On Hatred

By Gabriela Mandras. Gabriela lives in Brasov, Romania. Please read her article and leave your thoughts and comments below.

Hatred is a sentiment born out of envy: a sentiment which in turn creates its own monsters. After all, it is all about the education we have received at home; it overshadows self-control. The more a person has been taught, as a child to think positively, the fewer the chances they will become villainous. However, a person who grew up in an inadequate and toxic environment is more likely to create such monsters and let them run freely. Yet, a person does not learn how to behave only at home. Every day, they see other people with different characters and varying world views. It is only now that we can talk about self-control. Depending on what that person already knows about the world, they may or may not start to think and act like them. With a good group of people, even a moderately good person will start to think positively, while in a bad group, even a good person will begin to see darkness in the people around them. It is important to develop consciousness and thinking. By thinking logically, the person will grow closer to those who think positively and distance themselves from those who don’t. But, for some people, neither logic nor consciousness is enough. Thus, from the seed of envy, hatred will stem out. It is this hatred which will create several personal monsters.

Of all the monsters born out of hatred, revenge is perhaps the most dreadful because it is not just a sentiment but rather a craving. Like any other craving, when you don’t know how to or do not want to block it, it will devour you. It will become your obsession and it won’t be enough to block it out especially when it materialises.

For some people, revenge is the satisfaction of seeing their rival or enemy defeated. Why should they not have this satisfaction fulfilled in their lifetime? When they are unsure of victory, they will seek allies: like-minded people whom they feel envy for or harbour a grudge against a common enemy. These people will search for any soft spot and come up with strategies to exact their revenge. Nothing will stop them. They won’t even shudder at the thought of the harm they could inflict on others.

If they have the means to put it into action, the thought of a single man can be devastating. Imagine for a minute, what happens if that person is an army leader or a statesman with great military power? What if that person is somebody whom others follow, maybe even blindly, and firmly believe in? That ruler will find a way for others to follow them without asking questions. That ruler will bring to the fore the evil consciousness of a civilisation whom they alone can imagine and materialise. People will believe in this figure. Why is that so? Could it be the leader’s charisma and their power of persuasion? Or rather, is it because of the followers’ low self-esteem? Or perhaps, he is consumed by his thirst for power and his desire to climb up the social ladder to become a top dog. Many people are more intelligent than the leader but still they follow him. He will be the shepherd and they his flock.

On the same trail of thought, the General now has a great army at his disposal. He has convinced them and soon they will start a war of hatred against those he hates so much, creating a war which he had been planning long before he had found people who would follow him. All wars break out because of these feelings of hatred, envy and a strong desire to show one’s superiority and strength. War is just the destructive creation of the mind of one person. No matter how honourable that person is, when such a thought takes root in his mind and heart, something must be amiss. When the piece of land he rules over is no longer enough, he will start a war and claim this war will prevent his people from regressing, but perhaps only because he wants others to acknowledge his power.

Nevertheless, even in the mind of a person who hates, there can be moments of clarity. In those moments, we can teach him not to take anything for granted. The sooner he learns that hatred is no good, the faster he will recover his mind and soul from the clutches of negative sentiments.

Deep within the soul of every person, there is hatred and as an extension a desire for revenge. In order to retain their humanity, every person must take care of the darkness that lies within and try to forgive and forget so that they would not become a beast. Since every person needs to live among others, they must master the art of controlling themselves so as not to become a monster. The one that does not manage to rule their hatred loses the war against themselves. At that moment, everyone around them will single them out and shun them. Losing the war against their own hatred will also mean losing their consciousness. It is then that the more hatred they feel, the more hatred others would feel for them. His own statement of hate will turn against him like a boomerang.

Hatred is a sentiment that devours the person who nurtures it. Such a person can only live through hatred and revenge. When they do not have someone to hate, they will only take revenge on themselves. A person who hates too much and too often cannot be stopped anymore. Such a person will be marginalised so that their hatred will no longer hurt the people around them. For such a person, society has created a cure: the bedlam.

Leave a Reply


Subscribe to our newsletter!