I sometimes wonder about hate. What is it really? Sometimes I think it is an expression of fear. No doubt that primal drive to fight or flight has a huge role.
However, nothing is ever that simple.
Have you noticed that certain people are more rabid in their expressions of hatred, for example name calling, than other people? It if was only fear prompting that reaction, those people would either fight or run away. That is the only two options open to stopping the adrenalin rush that accompanies fear.
I would speculate that something else is driving the outbursts.
There is an old saying from my childhood: For every finger you point at me the other four are pointing back at you.
Think about the words someone uses.
A boy's advances are rejected by a girl and he starts calling her a whore when talking to his friends or anyone else for that matter. But, he is the one who initiated the advances. Chances are that he tries the same thing every chance he gets.
Is he even aware of the hypocrisy of what he is saying?
As ludicrous as it sounds, he might not be consciously aware of what he is doing. Psychologist call it projection. Although I get the impression that the root causes are not clear, people project their own subconscious desires or fears onto other people.
It is tempting. Using this bit of information to brush aside someone's criticism of oneself.
That would not be a good use. That would be simply dismissing something you don't want to hear.
Now for the "Why do I think that person is annoying, boring, cold, ect.?" type of questions, this information has a lot of potential as a template for rooting out my own submerged desires or fears or hatreds.
It is very obvious that the only things I can change are inside of me, so I had better know what they are.
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