Hate, Man

From the Heart

You have hate in your heart. Almost sounds insightful, as if the guy who said it was genuinely concerned about someone’s inner well-being. And it might have been if it wasn’t coming from a guy who didn’t like the question he’d been asked about his intentions to go after hate speech that the blonde spokesmodel from Florida who works for him said was going to happen. So, are you planning to? Someone asked. I'd probably go after people like you, because you treat me so unfairly. It's hate, he said. I’m not sure if unfairly is part of the dictionary definition of hate or hate speech, but apparently he’s the boss and whatever he says goes these days. Anyway, it got me thinking about the definition of the word—an intense or passionate dislike for someone (verb): feelings of hate and revenge (noun)—and something my dad used to say, which I was never quite sure actually made sense: I hate people who hate people. He also said, Always be sincere whether you mean it or not. But he was a nice guy who seemed to like everyone and everyone liked him. So maybe he didn’t actually hate anyone or know any hateful people and just used the phrase because he thought it was funny. I don’t know any hateful people either, but I know of plenty. One, in particular. And, at the very least, I dislike them all. Make that extremely dislike. So maybe this is the moment to take that next step and hate this one guy because he hates so many people. I’m sure my dad would hate him too.