One Day, No Hate

Posted on October 6, 2009 in Hatred Reading

Today is One Day, No Hate, a cause that some of us have taken up by avoiding political discussion on Twitter and Facebook — me, included. This means not engaging in political discussion or any of the playful banter which I am noted for.

The netival ((Neologism that you first saw here. Meaning “net festival”.)) has led me to crack Eric Hoffer’s [amazonify]0060505915:align:text:bycommandofemper:width:height:The True Believer[/amazonify] and uncover this relevant passage:

There is perhaps no surer way of infecting ourselves with virulent hatred toward a person than by doing him an injustice. That others have a just grievance against us is a more potent reason for hating them than that we have a just grievance against them. We do not make people humble and meek when we show them their guilt and cause them to be ashamed of themselves. We are more likely to stir their arrogance and rouse in them a reckless aggressiveness. Self-righteousness is a loud din raised to drown the voice of guilt within us.

There is a guilty conscience behind every brazen word and act and behind every manifestation of self-righteousness.

To wrong those we hate is to add fuel to our hatred. Conversely, to treat an enemy with magnamity is to blunt our hatred for him. (p. 96)

The Twitter hashtag for this is #1Day0Hate