How We Bond Through Hate
Hateful behavior has become an acceptable norm in our lives. Sally Kohn, a liberal commentator who worked at Fox News, set out to understand how we got here, and what we can do to change. She tells us in her new book, The Opposite of Hate: A Field Guide to Repairing Humanity, “We allow our condemnation of hate to be shaped by who exactly is doing the hating, and that includes giving our own hate a pass.” “Most of us think there is a problem with hate, but we don’t think it’s our problem, one that we are participating in or contributing to…We have a massive problem that no one thinks they are responsible for.”
Through her research, Kohn determined that most people don’t see themselves as hateful even while participating in the most extreme hateful behavior, including genocide. She explores the genesis of hate, its contradictions and complexities. And then she shares the glimmers of hope she’s found for humanity. The Opposite of Hate guides us through what we can do to recognize our own hateful biases, and what we can do to react differently in the face of what appears to be hateful behavior aimed right at us.