It is often said that there is only one step between hate and love, and vice versa.
Hatred is the antipathy and aversion towards something or someone . It is a negative feeling that is channeled in the form of a desire for evil towards the hated subject or object.
Hatred is linked to enmity and repulsion : people try to avoid or destroy what they hate. In the case of hatred towards another human being, the feeling can be expressed through insults or physical aggression.
Hate and love
Hate is generally considered to be the opposite of love . However, there are those who believe that there is only one step from hate to love (and vice versa), since hate is always directed towards someone who is considered important and who mobilizes the individual. In this sense, the opposite of love would be indifference and not hate.
Hate is, in fact, a bond with another person, even if it is not a healthy one, but rather represents a deep disappointment and, often, a desire for revenge . Regardless of the clichés, in most cases one really hates someone one has loved or at least respected a lot, and that is why these apparently opposite feelings are related.
Hatred is not always irrational . It is normal to hate those who make us suffer or threaten our existence. For example: “I hate the murderers of my parents” or “The official who stole the money that was to be used to build a hospital earned the hatred of the people .” What is healthy is to transform this negative energy into positive action (demanding justice, in the case of the examples mentioned).
The bond with parents
Parents are among the first people we can come to hate, even if only temporarily, in order to “train” ourselves in this bitter feeling .
The relationship with them is unique and unrepeatable, because they are the first adults we meet, our reference for the future, who protect us and teach us our first words, how to walk, read and write, etc. We consider them gods, perfect beings who will never let us down; when they do, the disappointment is impossible to contain, and often turns into hatred.
Hatred often leads to violence.
From hatred to violence
Violence is often a consequence of hatred. When a state is about to declare war, it often promotes hatred towards the enemy among citizens and soldiers. In this way, violent actions will appear justified and will not generate rejection or mixed feelings in society .
This strategy is as common as it is twisted, since it implants hatred against others in entire peoples to the point that it becomes an almost genetic inheritance, reproduced generation after generation until it loses its meaning, one that it probably never had. It is not reasonable to hate an entire country, but wars achieve this and much more.
There is no great difference between this phenomenon and the development of racism , sexism or any other form of contempt , which becomes a feeling as deep-rooted as hatred. In fact, this concept is used to summarise it in one word, partly because the actions of racist and sexist people are often extremely violent , as if they were seeking revenge: shooting someone of another race or stoning a person with a different sexuality than one's own are two examples that demonstrate the existence of negative feelings, and not a mere difference of tastes or ideas.
Indifference is mentioned above as a possible opposite of love, and this can be understood by comparing what we feel for our friends and for a stranger passing by on the street. When a racist person's blood boils because he sees a stranger whose skin colour is different from his own, the situation is worrying.