Hateful Anti-Hatists

In his totally inimitable style, Mr Warren points out that the REAL 'hatists' are those who falsely claim to keep the rest of us free from hate.

From Essays in Idleness

By David Warren

Granted, it is hard to get anything right; and when in addition to oneself, one has assumed responsibility for the behaviour of some hundreds of millions of others, or even a few thousand, or, say, a cricket team or small police detachment, the certainty of failure must be quite discouraging. Nevertheless, I feel no compassion for these political leaders — very much including those “on my side” — and will not sponge them with soothing, sympathetic wetness.

When the State tells me that it is wrong to kill, or even to maim or torture, immigrants, I am willing to “grant the State a pass”; for there have been laws against such violence almost from the beginning of time. But when the State tells me that I mustn’t hate immigrants, it has gone too far. Indeed, as a connoisseur of hatreds, I despise various immigrant groups individually, and probably hate many white cis-Canadians even more. Conversely, I do not have any special love for the albinos.

The question whether I have a right to hurt animals is more complicated, and potentially very boring. But I remain within culinary conventions by eating only animals and vegetables (including fruits and grains). I hate some vegetables even more than I hate the immigrants I’ve seen chewing on them, though such prejudices seldom rise to the murderous level.

The nursing of selective, as well as general, hatreds, is an important human right. Hatreds have been, as those acquainted with art and literature may know, a fine creative goad. And anyway it can never be prevented because the more practised hatists go about their despications, subtly. You might easily miss what they are thinking.

But those who would persecute hatists refuse to be subtle. Categorically, let us persecute them!