HATE

WARNING: THERE ARE IMAGES IN THIS POST THAT SOME MIGHT FIND HIGHLY UNSETTLING AND/OR DISTURBING.

The world has a problem with hate right now. It is everywhere. It is the underlying principle driving ideologies. It is the first thing that comes out of the mouth of the ignorant, uneducated boor that is masquerading as the president of this country. Case in point, the fool’s words: “I hate the Democrats.” When one uses direct hate speech like this, they are simply showing their own ignorance and lack of ability to communicate in any meaningful way. And, when a movement – political or otherwise – takes its cues, is informed by, and directs its action based on hate, there is no room for anything else. No civil discourse. No actual communication. No give-and-take. Nothing but hate.

Hate is easy. It simply falls out of our mouths. It has become the knee-jerk reaction. It gets distributed like candy. I posed a simple question to someone in the grocery store, “Do you like raspberries?” The answer was, “I hate raspberries.” Now, one may dislike raspberries or pickled beets because they don’t please the palate or the texture is unsettling or any other reason. But hate? (For the record, I truly enjoy both raspberries and pickled beets – especially Mediterranean-style pickled beets.) This is easy to extrapolate to other situations – to draw a direct line from hate to fear. And, fear usually comes from the unknown. Let’s revisit our Raspberry Hater with another discussion about food. After attending a party, I was told that this person could not eat any of the food at the party, which was Indian cuisine. When I asked why, the simple fear of the unknown was the unsaid answer. It looked and smelled funny. Those words are the exact same code words racists use – ‘those’ people look and smell funny. Hate wraps fear, bigotry, and racism into one overriding way of living. We will never have peace anywhere until we rid ourselves of the evil of hate. And, it is evil, especially when a political party, a parent, a spouse, or a leader uses it to control other people.

People who hate do horrible things. The following images – which are not for the weak – are the direct outcome of hate. This is what hate does, and it is evil. These images are the very embodiment of evil.

Altar with K eagle in black robe at a meeting of nearly 30,000 Ku Klux Klan members from Chicago and northern Illinois -1920. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Students running toward an Black student set to defend himself during period of racial violence at Collinwood High School in Cleveland, Ohio. Circa 1969. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

On April 19, 1995, American anti-government extremist Timothy McVeigh, assisted by Terry Nichols, detonated a makeshift bomb stored in a rental truck parked in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in an act of domestic terrorism. The attack killed 167 people, injured 684, and destroyed more than a third of the building. The attack also destroyed or damaged 324 other buildings, destroyed 86 vehicles and caused an estimated $652 million in damage. During rescue operations after the bombing, a rescue worker was killed after being struck on the head by falling debris, bringing the total death toll to 168. The bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

On October 27, 2018, a mass shooting occurred at the Tree of Life – Or L’Simcha Congregation Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The congregation, along with New Light Congregation and Congregation Dor Hadash, which also worshiped in the building, was attacked during Shabbat morning services. The perpetrator killed eleven people and wounded six, in the deadliest attack on a local Jewish community in American history. The perpetrator, 46-year-old Robert Gregory Bowers, was shot multiple times by police and arrested at the scene. Courtesy of Reuters.

Eighty foot cross burning, August 9, 1925. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

On December 14, 2012, a mass shooting occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, United States. The perpetrator, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, shot and killed 26 people. The victims were 20 children between six and seven years old, and six adult staff members. Earlier that day, before driving to the school, Lanza fatally shot his mother at their Newtown home. As first responders arrived at the school, Lanza killed himself with a gunshot to the head. The incident is the deadliest mass shooting in Connecticut history and the deadliest at an elementary school in U.S. history. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Lynching, undisclosed location, 1925. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Hate is killing humanity. The depths of hate are seemingly bottomless. Every time we sink lower, I wonder if this is finally it – only to be sadly mistaken. Hate is insidious, burrowing its way into all fabrics of life. I was taught to hate, to be fearful of the unknown, to not trust anyone’s intentions, and to see myself as better than anyone that looked or spoke or saw the world differently than I did. That is a horrible way to live your life. Once I was able to see things clearly – as I was becoming my own person – I realized how destructive this behavior and ethos is to the world at large but also personally. How can one grow and learn being so absolutely stunted? It’s simple. One cannot. And, this is the very thing that hate grows on, and that hateful people use.

Can we defeat hate? I do believe so. But, it will take an extraordinary amount of work, pain, being uncomfortable, the possible dissolving of relationships, and blood, sweat, and tears. It is a monumental task. But, we, as a society, have taken on monumental tasks in the past, and succeeded. We must prevail over hate. Tomorrow is the perfect place to start. So, when marching tomorrow, protest, march, gather, exclaim, not with hate but with hope, determination, honesty, truth, and commitment to a righteous world.

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Find me on the radio dial every Saturday afternoon 4-5pm EDT with Crooked Road Songs on WICN 90.5fm locally in Worcester, Massachusetts, and globally at wicn.org. My playlist from Saturday, March 21, 2026:

Frank Stokes “Downtown Blues”

Doris Willingham “You Can’t Do That”

Clarence Carter “Soul Deep”

Esther Phillips “Tonight You’ll be Staying Here with Me”

Howard Tate “Girl of the North Country”

William Bell “’Til My Back Ain’t Got No Bone”

Little Willie John “Fever”

Jerry Butler and Betty Everett “Fever”

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes “The Fever”

Lou Rawls “St. James Infirmary”

Bobby “Blue” Bland “Going Down Slow”

The Impressions “It’s All right”

The Impressions “Woman’s Got Soul”

The Sapphires “Who Do You Love”

Gloria Jones “Tainted Love”

Major Lance “Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um”

Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers “Why Do Fools Fall in Love”