/lit/ - Literature

Love is the same emotion as Hate. It is noted that children who proclaim in exasperation to hate their parents and friends are ignored. I propose that this transfers over into adulthood. If someone has a dispute with their partner and they say "I hate you!" before storming out, it is likely that the conflict was not a big deal. If anything at all, expressing hate is just as effective as expressing love, due to the closure it provides to a tense moment.

The reason this is the case is because love and hate are antonyms. We know this, but what do we specifically mean by antonyms? To clarify, just like how synonyms are -in relation- to similar things, so too are antonyms -in relation- to similar things. Therefore, in the case of saying one person is 'inside' a room while another is 'outside' a room, we can surmise that they are both placed in relation to the room. Substitute the room itself for a door, or a barrier, and the tone shifts to reflect that they are both closer than they would be.

It is because of the common notion that hate is a 'strong' emotion that it is so chiefly paired with hate. What, then, would be a more suitable analog for the miserable feelings so many harbor? These are contempt and neglect, which are employed when a person is near and when they are away, respectively. My original point is reinforced by looking at the antonyms of the aforementioned terms. These, you may guess, are respect and attachment. Respect lends well to cordiality, amicability, and good cheer, while contempt leads to awkwardness, anxiety, and bad faith. The same can be said for neglect, only that it is positionally different; there is a way to induce awkward behavior, anxiety and lack of trust in someone by not speaking to them, just as well as if you were speaking poorly to them. More often than not, this is achieved by a combination of the two, but generalizations do no good here.

What does it mean, then, to say we hate someone? How does disappointment factor in, since it is colloquially the 'correct' version of hate? Why do grudges always seem to create adversaries rather than direct enemies? If love is commonly seen as virtuous, then does that make hate an unvirtue, or rather, something which is a necessary evil in a functional society? In that case, could one argue that speaking one's mind about perceived bad traits in a person, even if it comes across as childish, is the true way to become better people? I'm not so sure, but it is unique that children deal with hate in a rather terse and almost surreal way, compared to adults.