Finneran: Hate Then/Hate Now

Finneran: Hate Then/Hate Now

I’ve come to hate the word “hate”. It is over-used and mis-used. I pray that it will become dis-used.

Once upon a time in America, before the thought and language police began their ignorant assault on a beautiful language, the word “hate” had real meaning. The word was rarely used, reserved for features of life that were so evil as to warrant complete revulsion. Sadly, today, it has become a political charge, often uttered as a way of dismissing a political point of view with which one disagrees. The tactic is most frequently observed on college campuses, condescendingly used by students and faculty alike, each exhibiting a smug ignorance and disdain for other people’s opinions.

The good and accurate version of the word needs an example:

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From Michael Beschloss’s “The Conquerors”, page 212, I quote—“A few hours later, while Roosevelt slept in Warm Springs, it was Thursday morning April 12, 1945 in Germany. Generals Eisenhower, Bradley, and Patton were shown a concentration camp, Ohrdruf Nord, near Gotha, discovered the previous week by the Allies.

Before this day, as Eisenhower later recalled, he had known about the Nazi death camps “only generally or through secondary sources.” Demanding to be shown every corner of Ohrdruf Nord, the old soldier later wrote that he had never before “experienced an equal sense of shock.” He wrote to his wife, “I never dreamed that such cruelty, bestiality, and savagery could really exist in this world!”

Ike later told General Marshall that he wanted to be able to provide “first-hand evidence” of the camps in case anyone ever claimed that they had never existed.

As he left Ohrdruf Nord, he asked a U.S. Army sentry, “still having trouble hating them?”

The corrosion of humanity under Hitler’s evil hand warranted the word. That’s an appropriate use of a powerful word, a stirring emotion felt by all decent people in every land.

Contrast that example with the everyday disagreements that spring from policy and politics. I might differ with you on guns or taxes or immigration. Do either of our positions merit the charge of “hater” or “hate speech”? It’s a disagreement for God’s sake. Make your arguments and then listen to the other side. Really listen rather than dismiss with ridiculous words.

Consider the “comments” section often found after newspaper articles about candidates, proposals, or policies. Have you ever taken a look at them? Is this where America’s dumbest people hang out? The word-by-word nitpicking that goes on, often accompanied by the scurrilous charges of “hatred”, “racism”, or various “phobias” is absurd. Such accusatory charges of course make it so much easier to avoid a real discussion---just accuse your opponent of being a “hater” and you are freed of the need to marshal points of persuasion.

One should note that in the real world, off-campus and away from the comments sections, true hatred is hard to maintain. The Japanese and the Germans were once our mortal enemies. More recently, say for the past 60 years, they have been among our staunchest allies and most dependable friends. History can be funny that way………………..

So, regarding “hate”, let’s make rare the use of this stifling charge. Let’s make frequent the effort to listen and learn. Let’s make common the recognition that aging parents and little babies, love of country, and many other things unite us in shared concerns and quests of love. There should be precious little room for hate.

Tom Finneran is the former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, served as the head the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, and was a longstanding radio voice in Boston radio.