One can understand when a staunch Republican declares that he/she “hates” a presidential candidate from another party. But it stumps me when even the so-called Democrat-supporters are quoted in the media saying they “hate” Hillary Clinton. I can understand Democrats “opposing”, “disagreeing”, “dis-approving”, “disliking”, etc., etc., their own party candidate, but why “hate”…

It has been pointed out that many in the mainstream media and blogs have not been able to conceal their “hatred” towards Hillary Clinton. As I always support the underdogs, I empathize with those unhappy with the present trend and are sulking, after being driven to a corner. (In day-to-day use, “hatred is a violent feeling that impels the subject to wish another person ill and to take pleasure in bad things that happen to that person.” More here…)

The trait that “you can either love a person, or hate a person”…and nothing in-between, is self-destructive. I can understand if a majority of the media and the blogs love/admire Barrack Obama. I do not even question Obama admirers’ complete faith in him and that he has full credentials to be the next leader to occupy the White House.

But the hysteria being built up in the media/blogs trying to virtually push Obama into the Democratic presidential nominee seat has not been taken kindly by many. This has been criticised as it tends to stifle any meaningful debate/discussion on the real/crucial issues that face the US and the world, especially in view of the legacy/burden of the Bush era. (I know some may say that all this was started by the Clinton camp…a classic case of whether the egg came first or the hen!!!)

“Hatred” is a negative emotion. Bush and Co., and possibly many Americans, “hated” the “evil” unknown/invisible hands behind 9/11. Instead of evolving a sensible/effective strategy (through quite deliberations/diplomacy/consensus) to thwart the forces behind terrorism/militancy, a mind-less hysteria was built up. “Rage” (another negative emotion) followed “Hate”. The result: A sledge-hammer approach…virtually bringing down a house trying to kill a rat!!!

And where are we now after all these wasted years? Hysteria is a major impediment to creating informed public opinion. It thrills but kills…And is as dangerous as terrorism itself. Just see…the Media/blogs have now forgotten Osama-bin-Laden/Afghanistan/Saddam Hussein/Iraq. Media can’t do anything about Bush (because he can still retaliate or trash them further.) Some have begun to ask: Has Hillary Clinton become a soft “hate” target?

Importantly, the mainstream media (which like political leaders) is tested in times of crisis, totally let down its important constituency — the opinion-makers. There were a handful of journalists who warned of the dangers inherent in taking myopic and populist decisions, but whose voices were drowned in the rising crescendo of hysteria. The world is no better place with “hatred”, “rage”, “fear” and “suspicion” continuing to influence public discourse.

It is pointed out that the accent is still on “spin” and fudging the issues instead of encouraging broader/open participation in public debate wherein diverse viewpoints are reflected. Winning or losing is part of any election process in a democracy. But more important is the public belief/trust that the conduct of election was fair and free.

Meanwhile I typed “why media blogs hate hillary clinton” on Google and came across several sites…Samples here… Try this

And this…

The delightful photograph above is from the LA times post… pl clcik here… …Just to humour the Hillary Clinton supporters who have been rather unhappy/sad/sulking…and perhaps begin to “hate” the media/blogs…

Here are some quotes:

“Hatred is self-punishment. Hatred it the coward’s revenge for being intimidated.” - Hosea Ballou

“Hatred is the vice of narrow souls; they feed it with all their littleness, and make it the pretext of base tyrannies.” - Honore De Balzac

“There is no faculty of the human soul so persistent and universal as that of hatred.” - Henry Ward Beecher

“That one I love who is incapable of ill will, and returns love for hatred. Living beyond the reach of I and mind, and of pain and pleasure, full of mercy, contented, self-controlled, with all his heart and all his mind given to Me — with such a one I am in love.” - Lord Krishna in The Bhagavad Gita.

“Forcible ways make not an end of evil, but leave hatred and malice behind them.” - Sir Thomas Browne

“Hatred does not cease through hatred at any time. Hatred ceases through love. This is an unalterable law.” - Buddha

“Hatred is the madness of the heart.” - Lord Byron

“I have always hated that damn James Bond. I’d like to kill him.” - Sean Connery

“Hatred — The anger of the weak.” - Alphonse Daudet

“Love blinds us to faults, but hatred blinds us to virtues.” - Iba Ezra

“Hatred can be overcome only by love.” - Mahatma Gandhi

“Hatred is something peculiar. You will always find it strongest and most violent where there is the lowest degree of culture.” - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

“We can scarcely hate anyone that we know.” - William Hazlitt

“If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.” - Hermann Hesse

“Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life.” - Eric Hoffer

“Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.” - King Jr. Martin Luther

“You know that when I hate you, it is because I love you to a point of passion that unhinges my soul.” - Julie De Lespinasse

“People hate me because I am a multifaceted, talented, wealthy, internationally famous genius.” - Jerry Lewis

“Hate is ravening vulture beaks descending on a place of skulls.” - Amy Lowell

“A man who lives, not by what he loves but what he hates, is a sick man.” - Archibald Macleish

“Hate can only flourish where love is absent.” - William C. Menninger

“Although you may spend your life killing, You will not exhaust all your foes. But if you quell your own anger, your real enemy will be slain.” - Siddha Nagarjuna

“Always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them - and then you destroy yourself.” - Richard M. Nixon

“Hatreds are the cinders of affection.” - Sir Walter Raleigh

“Hatred of enemies is easier and more intense than love of friends. But from men who are more anxious to injure opponents than to benefit the world at large no great good is to be expected.” - Bertrand Russell

“One drop of hatred left in the cup of joy turns the most blissful draught into poison.” - Johann Friedrich Von Schiller

“Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.” - Seneca

“Oppose not rage while rage is in its force, but give it way a while and let it waste.” - William Shakespeare

“People hate as they love, unreasonably.” - William M. Thackeray

“Hate is such a luxurious emotion, it can only be spent on one we love.” - Bob Udkoff