HATE: From Roommates to Bullies to Trump, I Ask Why Bother?

HATE: An Article

For six interminable years, I cohabitated with a roommate who, despite his seemingly benign demeanor, wielded an uncanny power to shatter my fragile peace. As someone who toiled through the sleepless hours of night, battling the relentless thief of insomnia, sleep was not merely a luxury; it was an essential lifeline. Thus, imagine the sheer horror that coursed through my veins when, in the early hours of a Monday morning, I was violently jolted awake by the thunderous eruption of jazz music blasting at full volume. The once serene sanctuary of my room devolved into an unholy cacophony, and I felt the sharp sting of betrayal from my roommate—a betrayal that felt deeply personal, reverberating through the very core of my being.

He had to have known he crossed an invisible line. Yes, it was "just one song," but that single act of disregard unraveled my entire week, like a fragile thread snapped by a careless hand. My initial reaction was primal and visceral; I fantasized about revenge—a ludicrous demand for a thousand dollars, neigh two thousand dollars as compensation danced in my mind. Absurd, yes, yet the thought ignited a wildfire of fury within me. With a maniacal laugh, I recognized the ridiculousness of my demand, yet the turmoil only intensified, feeding the beast that had taken root in my heart.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; Light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; Love can do that." – Martin Luther King

As the week dragged on, the hatred festered, swelling like an infected wound. Each day morphed into a battle against my spiraling emotions, where negativity seeped into every interaction, staining even the simplest joys. By Friday, I was a shattered reflection of myself—bent, twisted, and full of loathing not just for my roommate but for the very world around me. My hatred had morphed into a dark cloud, casting ominous shadows over everything I encountered, suffocating the light of reason and compassion.

The thought of moving out loomed large, a drastic measure that mirrored how far I had spiraled into the abyss of my own making. Believe it or not, this simple act of unkindness prompted me to, months, later, go off to work in China... but in the moment, I had little recourse.

When the moment of confrontation arrived, my fury collided with an unexpected reality. I approached him, my tone surprisingly diplomatic, laying bare the impact of his actions. His eyes widened in disbelief, surprise blooming on his face, as an apology tumbled from his lips. He explained that he hadn’t heard that particular song in a decade and was merely recording it to preserve a cherished memory.

In that heartbeat, my rage evaporated like smoke in the wind. "Oh," I stammered, my defenses crumbling, the armor of hatred I had forged slipping away. The venom that had coursed through my veins for days dissipated, replaced by a rush of clarity. How foolish I had been to allow a fleeting moment of disrespect to hijack my emotional well-being, dragging me down into the depths of self-inflicted turmoil.

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." – Nelson Mandela

That night, after our exchange, I found solace in a renewed sense of clarity. His apology had not only extinguished the blaze of hatred within me but illuminated a crucial truth: unchecked emotions can spiral out of control, transforming the trivial into the catastrophic. I realized that hate had momentarily held dominion over me, yet I possessed the power to reclaim my equilibrium.

From that day forward, I pledged to confront the murmur of hatred before it could swell into a tempest. I learned to recognize the early signs, understanding that hatred often reflects our own vulnerabilities and insecurities. In confronting my roommate, I not only confronted him but also the darker parts of myself—those shadows that had whispered venomous thoughts into my psyche. I had let myself be taken to the root of an unhappy passion...

"You cannot hate other people without hating yourself."

When hatred manifests, it becomes an unbridled beast, ready to deliver a brutal kick. In our modern age, especially within our online lives, hatred appears rampant, a toxic virus infecting hearts and minds. I cannot fathom how some people manage to navigate existence while steeped in vitriolic fervor, often misguided or unjustified in their emotions, oozing hatred like a festering wound that threatens to consume them.

In the end, that one song had the potential to ruin my life, but instead, it emerged as a catalyst for growth and transformation. The hatred I once harbored evolved into a profound lesson—one that illuminated my faults and ultimately led me to a deeper understanding of myself. Hatred may have ignited the spark, but it was awareness and empathy that extinguished the flames, reminding me that the power to choose love over hate resides within us all.

When I transpose this example of HATE into the world, I find that the world's hatred, the emotion so many people walk around with, the thorn in our collective sides, is moot and if we only had an explanation (that by its very nature, made it known why something "hated" was existing) we could fold our cards.

People hate Donald Trump, they will sign themselves to jail time by ruining Teslas that aren't theirs, and they will seeth with disgust at a man they'll never meet. But when the reasons behind X, Y, or Z, are exposed, there is little to fight against. I refused during Bush Jr's reign, to get so mentally invested into any third party. I would try not to hate anyone for elements that do not affect me. I may not like all of their moves or policies, but I didn't like certain things about growing up either. I didn't like my parents' policies on partying, for example. But I didn't hate, and having experienced a deep week of it with my roommate, I never want to do that to my pysche again.