I've always found myself unable to genuinely despise a human being, regardless of their set of attitudes and behaviors. With a reasonable understanding of biology and psychology, all of it can be dismantled into factors that are beyond the conscious control of the individual. Cause and effect preclude the possibility of a living creature ever possessing full responsibility for behavior, which limits my capacity for hatred. I recognize that a human being is an animal, driven by emotional impulses and reactions to the world around them, and their manner of reacting is governed by biological processes with an underlying genetic basis, shaped by the environment.
Can you fault a mass murderer for who he has become? Was he in control of every event leading up to his current psychological condition? Did he have any influence in determining his genome? No.
I don't hate humanity, but I have difficulty relating on a meaningful level to the vast majority of its constituents. My confidence in the kindness of the proverbial human spirit has been routinely shaken, and while there exist instances of goodwill, the lion's share is due either to self interest or programming (cultural and biological). For that reason, it is seemingly impossible to dislodge my viewpoint from aloof neutrality.
|