On Hate

Some say the world will end in fire.
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire,
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate,
To say that for destruction ice,
Is also great,
And would suffice. -Robert Frost

I don't know why I chose to start this entry with one of my favorite poems. What I do know is that I, like Mr. Frost, associate the end of the world quite closely with the concept of hatred. If there is any thing I stand against (and look to solve), it is hatred.

If you, like me, are fortunate enough to pass your days with loving souls and gentle spirits, you may not often see hate manifest itself. All you have to do is turn on FOX News or read through enough anonymous comments posted on Internet message boards; you will see hate. You might even feel hate as a response. But I would hope that you rise above it.

I was never raised to hate. Even now I can honestly say that I have forgiven all the individuals who have done me the most harm. I am fortunate to also say that not much harm has been done to me in my 22 years. I say this with caution because I know that I have only begun to be tested by the world.

I don't bring up this topic as a personal manner. I wish to call out this ugly monster for what it is: insidious, self-serving, ignorant, and counterproductive. No amount of hatred or response to hatred will ever move humanity in a direction toward peace, justice, and community.

I believe Malcolm X, also known as Al-Hajj Malik al-Shabbazz, recognized this late in his life. I mention him because his birthday passed this week (he would have been 85), and I just recently finished reading his famous autobiography. I would also call myself a great admirer of X, despite his 12 years of promoting separatist religious dogmatism.

Various anecdotes in his autobiography have inspired me not to form exclusive groups based on race, religion, or other arbitrary divisions, but to understand the reasons why such groups form and how they can be transcended. I am talking about building a human family. I strongly believe that had Malcolm survived, he would have been at the forefront of this effort in his later years. He was one of the few Afro-American leaders of his time with a global Black consciousness. African leaders highly respected both his pride and his forthright assessment of apartheid and repression in the United States. His words and deeds also galvanized the Muslim World far beyond Africa.

I admit he had his shortcomings, but I object to the mainstream (read "white") association of Malcolm X with hate. He could indeed be characterized as a hateful and angry man (he once said he was the angriest black man in America); he could be dismissed for being a part of the Nation of Islam alone or for spending the majority of his ministry referring to whites as "devils." Yet the essence of who he was and what he did for fellow blacks and for America went far beyond his harshest words. He stood up to the white man at a time when doing so meant fire hoses, beatings, imprisonment, and even death, and he spoke for (and with) arguably the most oppressed people in the United States: ghetto-dwelling blacks. An oppressed, brutalized people cannot be expected to go straight from centuries of pain to speedy resolution. Indeed many white people understood and respected Malcolm's rage. Some even offered to join his organization or insisted they would do so if they were black.

And as for his effect on the black community, Ossie Davis, who gave Malcolm's eulogy, put it succinctly by calling Malcolm the most shining example of black manhood.

He indeed was a man and would not allow himself or any of his black brothers and sisters to be treated as anything else. As for whites, even after he softened his prejudiced views he maintained the highest of standards. I will never forget Alex Haley's report of his press conference in 1964, when he announced the founding of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). He was asked if white people were allowed to join. His response: "If John Brown were alive, maybe him."