We explain what hate is and how it differs from anger and resentment. In addition, we tell you how it is related to forgiveness.
What is hate?
hate It is a feeling of intense antipathy towards something or someone, to whom one wishes evil and professes a dislike sustained over time. It is typically described as the opposite of love, and is a feeling that often leads to anger, enmity, and even violence.
the word hate comes from latin hatredused by the ancient Romans for everything that was excessively unpleasant or reprehensible, and shares its roots with the word “anger”, coming from I will hate (that is, “provoke hatred”).
There are different causes by which hatred occurs: envy, resentment, association with causes contrary to one's own, or simply the need to find a scapegoat for one's own sufferings. In any case, people who feel hatred often engage in angry behaviors, thoughts or feelings, of violent dislike towards what they hate.
Numerous ancient cultures have warned about the harmful role of hate, the way in which it threatens dialogue and understanding, rather pushing people towards the destruction of others. Furthermore, hating requires the investment of a significant amount of energy and attention in what is hated, given that it is an obsessive feeling that, once it arises, is difficult to combat.
Throughout history, Hate has been the cause of numerous tragedies, wars and persecutions especially when it is induced by ideological reasons, that is, political and/or religious. Hatred between peoples can be so long-lasting that entire generations grow up willing to attack and be attacked by unknown people but associated with a hated condition: a religion, an ethnicity, a gender, among others.
Thus, for example, misogyny is the general hatred of women, while anti-Semitism is hatred towards people of Jewish descent.
See also: Misanthropy
Differences between hate and anger
Although hate is an intense feeling of contempt that can lead us to wish harm on another, its nature is very different from anger or rage. First of all because Hate is a generally conscious and lasting feeling which can span a lifetime or even entire generations.
On the other hand, rage or anger are explosive emotions, which can arise in one moment and disappear the next and that serve to express pain, displeasure or the need to defend oneself, under a very primary scheme of flight or defense that is inscribed in the human brain.
On the other hand, hatred is not necessarily accompanied by an outburst of rage. On the contrary, with the passage of time, hatred becomes cold and Machiavellian, which is much more dangerous, since a person who hates can invest time and reasoning in harming the person he hates. While an angry person will surely apologize at the end of his anger, and see things in a more manageable, less dramatic way. A person who hates can act and express his hatred in a cruel, but completely rational way.
Differences between hate and resentment
Resentment can often be understood as a minimal precursor to hatred that is, as a very weak and fleeting form of hatred. Especially when referring to resentment, a term that has lighter and short-term connotations, while resentment tends to be something more lasting. In general, however, rancor and resentment are treated as synonymous terms.
Resentment is a feeling close to rage, usually the result of considering oneself attacked, violated or offended by another without being right, or in a way that did not correspond to one. We often feel resentment toward people who hurt us and, in some cases, over time this resentment can grow and turn into resentment, and thus give way to hatred.
Hate and forgiveness
Forgiveness is one of the ways to free yourself from prolonged and harmful emotions such as hatred and resentment. Especially in situations in which it is considered to have been unfairly harmed, because pride and the conviction of being right can make a simple annoyance last over time and gain depth until it turns into hatred.
In these cases, The key to deactivating hatred lies in generosity and recognition of the other as a fallible subject human, who is capable of repenting for the damage he causes. Thus, forgiving involves not only trying to forget the damage received and the suffering that it caused, but also humbly accepting how useless it is to hold on to contempt and anger, because what is done is done.
Naturally, not everything can be forgiven and not everyone can be forgiven. This is why Many times instead of forgiveness and reconciliation, hatred requires justice to be resolved that is, the recognition on the part of the other that he acted wrongly, or on the part of a third party who judges. Even in those moments, giving up hate and accepting what happened can be a great relief, because sometimes people need to forgive themselves, not just others.
Continue with: Irritability
References
- “Hate” on Wikipedia.
- “Hate” in the Language Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- “Etymology of hate” in the Online Spanish Etymological Dictionary.
- “Hate” in The Britannica Dictionary.
