Why do we hate?

This evening we discussed the sources of hatred and how we can deal with it.

Mark started the discussion by differentiating repulsion from hate.  Repulsion and attraction are human biological responses with indifference in the centre.  Hate requires a social component.  We can be repulsed by cockroaches and bad food but we hate some one of a different social group.

Mano further expanded this by saying there is a difference between our earth and our world,  one being physical and biological while the other is our social construct.  Mano further believes that hate is a characteristic that is easy for humans to fall into and we need to guard against that.  It is also something that is nurtured and reinforced until it becomes acceptable without scrutiny within our own social group.

Bruce thinks that the cure to neutralise hate is education but Shula felt that hate is an emotional rather than a rational response so it is not easy for rationality to overcome this negative emotion.

Rafi sited various examples of racial hatred that existed in society where the target of the hatred is a very small number in the society and most members of the society have not met or knew any member of this small targeted group.

A lot of the hatred are in handed down traditional attitudes, jokes, practices that are accepted but not questioned.

Political leaders may take advantage of hate as a way of mobilizing the population but the propensity has to be there to start off with.

Mano suggested that one way to recognise hatred being perpetrated by someone is to see if emotional buttons are being pressed by their claims and the content of facts versus implied but not proven conclusions.

There was a lot of discussion about us versus them or the "other" and that hatred of others is sometimes used to build a tighter social group among the "us".  Does this means that we will always have a tendency to find and hate the "other" since we want to build our social group?

Bruce felt that conversations and discussions with the "other" is what will neutralise hatred.  We often avoid communicating with our "enemies" and never get to find out the common ground we have with them.

Joseph thought that social media is breaking down the stereo types in society and minimizing the distance in communicating with people from other parts of the world.

What came out of the discussion for me is that it is easier to promote hatred than trust as hatred is based on suspicion and speculation where as trust requires repeated demonstrations of considerations for others.  Therefore we need to recognise this imbalance in cognition and put suspicion based theories under a much harsher light.  Don't let our fears of the unfamiliar (therefore suspicion) get the better of us.  Recognise that our emotional response needs to be verified by rationality.

Great discussion!