Words have multiple meanings, multiple dimensions associated with them. Building on this we can conclude that a word can also have multiple inverses, one along each dimension. Two of the most defining characteristics of love would be that it is a very strong emotion and that it is a positive emotion. Along these lines of logic, we could conclude that the inverse of Love along strength dimension would be Indifference and along the valence dimension, it would be Hate. It’s quite a valid conclusion but not a very useful one. In order to assign a preference ranking to these raw emotions, let’s bring in some context.
The Holocaust refers to the genocide in Hitler’s Germany wherein millions of Jews were massacred in the name of ethnic cleansing. Hitler was a man consumed by fanatic visions of his country and the Aryan race, this distorted love also led him to believe that the Jews were a subpar race and holding Germany back. So began the extermination campaign. But the question here is, how could society be convinced of such propaganda? In post-war Germany, the people needed something to blame for the loss, their national pride had been wounded. As Hitler gave them a target, people took the bait, quite indifferent to reality. Few cared for the truth, as the situation had no direct bearing on them. It is also difficult to believe that the rest of the world had no wind of the concentration camps. In my opinion, they too were indifferent.
Hatred and Love move hand-in-hand, often love for one results in hatred for another, sometimes in quite distorted and unethical ways, but to me the real killer is indifference. It is stealthy and lethal. What is worse than a couple which keeps bickering over minuscule matters? A couple that refuses to recognize bickering matters, a couple that would prefer walking away over spending energy on the situation.
Hate at the very least means that you recognize and associate importance to the other person, and once you have recognized them you begin to learn more, spend some mental energy on the situation. In a situation involving rational, liberal people this will more often than not result in a reasonable solution.
Love > Hate > Indifference
rabbitRambles 