Ramblings
in the Night
Hate
My earliest memories are of my sweet
little mom. She was always telling me that she loves me. Even to this day she
still tells me that, she loves me every time we talk on the phone, or we are
together. I can make mom mad and she can make me mad. But her love for me has
never been in question. Not once ever. It has always been there, through the
good times and the bad. Now I know this is a weird way to start a topic, with
the title that reads HATE.
As I was thinking about Hate. I
tried to think of things I hated or disliked as a young kid. It was the usual
hodgepodge of things, like vegetables, or anything of god for me food wise.
Lol. Going to bed early, when everyone was still up. Doing my homework. The
normal stuff. I can’t think of any person that I hated as a kid. I do remember
one time that I wanted to do something, My Papaw Jim told me No. It made me mad
and I told him that I hated him. Let me state right here, I didn’t mean that. I
never hated my Papaw ever. I loved my Papaw, he was one of my hero’s. What I
said, I said in anger at the time. It in, no way expressed my true feelings.
Mom taught me at a young age not to
hate. She would say, don’t ever hate someone. It is wrong. She tried to instill
in me the importance of loving everyone, because the Bible, say to love one
another. That doesn’t mean, I have to like everything about everybody. None of
us are perfect. We do things that will annoy others. That is just part of life.
I am going to rephrase the words of
the all wise Master Yoda. He said, “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate,
hate leads to suffering.” Let me say it this way, envy leads to hate, hate
leads to anger, and anger leads to misery. Both ways lead us to the path of the
DARKSIDE.
I didn’t have Master Yoda in mind when I came up with that wording.
It dawned on me afterwards that, I had heard something similar before. Prime
example, is the first murder that was committed in the Bible. Cain kills his
brother Abel. It started with envy or jealousy, with Cain. Abel brought a more
pleasing sacrifice to God. Can then became anger with his brother. Which lead
to Cain killing his brother Abel. God cursed Cain. Misery followed him.
It seems everywhere you look, there
is hate and misery. Just look at what happened in Manchester, UK, a few weeks
ago. A bomber, decided to kill himself and many others, because of hate. People
he didn’t know. Was it because they were having fun? Was it because they were
of a different Religious faith? Was it
because someone told him that to ensure his place in heaven, he had to kill
innocent people have a good time? I don’t know. I believe it is a mix of all
those things I just mentioned.
All a person has to do is turn on
the TV and watch the news or pick up a newspaper to see we have a big problem
with hate. Both political parties hate each other. And the American people are
the ones that suffer for it. The news outlets thrive and flourish on hate. You
very seldom see anything in the news that would be considered good news.
We hate based on skin color,
religious belief, gender, sexuality, wealth.
We hate for many different reasons. We hate because we hold on to past
grudges, past injustices, and /or past wrongs. Holding on to these things can
only lead to hate. We hate so much that we have made ourselves sick. That is
right being fueled by hate, will make you sick.
Mom would always tell me that God is
Love. He loves everyone. When I was a kid growing up in church, we sang a song,
“He’s got the whole world in his hands.” It brought Moms words home that God
loves everyone. It still rings true now that I am older.
As I got older and started reading
and studying the Bible, God was love and vengeance. Many sins carried the
penalty of death. God hates sin. And judgement is coming for sinners. But it
said that God, loves sinners. That whole concept never made sense in my head.
How can you hate sin, but love the sinner.
Now a days we see this group hates
that group. Blacks hate whites, and vice versa. Democrats hate Republicans.
Straights hate gays. Everyone hates President Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Muslims hate Christians. It is a never ending cycle. Or so it seems. People
hate others that don’t conform to what they thing is normal. Where does hate
come from?
While writing this and thinking
about hate. I powered up the ole computer. Began exploring the world wide web
about hate. Evidently researchers are studying hate. They’ve gone so far as to
use MRI scanning of the brain. The study is not complete but they are making
process and hopeful to find the answer.
I read this one writer who said,
hate masks personal insecurities. After some thought that brings to mind, how
some guys are totally cool with lesbians, but hate gay guys. They can’t stand
to be around a gay guy. Is it that they are afraid that being around a gay guy
can be contagious? That by being near someone that is gay they will be labeled
as being gay themselves? Or are they truly gay themselves and so scared that it
might come out. The very sight of an openly gay man makes them see red and hate
themselves. Because they can’t truly be themselves for fear of rejection or
disowned by family, and friends.
The writer went on to say, that not
all insecure people are haters. But all haters are insecure people. People hate
change. It’s the truth I don’t like change either. If something we hold near
and dear comes into question, we fight tooth and nail to prove our way of
thinking is the right way.
You know, if we put as much effort
into loving people as we do hating them. Just think, what a wonderful world
this would be. If we loved more. Life would be a peaceful and loving place to
live.
People who don’t know me, will hate
me because I am white. Because I am gay. Because I am a republican. Because I
am of the Christian faith. Because I love meat. No matter what the reason, I
know not everyone will not like me. Some would even do me harm, if given the
chance.
I try not to let my past experiences
cloud my judgement. Past wrongs cause me to waste my time hating. While I don’t
hate anyone. Those that have wronged me, I try to be social, when etiquette
requires me to. But most of the time, I leave them to themselves, so that I
don’t get wronged again. I feel it is better to remove someone from your life,
than to let them in it. That way they can’t wreak havoc and cause me to end up
hating them.
It’s hard to love when you have hare
in your heart. I have read a lot of books. I read the daily newspaper. I keep
the news pulled up on my computer. I like to know what is going on around me and
in the world.
There was an article in the
newspaper about a high school here in NC, where Anti-LGBT posters were
plastered on the walls of the school.
The posters read, Supporting LGBT rights is supporting sin. Remember
what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah. This is the price of sin. Very straight
forward and hateful. I have read the Sodom story many times over the years. I
have listened to preachers use this passage from the Bible to condemn
homosexuality. It wasn’t until I read a book by Alex Sanchez, titled the God
box, that I got another perspective regarding the Sodom story. It helped me a
lot after reading the book.
While I wouldn’t throw off on
another’s right to believe, whatever religious belief they chose. I think that
a person’s sexuality is not a choice. No One in their right mind would choose
to be gay. The scorn, ridicule, the harsh treatment, the bullying, the
assaults, the violence. Not worth it, if it was a choice to be gay. Though some
people swear it is a choice, it is not.
The suicide rate of young gay and
lesbian youth is high. A lot of it has to do with bullying, harsh treatment at
home, but also a lack of concern from educators, who see it as someone wanting
attention by coming out. So instead of protecting these young people. We allow
these awful things to happen and when one of them takes his or her life, we say
how could this have happen. I wish I would have done more.
Nelson Mandela said, “No one is born
hating another person, because of the color of his skin or his background, or
his religion. People must learn to hare, and if they can learn to hate, they
can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than
its opposite.”
I agree with Mandela. We learn to
love and hate from those around us. Our parents, grandparents, friends,
ministers, teachers, influence our views on things at a young age. Not always
for the better. I would hope that I love more than I hate. I hope that it can
be said of me, that I love everyone.
My Dad loves to hate. If he thinks
that you have wronged him, he will hate you until his last dying breath. Dad
has hated me for years over one infraction or another. But probably the thing
he hates me for the most is that his son is gay. He has made that perfectly
clear. He hates having a gay son. Has went so far as to tell me that if he knew
I would turn out to be this way. That he should have killed me at birth. Now if
that is not hate, I don’t know what it.
While dads hate, for me is none of
my business. I’m not going to let his hatred of me dictate my happiness. Nor
how I live my life. You cannot live your life to make others happy. You will be
miserable and they want truly be happy either. They will always find something
to complain or be mad about.
So I think I’ve said enough on the
subject of hate. I’ve given you my 2 cents worth. I think hating someone is a
waste of time and energy that could be better spent trying to make the world a
better place to live. You don’t have to agree or like anything I have said.
This is my story, so I’m not looking for approval.
Written
By: David M.. Shuler
19JUNE2017
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