“I hate you.” As a child, I would teasingly tell my younger brother this after he stole this toy or that one. An adult, be it an aunt, uncle, mother or father, would look at me with eyes full of knowledge from living more life than I had, and chastise my language with, “hate is a strong word.”
Today the word hate is used in a variety of contexts. From ‘haters gonna hate’ to students hating a class, to the much too often hate crime. The final instance being of most significance, as we struggle to find peace in a world where such strong emotions can take action against our friends, family, or simply, our fellow human beings.
To the shock of many Harvard students, on Wednesday, March 2nd, the door of an all gender bathroom in Elliot house was vandalized. The Gender Neutral sign was ripped down, replaced with letters painted in black: MEN.
Its hard to believe at Harvard—a place seeping of PC (politically correct) jargon, full of a fairly liberal student body, where we are inundated with polite formalities, and constantly reminded of the supposed importance of diversity—there is still hate.
But, perhaps hate isn’t the right word. Not because, as my childhood memories said, it's strong, but because it places motivation incorrectly. So-called ‘hate crimes’ are the embodiment of fear, not hate, living via ignorance. People are afraid of what they don’t understand. This fear is morphed into a hatred, misguided, terrifying, and unfortunately present in today’s society.
I write this knowing I may not be the best person to write it. I am a cis female. I accept that I will never be an expert on transphobia. I will never experience it as a trans person would, but, I can be an ally.
And this is important to realize: I may not empathize, but I can support. I can hope any and all humans reading this, trans or not, will choose not to hate.
