Ramblings of a Villain

Misanthropy

Hatred is necessary. 

Do not be so dull as to think it some kind of evil that needs to be abolished from this world - hatred is natural in humans, one of the tools that you have sharpened to perfect your genome as you have sharpened spears to keep yourself fed, and your enemies at bay. 

But neither be so daft as to think it a benign part of your being. No, hatred is a compulsion to destroy, another tool of survival, another weapon, and like any weapon, it needs be handled with discipline and respect. 

Do you know hatred in your heart? 

Surely you do. Not just disgust, not just disdain, but sheer, burning rage toward something. A person, an event, a faction, a reality of your life, of yourself, of what you are. Something that given the chance, you would erase from this world. 

And lacking such is no matter of pride. No. To have no object of hatred would be inhumane, dangerous to an extent. It implies something worse - apathy, or such a degree of stupidity that would be simply confounding. In the case of the former, you would be deaf to the misery that does not affect you, or content to accept it without striving for a change. In the case of the latter, well, I do hope your excuse is that you were raised in a bunker, deprived of anything but the most sterile environment. 

There's plenty to hate in this world. Injustice in all forms is a popular choice. War and its consequences. Powerlessness, politics, corruption, some genre of music that everybody seems to be into this day but to you sounds like somebody's grating cheese aggressively. Some things - most things I hope - are mere cause for contempt, capable of giving you little more than a passing sour taste in your mouth... but the things that are truly hatesome, the things that put a knife in your hand with a clear mind of where it is meant to go are few, and luckily far between. If you are fortunate, you will never hold that knife. 

Because you would be quick to realize that the things you hate the most in this world come from fellow humans. 

Your fellow humans are both your most precious resource, the purpose of your life, and the cause of your greatest distress. Nothing you do will ever impact you as anything they will do to you. No pain you can inflict yourself will ever match that which can come from other humans. 

I am quick to forgive the other creatures of this world. "Animals" you call them. Complex as each may be, they do not fully understand evil as you do. That is not say they are incapable of cruelty, many species have displayed a frivolous attitude toward life. Dolphins specially come to mind, and those that are aware of the extent of some of their perverse deeds surely lost a few hours of sleep in their years. Even then, can you say you hate them? 

You will never be able to harbor the same hatred for them, as you can for humanity. You are human, after all, you understand your positions, your society, your cultures, your minds. You empathize and sympathize. Were you incapable of this, you would also be incapable of hate.

 This is not a double-edged sword - it's a double-pointed lance, as you sting with it, it will bury into you as well. 

Some fail to understand this. You grasp this weapon given to you by nature, unaware of the pain it will bring to yourself, and you will lash out with impunity, hurting yourself with each swing, revelling in the glorious pain that it brings to those you deem your enemies, and simultaneously, feeling emptier after each blow. You are bleeding, and you do not realize it. 

There is something wrong with this world, yes. Nothing that is truly aware of being will tell you that your way of life is without damage or repercusion, but the network of reality is far more complex than any one human can untangle, and in the failure of painting a clear target, they deem the next unknown factor as culprit. Ideally, the one that is most popular to attack, the ones that have the least repercusions on yourself. 

Do you understand, what I'm talking about? No, no. I'm not asking you to pity or to forgive them. I'm not asking you to attack the attacker, but you have to realize that what you see, happens for a reason, even if you cannot see what it is. You must understand that any damage you cause, will reverberate upon you, one way or another. This is why you must wield hatred with discipline and respect. 

Because this weapon you were given is not truly something you wield.It is something you ride. 

And it will take you somewhere deeper and darker than you ever wished to be, if you let it.