Do I dislike?
Do I hate?
Dislike?
Hate?
I want to say both, but hate seems too strong a word for me to say.
And yet, my true emotions gravitate towards such feelings.
Who am I to waste my energy on you? Or am I deceiving myself?

THE KEYWORD: HATE

For most people, hate is a loaded word, but I personally think that the vast majority of people tend to use hate and dislike interchangeably despite their differences in definition and strength in “power” usage.
How often do we use the words dislike or hate? Why is it difficult for any of us to really say how we truly feel when it comes to certain circumstances, especially in the case of another person who caused harm to you and altered your lives for the worst? How can you say there’s only dislike when you harbor something even more? Why not show honesty in your thoughts and come out and say that you hate this person?

I’m not implying that you are not honest-honest in how you feel, but I think there’s a level of deception to simply say that you dislike somebody, even after they committed something highly horrendous. I personally believe that it’s possible to harbor hatred towards somebody without exhausting your energies toward this person. Live life, yet remind yourself that there are people on this planet that truly disgusts you. Does it make you a bad person? I don’t believe so. Does it make you any worse than the person you have great animosity towards? Highly doubt it.

Does anyone else feel this way? Sound off and give your thoughts on the matter.

 

Dislike. Hate is just too strong a word, at least in my experiences thus far. I've not encountered someone that I truly hate. Strongly dislike, yes. Hate? No.

 

What would it take for you to develop strong hatred for somebody?

 

That's a good question and one I don't think I can answer with any conviction.. I think the worst thing someone could do to me is murder my child. I've been taught the value of forgiveness all my life (I'm sure we all have). Unforgiveness is like swallowing poision and hoping the other person will die. If left to fester, it will kill us. So I know that forgiving someone is beneficial to me.

Even when I strongly dislike someone, if they show even the smallest hint of vulnerability, my dislike seems to evaporate.

Hatred, like love, takes time to grow. We choose to love. We also choose to hate (or not).

 

I like your response on here. But even if someone were to murder your child, do you think you can alleviate yourself of that agony since this a permanent outcome?

I suppose that the energy wrought onto this individual regarding hatred slowly fades when forgotten almost completely or that they are suffering...

 

Everything she just said. LOL.

 

I do not like the word hate. I could hate an object, a situation, foods, activity(depending)and offensive actions. People don't realize just how strong the word hate really is. As Master Yoda says,"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. And hate leads to suffering." If I said I hated someone, I'd want that person dead, destroyed and broken. That hatred, sadly, does not stop at that person. It could go to the person's family and friends. It could go to strangers simply because they just happen to be in the vicinity. Hatred is total destruction. I don't use that word to anyone, even if I don't agree with their views or what they do. I am not judge, jury or executioner.

 

Ironically, we're all guilty of judging others, but that's due to the brain.

 

It's the same thing.

 

Nope. It's not

 

How so? Explain...

 

I think she's implying that while we can distinguish the words and their meanings, we tend to act on it as though they are one and the same. What's the difference between our attitudes on hating someone or something as opposed to disliking them? Are we less inclined to hide our emotions when we hate and dislike somebody or are those responses different?

 

The response is different (for me). I've been to both levels and the hate level was 10 times greater than the highly dislike level. Had a gun been present Id be in the pen. (Never harm a boys mother)

 

I would think, if I hated someone, I couldn't tolerate the sight, sound or thought of him/her. I wouldn't be able to be in their presence. I might wish for their demise, idk. I don't believe I've reached that state. But I can strongly dislike someone and still force myself to interact with him/her if I must.

I can count on one hand, a few fingers, actually, the people that come to mind that I strongly dislike. And yet, as I mentioned before, if they were to show a change in attitude towards me (as someone did recentlly on this forum) or show vulnerability, much of my attitude would change. If I truly hated someone, I doubt that would happen. To me, hatred implies violence, even if not shown outwardly.

 

I could imagine that. And actually it would be the case if hate were to be of that nature. Highly dangerous and strong enough to make you do something you [probably] won't regret.

In bold is what I personally believe that hate can be inferred to 100%. Excellent summation on the matter.

 

Nice, MS.

Ches.. to expound/clarify as well, I don't think we much differentiate emotionally between hating and STRONGLY DISLIKING. Dislike, I would agree with you, but "I STRONGLY DISLIKE" to me is just an alternate definition of hate.

Plus in today's society, the word hate isn't always spoken with serious conviction.

 

It all stems from the same emotion, just varying degrees of it. It's not mutually exclusive.

And it's not always toward a person, but rather often towards their behavior.

 

But wouldn't the person himself/herself coincide with the behavior, thus the physical nature of hatred?

 

Not always. Relationships with loved ones are a good example. Your lover, spouse, child, kinfolk, BFF's... you love them but can hate some of their behaviors.