# So do you hate anybody? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 30, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898 "2009-04-30T22:28:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/21 "2009-05-01T05:15:24Z")
I actively hate whoever raised the group of 8 to 10 obnoxious, rude, loud, defiant, disrespectful brats who are in one of my college classes. ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/22 "2009-05-01T06:05:36Z")
Alex Rodriquez. He takes douchebaggery to another level. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/23 "2009-05-01T10:09:00Z")
Hate seems like just such a strong word. I hesitate to say “hate” except in a very broad sense and not directed at an individual. That said, I find it hard to come up with another word that describes how I feel toward people who I want to knock down and step on their necks. There are a couple of people I can think of who I would certainly not miss and would be a little relieved if I found out they were dead. Even in that context, I hesitate to say I hate them. It’s weird, I know. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/24 "2009-05-01T10:32:34Z")
To me an affirmative answer to the OP would mean someone I would have a visceral blood-boiling reaction to. There is no one in that category for me. There are a number of people that I could weakly say “I hate that guy” but I wouldn’t mean it in the same way. I wish I could say that I hate my soon to be ex-wife. It would make things easier. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/25 "2009-05-01T10:47:32Z")
I don’t wish death on anyone, but I really wish I had a cosmic force field that would keep some people permanently off my radar. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/26 "2009-05-01T10:50:19Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > To me an affirmative answer to the OP would mean someone I would have a visceral blood-boiling reaction to. This. I have one: the guy my ex cheated on me with, then left me for. Rationally I know it’s not his fault in any way, it’s hers; he didn’t know that she and I were together at the time - and indeed I thought he was an OK guy before it happened - but that doesn’t stop my reptilian brain from silently cursing him out with vicious obscenities whenever I see him. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/27 "2009-05-01T11:06:46Z")
I hate at least three people but I try not to think of them. Usually I manage to block out the memories but someone will invariably open a thread like this and I find myself remembering those three and what they did to incur my hatred. Let me just say that in a different time and place of my choosing, I’d love to see the three of them run afoul of Vlad The Impaler. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/28 "2009-05-01T11:22:55Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Hate seems like just such a strong word. I hesitate to say “hate” except in a very broad sense and not directed at an individual. I feel the opposite: it’s almost impossible for me to hate groups of people, esp. without knowing each of them individually, because in most people I can find something to like, admire, or at the very least, pity. It’s certain individuals who distinguish themselves by being exceptionally evil and malignant, who take pains and effort to harm me specifically or people I love, that I hate. Fortunately, there aren’t too many of them. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/29 "2009-05-01T11:24:55Z")
I sometimes have paroxysms of anger over certain people, but to actually **hate** them is a wholly different matter. I don’t truly hate anyone: life’s too short. It’s a lot better to forgive whatever transgression they’ve committed and move on. _Errare humanum est_, after all. Granted that there are some obituaries that I would not be averse to reading. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/30 "2009-05-01T11:48:24Z")
No one individual and no one from my recent past. In seventh and eighth grade there were a bunch of boys that if I think about too long will ruin my day. I’m taking a risk by typing this on having a crappy day. I refuse to attend my high school reunions because of them. Let’s just say the effects of sexual harrassment last a lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/31 "2009-05-01T12:14:39Z")
I can’t think of anyone I hate. There are plenty of people that I rather intensely dislike, but I’m only bothered by their presence, as opposed to their existence, and I think that’s the difference. I don’t think about them at all unless they’re right there and bothering me. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/32 "2009-05-01T12:22:48Z")
I hate one person, but since I haven’t seen him in years, I don’t think I’m injuring myself with it. There are probably five people personally known to me that I’m positive we’d all be better off without. There are about ten people personally known to me that I would like to slap until they bleed, but afterwards, hey, no hard feelings! ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/33 "2009-05-01T12:34:27Z")
I’ve had one work-related nemesis at every job I’ve had (two, in a very large company). Hating people wastes a lot of time and energy, but sometimes on the job you get locked in an epic struggle of wills and personalities with someone who has a very real effect on your quality of work and job security. When that person is a shit-dipped asshat, it’s hard not to daydream of crossbows. I fault myself only for still remembering them with anger after having moved onto other jobs years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/34 "2009-05-01T12:45:03Z")
I hate my first stepmother, 35 years later. She was emotionally abusive the one summer we spent with her and my dad, just a week after their wedding (to which we kids were not invited) and then she didn’t allow my dad to see us for over a year after that. It’s easier than hating my father. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/35 "2009-05-01T13:07:34Z")
What a bunch of Zen people we have here. 😉 When I sit down and say “Do I hate this person?” it’s hard to say yes, but when dealing with my girlfriend’s father I can do that. He’s been sexually abusive to her mother for many years, demands it whenever he wants it and threatens to cheat if she doesn’t do what he says (and that’s what he says in front of a therapist; I don’t know how that conversation goes in private), and perhaps cheats anyway. This guy’s priorities and need for control are such that for the last half year or so, girlfriend’s mother has been half blind because he won’t pay for surgery to clear up her cataracts. Somehow he found money to pay for a more expensive operation on their dog. He did everything he could to leave both women with zero self confidence whatsoever. With her mother I suppose he succeeded, since she should leave but can’t make it happen despite all of this and the example he’s set for his two sons. My girlfriend did get out. I’ve met the guy once, and since he lives nowhere near us I have no plans to do that again. I think that deserves something more than indifference. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/36 "2009-05-01T17:05:34Z")
There are plenty of people whose death, pace John Dunne, wouldn’t diminish me in the least (start with the triumvirate of Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld), but the only person I can think of whom I really hate was a HS gym teacher I had maybe 57 years ago. At the time, I fantasized that if I came on him hanging by fingertips on the edge of a cliff, I would look for a hammer or rock). He was not merely mean but cruel. And it wasn’t even me who sufferred so much as a classmate. Name was Snyder. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/37 "2009-05-01T17:13:28Z")
Yes. To quote my uncle: “I can think of one person whose biggest hope in life should be for my continued good health. The minute I am told I have a limited amount of time to live, shit is going down.” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/38 "2009-05-01T17:25:42Z")
Your uncle’s one of those “looking on the bright side” people, huh? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/39 "2009-05-01T17:26:19Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > There are plenty of people whose death, pace John Dunne, wouldn’t diminish me in the least (start with the triumvirate of Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld), but the only person I can think of whom I really hate was a HS gym teacher I had maybe 57 years ago. At the time, I fantasized that if I came on him hanging by fingertips on the edge of a cliff, I would look for a hammer or rock). He was not merely mean but cruel. And it wasn’t even me who sufferred so much as a classmate. Name was Snyder. If it’s any consolation to you, the way we make men in this country (especially during wartime) produced some extraordinarily cruel individuals, along with many decent and brave ones, and our respect for authority and position gave their cruelty free rein. As the above might imply, I have trouble hating individuals, only the systems that make them who they are. That’s good and that’s bad, I find. It gives me some faith in human nature but a lot of resentment against life and the world - which are bigger than all of us put together, and I find, generally win out. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898/40 "2009-05-01T17:31:53Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Your uncle’s one of those “looking on the bright side” people, huh? 😃 He’s a great guy. Intelligent, quick on his feet, funny. He and I share a particular hatred for those folks who have very badly wronged exceptionally good people. We both acknowledge that this is, in fact, a weakness. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-you-hate-anybody/494898.md?page=3)