Sowing Hatred

August 4, 2019 Morality, Sociocultural Issues No Comments

Sowing hatred leads to aggression and more hatred. An additional problem is that this happens mainly through subconceptual ways. So to speak, ‘underground.’

Like in nature, seeds that you sow

develop underground in such a way that a lot has happened before one can see the result appear above the ground.

With the seeds of hatred, this makes me think even more of an underground mycelium. You now: where mushrooms appear above ground, they are the outgrowth of an organism – mycelium – that mainly develops underground.

Mycelia can grow very large

The biggest reported one, in Oregon, measured 10 square kilometers. That’s 1665 football fields. That also means a lot of mushrooms.

Good for the mushrooms, but in the case of hatred: not so good. OK, the mushroom comparison may be a bit exaggerated, but still.

A lot of hatred develops underground. But then who is most responsible: the sower or the reaper?

This is by far not enough being taken into account

with the most disastrous consequences, in overt cases of hate-sowing as well as in +/- covert cases. For instance, one can sow race-related hatred in many covert ways: through allusions, inclusions, exclusions, suggestions, etc.

This also makes it impossible to set up strict rules to counter hatred mongering in the absence of directly visible consequences.

Still, it is hugely important to take action.

In politics, for instance.

The underground negative influence of one in a position of power upon many people – including vulnerable youth for the rest of their life – is huge. The consequence is a lot of further hate, aggression, bullying, depression, etc.

AND, as regularly – being more than once daily – in the states these modern times: mass shootings.

A populist-bully-politician should be completely out of the question!

One cannot readily pinpoint straight lines in this, but that doesn’t make the consequences less real.

The underlying patterns are clear enough.

There is a huge and also personal responsibility involved.

ABOVE ALL, A POLITICIAN SHOULD BE A GENTLEMAN (OR WOMAN).

Then, of course, he should also be smart and choose good advisors – who are also no sowers of hate.

So, first of all: a gentleman.

Leading towards ‘mass immunization’

The influence of a great leader – call him a populist-leader-politician if you like – on a whole population has, in a way, a vaccination effect. You see: if you give vaccinations to many people, then the bad germ cannot easily jump for one person to the other. The other, who is vaccinated, thus protects not only himself but also many more. They profit even if they’re not vaccinated.

Result: the germ cannot spread.

Same with ‘hatred as a bad germ.’ Vaccinate a lot of people against it and also the ones who are not immune (yet) do profit from this.