Is hate important

Answer 1

Almost everything in life, including emotions, has an opposite, and as well, can be in varying degrees. As opposites, we can agree or disagree, like or dislike, love or hate.

We need to recognize how we feel as well as be able to assign a specific name to the degree of feeling we have. More importantly, we need to distinguish actions we might hate, from the person who did the actions. Additionally, we need to separate true feelings from opinions, as well as monitor ourselves and our feelings for appropriateness. We also need to know appropriate ways to express our feelings and opinions.

So, hate is only an important fact because it helps us determine what we feel and think, but we must go further and make sure that we use the word "hate" only for things we truly hate, rather than just using the word as an empty expression.

As some examples:

Most teenagers love their parents and would be very sad if their parents left or died. Yet, many teens can be overheard yelling, "I hate you!" But they really don't hate their parent(s). Instead, in that moment, a teenager might dislike rules parents set, think a parent is being unfair or unreasonable, or simply the teenager feels annoyed or disappointed. When the teen can more accurately voice the feeling he/she truly has, the better he/she will communicate. "Mom! Having to stay home to take care of my younger brother feels so unfair!"

"I hate my ex, I wish he'd die!" The couple has a child. Neither parent truly wants the other parent to die. And likely, neither parent really hates the other one. Instead, more often they hate a certain behavior, attitude, action etc. Again, they'd both feel better and communicate better if they specified exactly what bothers them. "When my ex hangs up the telephone when I'm talking, I feel like I'm invisible and unheard."

Children, teens, and adults also overuse the word hate when they actually mean dislike or "prefer not". For examples:

• I hate peas! Better: I dislike peas and prefer corn.
• I hate that movie! Better: The movie used great actors but the script seemed boring.
• I hate (some group)! Better (and more often is more accurate): I feel fear around groups I don't know well and feel uncomfortable around.
• I hate red hair! Better: I prefer blonds to redheads, and no one can choose their natural hair color.
• I hate these shoes! Better: These shoes looked really nice in the store, but they pinch my toes when I walk in them.
• I hate (some teacher)! Better: I like my Biology teacher, but I feel faint when we have to dissect a frog.
• I hate this class! Better: This class leaves me feeling bored (confused, overwhelmed, stupid, unable to learn, exasperated, too challenged, numb, etc. etc).

So the most important part of any negative feeling or emotion, such as hate, is that it allows us to identify the measure of dislike or discomfort we feel. (Or the measure of a good feeling, like love.)