"What's So Bad About Hate?" Response

1. What breeds hate? Does it have an end?
2. When someone is convicted of a hate crime, how can we tell if the crime was committed purely out of "hate," or whether the victim did something to provoke the attacker?
3. Can "hate" be used as a justification for someone's actions?

Because I'm a very emotional person, I had trouble reading parts of this article, especially in the introductory paragraphs in which Sullivan detailed hate crimes that had been documented over the years. I cannot imagine the pain and suffering endured by the families of these people, and am appalled to read about humans treating other humans in such horrific ways. It forced me to wonder, what made people act this way? Humans are not born with a desire to hurt and to kill; it is taught to us from those we respect. We have to examine the root of the problem, and that is that people are projecting their negative and hateful feelings onto others, which only spreads the problem. Hate is like a parasite, and if it is not quarantined, it will spread infinitely. We all have prejudices, we all stereotype, we all judge. But these are not innate human qualities; they are all learned.

However, the idea of a "hate crime" is interesting, because it may be used as a scapegoat in an instance where someone who may be considered a victim actually provoked the attack. If a black man punches a white man in the face, and the white man punches him back in defense, can the black man accuse the white man of a hate crime? Although that is a very straightforward example, there are other instances when the lines may be blurred. It is difficult to decide what exactly constitutes a "hate crime" and what just makes a "crime."

Overall, I thought the article brought up a lot of great points, and it was an extremely interesting read. Although it was fairly graphic at times, I still enjoyed it.