Value of Hate

Everything has value. The value can be good or bad. It can be high or low. The word 'value' is over used to imply that something is worth buying. That's not what I'm talking about here.

In World War II people were aloud to hate Nazis. In the Cold War people were aloud to hate the Commies. In the War on Terror, the enemy is President Bush. Perhaps, if we were aloud to hate the terrorists, we might be better support the wars our soldiers fight in our name. Our enemies hate us. Every one is terrified that the hate we generate (as in hight emotions) will be focused towards Muslims. I hope that is not the case. However, if one calls a nation to war, one should provide an enemy. Otherwise people will find their own object to focus on in order to win. Let's face it, every one wants to win. But win what?

Politically Correct

Western civilization has prided itself on individual freedom to choose their lifestyle. Except for gays, witches and other undesirables people can do what they please as long as they do not hurt other people. <wink>

Part of this attempt to accept individual freedoms is you must allow people to speak their mind. You must let someone say something that might offend other people who believe something else. That is why you need a right mentioned in the constitution. This is the first step in individual freedom. It is the foundation for every thing else that can be called freedom. If you can't stand up and say "Hey, I want this freedom." then you will never get it.

We have this buzzword called "Hate Speech" that keeps coming up. How can anyone define what is or is not hate speech if no one is allude to use it in the first place? I can say anything is hate speech before it is said. If I'm about to say something, how can I know if it is hate speech until I say it and people freak? What is the difference between hate speech and disagreement?

In my opinion, the difference is in one's attempt to harm.

• If someone says a pickup truck is better than a sports car it is not hate speech.
  
• Other's would disagree. If someone says mulls are better than horses that is not hate speech.
  
• If someone says that people with green eyes are more likely to have children with green eyes, that is not hate speech.
• If someone says "Billy Joe Bob stepped on my toe this morning and wouldn't apologize. He is a jerk." I do not think that is hate speech either.
  

When someone says "I think [insert attribute here] people are stupid." Is that hate speech? I don't think so. IF I insert a race or a religion, it is wrong but is it hate speech? If I insert the word 'racist', is it still wrong or hate speech? If any one says something like "I don't like [insert attribute here]." or "I don't believe [what someone else believes]." then I have a hard time calling that hate speech.

When someone comes along and says "I believe [insert attribute here] are different and there for should be treated differently than people who are not." then I can suddenly start labeling a group of words as hateful. There is a problem. It depends on who says the says the statement and who the statement is about. If a race or religion is inserted then maybe. If the word "convicted felons" or "Child Molesters" is  inserted, then maybe not. Hell, society makes convicted sex offenders register with the state so we know where they live and work for the rest of their lives. That is different.

Beware

Not every one who says something is a hate monger. We have to be able to disagree or there is no freedom of speech.  One of the quickest ways to get someone to shut up and not express their apposing opinion is to call them a racist or call what they have to say hate speech. Companies and schools are terrified of those words. If you might say something that someone else disagrees with and they might call you a racist, you will not be aloud to speak at functions in most cases. It happens all the time to the bloggers who have an opinion, or web site owners who host a video on their site that has an opinion.

I'm talking death threats, not legal action or publishing a counter blog or video. Legal actions is counter productive when it comes to freedom of speech. I is just another tool to get people to shut up. Death threats are just plane evil. Any and all threats of harm for the purposes of limiting someone's freedoms are evil.

When someone calls someone else by a label, or start attacking the person making a statement, be careful that it is not just for retaliation for what is being said. This is an evil tool used so very often. What does a carpenter's son have to say about the soles of men?

Control

Emotions exist to help humans make decisions. Beyond fear and anger, emotions make us want to stick together, find a mate, take on the world, make a mark. Most of our actions are governed by emotions. Without them we would sit like lumps and play WOW until we mummified from  carbonated sodas.

People have figured this out. They want to get something so they use our emotions to get us to do what they want. For example, sales. The concept of sales is all about emotion. If people made decisions on what they were going to buy by logic, no one would need makeup or sales departments (same thing).

Hate is one of may emotions. Loyalty is a combination of logic and emotion. Love is all emotion. Hate is not the opposite of love. Indifference is the opposite of both. Basically, one has a level of emotion. That level is high or low.  If I love a woman very much, I do not hate anything just as much. The most powerful emotion of them all is the one felt right now. Because that is the emotion that has the most effect over the rest of your life.

There are tons of accounts of what people did in the "heat of the moment". Any time you can attach emotional responses to words or deeds, you win a little control over the people who have the response. Giving a loved one flowers, giving someone a dirty look, flipping someone you don't even know off on the street, smiling, laughing, crying, winking, warring your earphones and  never looking any one in the eye (body language), using your words for good or evil. It is all ways to get what you want. It is all social control.

That is the value of hate. No one is going to fight a war if the enemy is all about flowers, chocolate and laughing babies. The emotion must be raised. The target must be clear. Emotions fade rapidly. They spike on and off, but lead to frustration without focus. The target must be clear or a clear target will be found

After September eleventh 2001, emotions were high. There was no enemy. There was no clear target. It is easy to hate a country. It is easy to hate a people, regardless if it is politically correct or not. It is easy to hate an idea. We are not aloud to hate anything. Americans wanted answers. When the answers did not come in a clear, quick way the American people picked targets for their powerful emotions. Liberals blamed the conservative administration. Conservatives blamed freedom itself. Some blamed, and still blame  Islam. Some blamed one man named Bin Laden.

Bad Clarity

I blame the clear lack of an enemy. for all the confusion and inaction since September eleventh 2001. I'm not the first to say that. Just because you have a target in your sights does not mean it is the solution to your problem. Look at Nazi Germany. They had focus. They had someone to hate. It was wrong. It was evil. Evil because so many knew it was wrong and did so little. Evil because people wanted it. Hitler was all about change. Hitler won on a ticket that said something like "get what is ours back."

Conclusion

Any time you find your self feeling powerful emotions, remember that someone might be out to control you. Hopefully they just want you to smile.