Envy, greed, lust, jealousy and hatred. Of all human emotions these are the ugliest. Hatred is the most despicable one of all. It must be taught; a baby is not born hating.
How can we break the cycle? If dedicated teachers would stress the opposite of hate and teach tolerance and critical thinking it might help mitigate the malevolent example set by ignorant parents. Only by counter education can children learn to think for themselves and stop parroting the garbage being spewed into their young lives by adults.
It isn't just the parents who teach hatred of those different than themselves. Some pockets of society are riddled with ignorance and intolerance. Some radical religious sects contribute in a large way to intolerance and, therefore, hatred. And it grows worse during economic hard times. If things are wrong at home, then it must be someone else's fault and the uneducated have to find a scapegoat. Sometimes they find many scapegoats; it must be the Jews, the welfare blacks, the immigrants, the government and on and on.
I believe that low self esteem is a contributing factor to the resentment of others who are different than themselves. Other contributing factors are poverty and lack of education. (That is not always the case, of course. I believe the latest hateful shooter in the Holocaust Museum had a degree and had held good jobs.)
There is an excellent article in yesterday's Huffington Post by Michael Rowe titled "Death at the Holocaust Museum and the Degradation of the American Dialogue." It is well worth reading. The link is:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-rowe/the-holocaust-museum-shoo_b_214133.html
Those who defend the enablers of the dernaged shooters, such as Bill O'Reilley, Ann Coulter, Michelle Bachman, and others say they have a right to say whatever they want. Free speech, don't you know? Well we don't have the right to yell 'fire' in a theater so why do they have the right to call a doctor a 'baby killer'? Isn't that inciting to violence? Someone - perhaps many someone's - need to utilize our free speech and call them what they are; accessories to murder. There ought to be a law.
Those of you who couldn't see my cartoons yesterday can now see them by scrolling down.
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10 comments:
Hatred is so hard to understand, isn't it? I don't even comprehend it when it's of people we know, who have wronged us but this kind is anonymous and feeds something ugly that grows and grows.
*Rain - Maybe anonymous is the worst kind because it's so sneaky and impossible to fight.
Thank you for the cartoons! I loved them and they echo my feelings,LOL.
I agree with you Darlene, hatred is taught. It is age old and I don't know if we will ever get rid of it. Each person has to see that anger and hate hurts themselves NOT the person they are angry with or that they hate! We need to have more postive energy out there!
And what is going on with this resurge on hating the Jewish people? Did you read what Obama's ex pastor said? I tell you things are getting wierd.
You are right. And I think hatred grows in environments where children are brutalized by cruelty and neglect.
And then there's the gun issue. These acts of hatred would be a lot more difficult to carry out if guns were not being made available to anyone who wants one. Why are so many people intimidated by the NRA?
*Looking to the Stars - The Jews have always been a scapegoat from the anti-Semitic crowd. Those ignorant people usually are also racist and homophobic. They must feel terrible about themselves to have to find someone different to blame for their own sorry lot.
*20th Century Woman - The gun nuts are right in there with the haters. Money talks and the NRA are powerful. The gun nuts are the ones who make the most noise when any kind of sensible legislation might be passed and the lawmakers cower in their seats. Another of my soap box issues.
I think there's little doubt that words do incite some people to unacceptable acts. We really do need to exercise responsible judgment with our words -- easier said than done.
Clearly we know that every community and social strata is capable of inflicting abusive behaviors on their own of any age and others, guns or no guns.
Everytime I find myself thinking someone has committed an act that just defies common sense or isn't logical, I realize that was someone who lacked common sense and logic. How do we deal with those people?
I've been retired from teaching for about eighteen years now. And even way back then we were trying to teach the things you mention. However, I think the family has far more influence than the education system. And I don't know what we can do about that!
Hatred is a very hard thing for me to understand....for most of us. Certainly if you've been nurtured in a background of love and compassion, it's difficult to conceive how anyone can think and believe otherwise...or would want to...especially using all your energy and passion in such a negative way....to hurt others; and in the final analysis...yourself. I'll just never understand it.
America is a violent society unfortunately and ignorant people have easy access to weapons. But words are powerful and enable the sociopaths to do their evil deeds. Isn’t it in Germany where the neo-Nazi movement and literature are banned as inciting to violence? People inciting to violence here should also be banned from the airwaves. Do you remember last July when two people were murdered in a Knoxville Unitarian Church by a conservative extremist who said he hated Liberals? He had Rush Limbaugh’s books and tapes at home. What he was hearing on hate radio enabled him to carry out his hateful act. People are scared of Muslim Terrorists but they should be as scared of the home-grown variety of Christian Terrorists and not be afraid to call them by that name. “Homeland Security” should not look at foreigners only as security threats; there are plenty of nuts here who need to be under surveillance.
*Joarad - Yes, abusive behaviors can be inflicted without guns, but guns make it so easy for a coward to murder. They can do it from a distance and that makes it more impersonal for them. They are just shooting a (black - Mexican - abortionist - Jew - fill in your own name.) and not a breathing person.
*Rinkly Rhymes - I agree that the family is the most important influence for good or evil. I don't know what you do about that, either. But sometimes counter education gets through to a few and that few won't be perpetrating the hate from one generation to another. All we can do is try.
*Joy - I don't think the wisest sage understands it, either.
*Vagabonde _ Thank you for a very thoughtful comment.
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