Rex Trulove
A large number of people feel hatred toward certain other people. Sometimes the reason is real, sometimes it is merely perceived. However, hatred is one of the strongest of all negative emotions and we live in times where negativity abounds. The fact that we own our own emotions often means little. Because of the world we live in, it is very easy to hate certain other people but it takes a lot of work to love everyone. That is assuming that people even try to love one another.
I am a Christian. However, for many years, there were a few people that I truly despised. I hated them. I still called myself a Christian. I was wrong. This might come as a shock to many people, but you can’t be a Christian and hate or despise a single other person. The bible is exceptionally plain on that point and I’d be happy to mention where and to write about it if there is interest. It took me a long time to realize that I was a wannabe Christian; someone who talked the talk but didn’t walk the walk.
The world still has an influence on me, though I fight it, so I have to actively work at it in a constant and conscious manner to be able to say that I now hate no one. It is a personal journey for me to honestly come to love everyone. I’ll also admit that I felt compelled to do this poll. Somebody out there needs it.
What do you think about hatred?
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Question of
Is there anyone who you truly hate?
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Yes, several people
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Yes and they deserve it
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Yes, but I’m working on it
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I don’t hate anyone, but I don’t love everyone, either
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I love everyone
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Question of
Are you aware of anyone who hates you for a reason that isn’t justified?
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Yes
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No
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Question of
Do you think that the world would be much better if people loved each other instead of hating others?
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Yes
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No
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Question of
Which is the strongest emotion; love or hate?
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Love
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Hate
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I guess it depends on how much hate is hate … I hate some people but they don’t affect me much… I am not having sleepless nights nor will I end up stalking their blogs/fb to just find something to laugh at them… The fact is hatred is not that tiring for me … but of course I’m not saying we should hate…
But I just don’t see it as “scary” as others … I think revenge is more scary … lol
I’d much prefer for people to love me than to hate me. Therefore I must give what it is that I wish to receive, which means loving instead of hating. It is also part of my biblical journey.
I don’t hate anyone, but I wouldn’t say I love everyone.
It isn’t easy to get to that point. Letting go of the hatred and forgiving is one thing, but loving is another.
Sadly I know of this emotion from others but I walk away.
That is one of the wisest things to do. I’ve actually confronted the person who hated me and apologized for whatever they thought I’d done wrong. That resulted in a much more positive outcome…we became friends and he actually went out of his way to protect me. We were in 7th grade in a school that was mostly Native Americans and since I was a year ahead of my classmates, having started first grade when I was 5, I was much smaller than any of the Indians. He, on the other hand, was a very big Indian that had flunked 3rd grade, so he was much larger than most of our classmates. People didn’t pick on me after he made it plain that they would have to go through him to get to me.
It all started with a one-sided fight. He hit me. I went down. I got back up and refused to fight him (did I mention that he was BIG?). He hit me. I went down. I got back up. The fourth or fifth time he hit me and I got back up, he threw up his hands and said, “You win!” It totally astounded him when I then apologized for whatever I’d done to make him hate me. I had his respect from that moment on, though I’ve not spoken to him for decades.
That is great but is not always the outcome. I am a very forgiving person. I want to be able to sleep at night knowing I have done the right thing no matter what others have done.
Funny you have not spoken for decades, but the wonderful thing is you both know it’s all good between you.
We have no line of communication anymore. Last I knew, he still lived in the same little town in southern Oregon and I haven’t been in contact with any of the people there since I moved away from the area over 30 years ago.
I think hate is a wasted emotion. You might not like something or someone but if you cannot change anything then just look the other way.
That is basically it. If I hated someone, that fact wouldn’t hurt that person in the slightest. Yet, I’d have to bear the weight of my own hatred and it *is* a weight and burden. I’ve also been on the other side of that hatred and it usually isn’t justified, even though the person may think that it is.
It’s a good thing that we have a loving Father who has a forgiving heart. No one is perfect. We are all here to learn.
That is very true. It is amazing, though, that people often don’t realize that since we’ve been forgiven, we should also forgive. That isn’t human nature, so it does take effort, but it is worth it.
It is inevitable to feel hatred towards others. There are so many reasons. As for me, it happened because of their wrongdoings.
You do realize that hatred is a choice and that you own your emotions, right? Every one of us has been wronged, sometimes severely, but none of us has to feel hatred. I used to feel hate and it took a long time to realize that I don’t need to have that way, no matter what the person did. When I got rid of the hate, I found that I became a much happier person. Before then, I didn’t even realize that I wasn’t happy!
I have to deal with some spammers who accuse me of hating their favorite sports stars or social justice warriors when in reality I am trying to guide them in the right direction since if we don’t learn from our errors in our history, we will repeating that dark period.
I’ve also had people react toward me with hatred and anger for stating the truth. That is sad, but I’ve found that you can’t convince someone of the truth about something if they don’t want to be convinced. I’ve finally concluded that it is best for me to simply state the facts and leave it up to the individual whether they will believe it or not. It isn’t my “job” to convince people of the validity of the facts I present.
That doesn’t stop people from reacting out of hatred. For instance, there is one person here on Virily who consistently votes down nearly anything I write. That is an act of hatred and I very much pity them and pray for them. Someday, they will realize that though they are trying to hurt me, they aren’t hurting me in the slightest. Rather, they are helping me and hurting themselves. I don’t like seeing people hurting themselves, so I can only hope that they understand sooner rather than later.
I do remember reading in the D C Comic books in the 1970s where if a person hates you due to your faith, skin color or another reason, it only hurts them more than it hurts me. My late mother had an old saying “Two jobs you hater has. Get angry and then be happy once again.” (translated from Spanish).
I used to hate people too but now I don`t, rakes to much energy. But I know people that do hate me, due to jealousy
I know that there are people who hate me, too. I feel sorry for them and I do pray for them. Hatred rarely hurts the object of the hate, but it is honestly a huge burden to the person who is doing the hating.