Hate is an ugly thing, is it not? An all-consuming energy that disables the common sense function of the mind. When hate takes root with added fertiliser, it leads to the dead people walking syndrome. The syndrome that keeps people alive but they’re dead – dead to new ideas, dead to creativity, dead to advice. Yet they are alive in sustaining a sense of destruction of themselves and others. Hate is freely available to all. All that is needed is a surrender of personal will and a diligent cultivation, like that of a bonsai tree. Whilst pruning the tree, life continues, and people miss out on all the wonderful things they could have done if they were not so engaged in their horticultural creation of hate.

We find the dead people walking syndrome in history and the present. It seems many people are oblivious to the horrific outcomes of cultivated hate in history. In fact, many people perceive hate and its outcomes as human excellence. The same people teach it to their children when the mind is soft like wax and can be moulded. Recently someone made the comment to me about Hitler. He said, “Hitler was bad, yes, but is what he did wrong? We could definitely use something there”.  His reasoning was bizarre. He rambled on about all the other people he hated, which included a variety of cultures, races, and religions. His all-consuming roots of hate ran deep. Then he told me how his life was a complete mess. Nothing worked anymore. Getting divorced. No money.

Go figure, dead man walking.

I see people on social media spewing their well-cultivated hatred in the name of free speech. I see politicians stirring race hate, particularly in the name of identity, and calling people cockroaches.

Dead people walking.

Yes, you say, “It’s my choice to hate”. Indeed, it is, and it is a liberty you have. Understand one thing: your privilege to uphold and express your personal hate does not come without criticism and personal cost. It also limits you in the eyes of other people, irrespective of how you see yourself.

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