— Some examples to look at might be the work of the parents of Rachel Corrie or the work of Daniel Pearl’s father, son and widow.—-Pearl’s dad has said is goal is to ” to channel all the energy and good will that the tragedy has evoked into a good cause. All the hatred is a burden of history, that I have got to fight.”——-Where does the cycle of hatred and violence lead, when we consider, for example, Israel and Palestine ?
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