world's end rhapsody

hate is not the problem. hate, despite what Gandhi says, can even be cathartic when you finally aim it at your oppressors instead of yourself.

hate wasn’t even the beginning of the problem. we didn’t enslave and murder POC because of hate or anger. we did it out of a desire for power and a basic disrespect for their humanity. when you look at pictures of white townspeople attending a lynching, you don’t see hate in their faces. you see mild amusement. 

you don’t need hate as a motivator for evil when there are no consequences for hurting people who aren’t like you. all you need is minor inconvenience and a faulty conscience. 

additionally, the idea that hate is the stem of all the violence and inequality in the world is really messed up because it implies that the oppressed did something to make people hate them rather than them just being the victims of a power system that exclusively favored straight white cis men.

it also lets people get away with the idea that just because they aren’t filled with rage every time they see something different, they can’t be part of the problem, because that’s how they interpret the rhetoric of “wiping out hate”.

Kindness does not require passivity or social grace. Kind characters can stick to their guns and stand up for what they believe in. They can yell and scream and curse. Kind characters can be angry and disappointed when others do not show them the same compassion they show others. Kind characters can be tactless, oblivious. They may be rough around the edges (but have a heart of gold).

Kind characters often value justice and strive to stay connected to their humanity, even when the things they must do threaten to strip it away from them. Kind characters sometimes have to make difficult choices. Sometimes, kind characters even behave in a way that is unkind.

Kindness is complex, and it’s only a single solitairy characteristic that contributes to a character’s personality. While it can absolutely present as soft-spoken, honest, and open-hearted (my personal FAVE), it certainly doesn’t have to be.