What is it that makes human beings resort to hate and violence when love

[KlatooBNikto]

has such great power for redemption? This is the question that William Shirer poses in his great tribute to Gandhi when he contrasts Gandhi and Hitler.And he had met both of them at the height of their glory.He correctly forecast that Gandhi's legacy would be more enduring.


On Edit: India's rise in recent years as a modern nation based on the empowerment of its people through education is the greatest tribute Gandhi would have appreciated.He can be thought of as the man who laid the foundations for India's democracy because he shunned power and pomp and pedantry and instead relied on the collective wisdom of his people to do the right thing.By and large, his wishes are coming true.

[proud patriot]

1. I believe they both come from the same part of the brain

:hi:

[applegrove]

2. Same part of the brain? No. Hate comes from adolescents. Love

& empathy from adults. The Bush WH tries very hard to tribalize (grow down) the people of the USA. They teach hate. They teach how to hate your neighbor.

Hitler did the same thing.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. Frontal lobes

where judgement and 'common sense' come from are the last to develop, which is one reason so many teens get into trouble.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. I think it is genetic

we evolved from hunter/gatherers, and through wars, less aggressive groups were often wiped out. The fact that so many are working against this genetic predisposition to try love and non violence shows that there is still hope for humankind.

[applegrove]

9. I think 4% of the populations are genetically evil. 1% of those are

sociopathic. The current GOP & MBA school promote the 4%. The rest are just followers who will follow a boss. I think 30% will not follow a boss if the actions are immoral. Many of those 30% are educated or have some sort of higher power and they will therefore not see the boss and their boss.

So 30% or so will never follow the leader (but could be coerced into silence if it means loss of career, fear of family members being targeted, or in other ways being killed).

The GOP and the Rovbots know the exact numbers they are dealing with.

Up to us to appeal to the 60 percent who will follow a boss (become adolescent) and hand decision-making 'what is best for the country' over to someone else.

We need to appeal to them as adults and with empathy.

It is not okay for liberals to ridicule the religious just because they are so. They have a right to a belief system (it is in their genes). But we can hold up examples of the truly devout and point out how they are being used, how Democrats are a better fit with real Christianity and we can hold some of their leaders accountable for hypocrisy.

We have to reach out.

[buckup]

5. This might sound a bit simplistic, but...

... I think hate is just plain easier. It's much easier to just dislike something and write it off, than to love something, or, at the very least, to try to understand it.

[KlatooBNikto]

6. You may be on to something.Love just requires more effort and

continuous commitment.

[RC]

7. You are wise beyond your years.

A thinker.

[KlatooBNikto]

8. I second that, a certified old man that I am.

[buckup]

28. Wow.

Thanks. heh. ANd I was worried I was wrong...

"Wise beyond my years?" I'm 22. lol.

[applegrove]

11. It is easier to be an adolescent that an adult. But nothing gets fixed

if you do not learn from mistakes (poverty was a horrible thing the people of the 1930s saw and they decided that a country so rich as the USA should never allow such poverty again - hungry children - fathers desperate for any work - people begging for food for their kids at back doors.).

The Gilded age was a mistake. Middle class is the only way to ensure continued wealth. If you give power to regulate to the elites.. you will live in the dark ages (where they make up for bad market policy by cutting a bigger and bigger part of the pie for themselves).

Trust me. The GOP desperately trying to undo the democratic empathy (that is required for a democracy to thrive) of the American electorate and teach hate and tribalism (showing empathy to only a narrow group of people just like you) is in their best interests. It is how the elites always exist. By using the tribal hierarchies beneath them to keep the masses busy and nipped at each other (and killing each other).

[Deja Q]

17. Pity the masses don't realize that. That's their true weakness.

Not this cack about being emotional, which is a part of being human.

When the masses figure it out, wake me. By then I'll be too apathetic to join them; preferring my own survival.

[applegrove]

20. Corporations have 'reframed' the word emotional to moral suage it

into being something bad. They say Erin Brochovitch was 'emotional' and that is how she got the settlement.

No - the massive settlement came because the corporation went to arbitration and documents came forward that showed they new of a possible problem and they hid it, then later they tried to test people to find out if they were sick without telling them why.

So they go penalized.

Oh - these assholes will dance us outside of humanity if they get the smallest chance. That is what sociopaths do. They take away the things you cherish the most, and then they have broken you. Then they own you and infantalize you.

Controllers of all time will try to 'break the back' of the beast. German mommies in the 19th Century did the same thing to their kids (breaking their spirit). After two world wars and a huge genocide.. we should not be following the Germans. I think Barbara Bush may have done the same to George - much of 'Victoriana' was kept alive in the families of the rich. But I do not know for sure in Bush's case. It would explain his blind love of people like Bolton though.

For now, the best they try to break is the power and solvency of the democracy.

[smirkymonkey]

10. The weak and insecure choose hate, the strong choose love.

Most people in this country are weak and insecure, unfortunately. It takes great effort and courage to respond with love and compassion.

[Bellamia]

14. The weak & insecure choose hate????

Isn't that because of their frustration? Does anyone really "choose" hate, isn't it just a logical outcome? Love is a choice............we all know "liking" is not love, and usually, just happens. Love you really have to work at.

[smirkymonkey]

25. Yes, because ultimately it is still a CHOICE!

Those who choose the path of compassion are not free of frustration, they have just chosen to learn the lesson and grow from it. Hate is the lazy way out. It's not the "logical" outcome, but it is the "predictable" outcome.

When I say love, I am speaking of agape love - love for humankind rather than personal or romantic love. To have compassion for those who are unlike you is extremely difficult to do. I try to do so and practice opening my heart, but I would be lying if I said I don't hate as well. It is an ideal for me, but I may never achieve it completely in this lifetime.

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. Hate and violence is easier

Simple as that. It is easier to hit back than to love your enemy. It takes less energy. It feels good. It is the path of least resistance, and therefore the path chosen by weaker people.

[Deja Q]

16. Everybody has a weakness. I'm sure when somebody finds yours,

you'll regret calling other people weak. For you'll have proven yourself just like every other human.

You're otherwise correct, but your line of "weaker people" is insulting.

[alcibiades_mystery]

18. The what now?

Huh?

[Deja Q]

21. Nice try. It's just as 'weak' to provoke attacks, if not moreso.

Cheers.

[alcibiades_mystery]

23. I honestly have no idea what you're talking about

And I mean no idea. Bizarre.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

13. n/n (No Nookie) n/t

[Deja Q]

15. Education, paid for in part by corporations who chose to ditch US workers.

There's no one or simple explanation, but it's part of a whole.

Oh, as for this shoveling of Ghandi gack, read this article for a taste of grody reality:

http://news.com.com/2104-1028_3-5439174.html

Would Ghandi approve of the despair, and the hatred and violence that ultimately follow as created by the dumping of jobs and education? Peace is peace, hate is hate. There are no solutions. Just shifting of problems. (corporate america is the problem, not India. I see the truth. But many are almost openly racist in their hatred of Indians, who are guilty of nothing except taking the advantage from us, before we ask for repayment of such advantage with interest.)

[KlatooBNikto]

27. You could not be more wrong about India's educational system being paid

for by U.S. Dollars. For the past fifty years India has built a system of universities and technical institutes and staffed them with excellent academicians.That is where most of India's engineering and medical graduates come from.There are similarly professional management, accounting and legal schools which graduate many hundreds of professionals in these disciplines. Without knowing a thing about India's educational system or how it is financed, you are slinging mud because you are angry that our corporations seek out well qualified people who are willing and able to do the job of Americans at a fraction of our wages.Our complaints should be directed at the corporations and not at those people who are honestly seeking to compete in the world markets.

[DanCa]

19. Self Control Perhaps?

I believe the better disciplined a mind is the less prone we are too knee jerk responses. Of course than again I have 150 mgs a day of zolofft to help me and I still get hacked off from time to time. I really wish I had a better answer because I dont like loosing control of my temper.

[sweetheart]

22. They are early cycle souls

They percieve the world as "us" and "them", whereas, were they more
mature, they'd see the world as "us" and "we". It happens when you let
the most infantile fools of a population make a play for power.

[Speck Tater]

24. Hate and violence comes from FEAR and feeling powerless

Hate calms the fear by redirecting its energy and violence sooths the feeling of powerlessness by giving the illusion that you are doing something about the thing you fear.

But it all starts with fear.

[More Than A Feeling]

26. Because love can't be forced, hate and violence can

To get love you have to give it, and there is no guarantee, that once given, you will receive what you feel to be your due. It means trusting and relying on another person, and there is still an element of uncertainty. Hate and violence can easily be a solo activity. You don't need equals and friends, just underlings to obey you.