The Paradox of Hatred

The bearer of hatred tends to be seen as the antagonist. A racist is almost always cast as the one to be, well, hated. This is strange since, after all, those oppressed by hatred are indeed victimized by it, but their oppression is salient, like salt to a wound. No doubt this hurts more in the moment of affliction and can become habitual and even institutional, but, nonetheless, those who are hated are blessed in a strange way. Many who are hated grow hateful themselves, of course, and it is that result—learning to hate—that seems most terrible and heinous. But those who know nothing but hatred in the first place—you and me, in other words—are indeed the ones who seem to be the most oppressed. Not by the hate-filled antagonist, but, instead, by the antagonism of hate itself.