hate

Tim Bean

8/6/2012

 There seems to be a lot of misconstructions as far as what actually constitutes hate.  Take for example that I was called a “hater” because of my critique of Lebron James’ past performances in the NBA playoffs; despite the fact that I stated that I believed he is the best player in that league right now.  All I said was that he, for whatever reason, seemed to fade away as the playoffs progressed (until this year of course).  I was simply stating (1) my opinion, and (2) then trying to back up my opinion with evidence, such as his virtual disappearance in the final games of the 2010 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals, and the 2011 NBA Finals.  Yet, I was called a hater of Lebron James, for reasons that I don’t fully understand.   I am not a hater, and this year I give him all the credit he deserves for his efforts in winning the NBA Championship and the Finals MVP Award, congratulations Lebron.

That is sports though, and at the end of the day whoever wins this, that, or the other, really doesn’t amount to a hill of beans in the grand scheme of things.  It is when we construe hate into other things, when there really is none, which leaves me saddened over the apparent loss of our collective reasoning abilities.  The Chick-Fil-A Flap is a prime example of this.  Below is the direct quote of that company’s CEO that got so many people’s feathers ruffled:

“I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,’ I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about.”

Read it, read it again, now tell me, is there anywhere in there that says he hates anyone?  He starts it off with the qualifier, “I think,” which means that he is expressing his opinion, that’s all nothing else.  Nowhere in there does he say that gays and lesbians are banned from Chick-Fil-A restaurants.  You may think like I do, that his opinion is narrow minded and lacking in enlightenment, but so be it; he isn’t being hateful.

What is hateful is this guy; who went out of his way to berate, intimidate, and chastise an innocent teenager for working at Chick-Fil-A.  You know what though he got fired almost immediately for what he considers doing “…something good…”  Karma can be a real b*tch sometimes.

This is also an example of hate, remember her, the grandmother bus monitor who was pretty viciously taunted, and teased by children?  We were all appalled at that incident, and in a spirit of goodness many, many people donated money to her, so much so (something like $700,000) that she was able to retire.  Again, the wheel of karma turns.

Here’s another example of hatred, a white supremacist going on a killing spree, simply because he didn’t like the color of another’s skin, or their religion.  He was shot and killed by police, unfortunately after he took the lives of six innocent people.  Hard to find too much good karma in that story, but maybe one day it will be revealed.

Hate is also using rumor to intimidate, pressure, and force people into doing what you wish – kind of like how the government works.  The whole Harry Reid thing about Mitt Romney and his taxes is an example of this.  Mr. Reid’s cohort in rumor, thus hate, Nancy Pelosi, states that it is a FACT that someone told Sen. Reid about Mr. Romney’s tax evasion, but instead of providing proof of this “fact” she follows up her emphatic “truthfulness” with this little gem, “Whether he [Romney] did or not can easily be disposed of: Mitt Romney can release his tax returns and show whether he paid taxes.”  Umm, yeah, that does not provide the veracity I need that would show that anyone did tell Sen. Reid anything.  I believe the burden of proof should be on Reid and Pelosi.  Besides, even if there is an informant somewhere, the evidence is purely hearsay and would be inadmissible in a court of law.

Just because I say that someone told me that Harry Reid is a heroin addict does not make it true.  It is purely a rumor, which is where the hate comes in.  I say that unsubstantiated lie and the burden of proof is now on Sen. Reid to show that he is not a heroin addict; not me.  My lie (theoretically) does me no harm, but the effects of it could be detrimental to Sen. Reid and his life.  That is called character assassination, and while I know politics is a full contact sport, I don’t think anyone benefits from the spreading of rumors based on a claimed individual telling someone something while hiding in anonymity.  If, as the “honorable” Ms. Pelosi claims this to be a fact, then shouldn’t Mitt Romney be allowed the right to know who his accuser is, not have to prove his innocence?  If it is a fact that Mr. Romney hasn’t paid taxes in ten years, then shouldn’t a simple investigation by the IRS prove this?  I think the fact that the IRS hasn’t acted on this anonymous informant’s accusations is proof enough that there is no truth anywhere in this charade.  I wonder what karma has in store for those involved in this story.

Hate is ignorance, pure and simple.  Hate is the willful and wonton destruction of truth, reason, individuals, and lives.  It is not just a differing opinion, or a critique. Hate comes in many guises, it is the refusal to accept opposing views, and it is an entrenched belief in one’s superiority over another that drives them to want to extinguish the lives of those who are perceived to be different, or inferior.  We actually have to go out of our way to express hate.  The spreading of rumors is an example of this.  We have to create the rumor and then work to spread it, it is a form of bullying, and last I checked there was an unofficial national drive to put an end to bullying.  I guess that only applies to children though . . .

“From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate.”  (Socrates)