The Politics of Hate

One day, I decided to ask my Chinese college students what they would wish for if they had three wishes. One student proudly stood up and wished that every Japanese person would die. In shock, I felt obligated to respond with a discussion on the politics of hate. Here it is in a nutshell. From the time my students were children, the government had repeatedly reminded them of the evils perpetrated by the Japanese in WWII. They were told to never forgive and never forget. Why? The government wishes to give the people a common enemy (an outsider) for the people to direct their anger and frustration at. Then, the government will proudly offer their services as the bastions of Chinese national pride to defend the nations against this enemy. In all of this, the Chinese are never reminded of their past transgressions against their neighbors. Throughout the world, this approach is used repeatedly. The authoritarian regimes of both North Korea and Iran, for example, point to the US as the source of the people’s ills. Unfortunately, this same process can be found in America buried in the two-party system and identity politics. Without elaborating, notice how a common enemy is always identified and people are called to rally against that enemy. Notice how someone always offers their service to lead the cause. Notice how that leader and those who rally never take a considerable look at themselves.