Have you ever read an article online that scared you, and you told your friend who thought it was fake, then you started arguing? Well, that happens in America everyday with fake articles that were created to scare people and make them believe something that’s not true. Ignorance fuels fear and hate, but fortunately for you Cadence and I are going to inform you about the effects of fear and hate.

Everyone feels scared, gets the heebie jeebies, or gets frightened, whether you like it or not. Some people can have mental breakdowns or have phobias. These fears can really affect people’s life if it’s bad enough.

Even though fear is mostly psychological, it can have physical effects on us. And since fright is a permanent instinct, the physical effects can be very helpful if you’re in a bad situation. According to Sue Towey at the University of Minnesota, “Fear prepares us to react to danger. Once we sense a potential danger, our body releases hormones that: slow or shut down functions not needed for survival (such as our digestive system), sharpen functions that might help us survive (such as eyesight). Our heart rate increases, and blood flows to muscles so we can run faster. Our body also increase the flow of hormones to an area of the brain known as the amygdala to help us focus on the presenting danger and store it in our memory” (Towey, 1). Unfortunately, if you’re constantly living in panic then you’ll get sick a lot easier and long-term memories can ruin parts of your brain.

Fear can even affect our thinking. Memories can be remembered as negative, but can also help you remember your surroundings and small details. Sometimes in severe cases you can obtain Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). 

Do you have a phobia? Some phobias you’re born with, and some can be caused by a tragic event. If you have Trypophobia  (fear of small holes), Mysophobia (fear of germs) or Claustrophobia (fear of small spaces) you most likely weren’t in a traumatic event to have this fear, compared to Arachnophobia (fear of spiders), Cynophobia (fear of dogs), Ophidiophobia (fear of snakes). You might’ve had a tragic event with these animals to be afraid of them. The top three phobias that affect the world today are; 1. Arachnophobia (30.5% of sufferers live in the U.S. alone), 2. Ophidiophobia (⅓ of the adult population is affected by this phobia) and 3. Acrophobia (the fear of heights 10% of people with this fear live in the U.S.). If you want to see if your phobia is popular check out this link Top 10 Phobias by Jacob Olesen.  

Now that you know about fear, what do you really know about hate? Is it just a feeling you have when you dislike someone or something? There is even a phobia that called Xenophobia that means you’re scared of or have an irrational hate for people from different countries. Phobias aren’t just being scared, sometimes having a phobia can be rooted by hate or can be started by your hatred and sprout out in fear. Ignorant people will hate a ethnicity, race or religion just because just a few people in that group did something wrong. Don’t be ignorant.

Do you hate someone? Or say that you hate someone? If so, why? Did they do something to you, or do you just feel that they don’t like you so you have to hate them. Whatever it is, forget about it. But if you can’t then let’s talk. What do you know about hate? What do you think you know about hate? Well, I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong.

Do you feel hate for someone? Does it smolder in your heart? Can anything make it better? Think about it.

Imagine if you could see the hate between one person and another. What would it look like? Red threads creating a spider web between them? A murky darkness surrounding them?

Whatever it is, just imagine how it would affect you and everyone else who could see it. Would you try to do something about their hate? Or just leave them alone?

What about tasting hate? I know what you’re thinking, but really, to you, what would you imagine tasting hate would taste like? A bittersweet flavor? Rancid meat? A ruthless something that chokes you?

What about smell? What do you think hate would smell like if you could smell it? A putrid smell that seeps into your nose and won’t get out no matter how hard you try to make it go away? Rotten eggs? Something else entirely?

Suppose that you could hear hate. To you, what do you think it would sound like? A child’s dying screech? A low whine in your ears?

Hate is a, “deep, enduring, intense emotion, expressing animosity, anger, and hostility towards a person, group or object” (Penguin Dictionary of Psychology). Hate is linked with feelings of anger, disgust, and hostility. People’s brains were scanned while looking at images of people they hate. There was amplified activity in the, “middle frontal gyrus, right putamen, bilaterally in the premotor cortex, in the frontal pole, and bilaterally in the medial insular cortex of the human brain” (Wikipedia).

Now that you know the dry stuff, do you know how to say hate/hatred in different languages?

J’ai la haine means ¨literally, I have hate¨ in French. Haine is how you say hatred in French. Odio can be taken as both hate and hatred in Spanish whereas Odium is hate in Latin. 讨厌 is hate in simplified Chinese. שִׂנאָה is how you say hate in Hebrew. Inaina is Hawaiian for hate. Also, Hass is German for hate. There are lots of ways to say hate. Most notably hate is spelled differently and spoken differently in different countries but they still mean the same thing.

Have you heard of hate crimes? If you have then what have you done about it? Nothing at all? That sucks. And if you haven’t heard of hate crimes . . . are you living under a rock?! Even if you can’t specifically remember a hate crime I bet you know of one. My source states, “Hate crimes can be caused because of the person’s disability, race/ethnicity, their religion or beliefs, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Hatred can be expressed in physical abuse, verbal abuse, and threats” (Merseyside Police). If you want to do anything to help stop hate crimes you can go to ¨True Vision¨.

 Unfortunately in America we are deeply influenced by media and lots of people are scared and when people get scared, that leads to hate. According to Yoda, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” Me and Amiyah want you to be aware of the cycle and break it! Imagine a place where there is no fear, no hate, no anger, and no confusion. That would truly be a perfect world.

After reading what we have written, think back and ask yourself: what do I really know about fear and hate?

(Credit to Yield Media for the picture)