Hate can definitely destroy you, both inside and out, and has destroyed many people in the process. Both the ones who hold it AND the ones that energy is directed to. Look no further than racism in the world against black people. Facing hatred because our complexion is darker than everyone else's. That's not a positive force. How could it be?
Think about it. When we do things out of anger, our actions tend to be destructive. A lot of times we're doing it with the direct purpose to hurt someone. Like the old saying goes, people fear what they don't understand, and that turns into hate, because they believe the intent MUST be negative. Even if there's no evidence to support that. So, people out of fear will attack preemptively because they don't want to be caught with their pants down, so to speak.
This is why jealousy is toxic. Because it goes from envy to feeling insecure about themselves. To
then thinking,
"Who do they think they are?! I'll knock them down a peg, then they'll see..." That's why success can be scary, because there's people out there that could do you harm simply because you get the enjoy the fruits of your own labor.
But it's also not so black and white either. You can hate evil. You can hate white supremacists, rapists and murderers. You can hate pedophiles. And all sorts of ne'er-do-wells. However, I think it's what we do with that anger that counts. With that anger, we can use that to spur us into action to protect us from those who mean us harm. Or seeking justice and righteousness. But even that is a slippery slope.
I think it's a topic that's as old as time itself. And will continue to be discussed as long as humans are capable of experiencing emotions. But it's definitely one thing to know that hate can be destructive, and another thing entirely when someone hurts you deeply and all you're seeing in the moment is red. Emotions can override reason with the right circumstances, and that's how rash decisions are made. And then in moments of clarity and introspection, we feel regret for those actions. Too much of that, and people fall into despair due to their own guilt. And if they can't escape that... I don't need to say the rest.
It's scary just how vulnerable we can be to ourselves, to be quite honest.
Humans are scary if you meet the wrong one and you're not prepared to deal with it accordingly.
