30 For 30 — Day 8: Hatred is Weakness

30 Days.
30 Photos.
30 Lessons.

Lesson 8: Hatred is Weakness

Especially don’t hate what you don’t know.

A wise man once told me:
“hate = jealousy + fear”.
He isn't wrong.

I like this photo. I like this place. I like these people. Not because of what we have in common, but because there are so many things that make us different and that experience made it amazing.

In my trip to Hong Kong I was able to experience a new place and a new culture to the extreme. As a white American going to a large European city one can usually find some semblance of comfort in the culture, mannerisms, traditions that they have. In Asia it was wonderfully different. It is such a radical and fun change to the “norm” and if one is willing to open themselves up to it I think these radical differences become radical experiences.

The pace of conversation, the intonation of words, the normalcy of things I would consider foreign were eye-opening. I loved it. To this date when people ask what some of my favorite places are, HK is usually up there and the reasoning is because it is so different.

This pic is busy, it has color, it has combinations of language, it has depth, and it has culture. HK is all those things.

I think if I was scared of the differences I was expecting, rather than embracing them and admiring them, my experience would be ruined. Marred by judgement, dissociation, fear.

I was able to walk around a lot for those few days and that helped me soak in a lot. Going past shops where people were doing hair, selling shoes, repairing bicycles…it was all so familiar but in a parallel world. I saw fancy apartment buildings and project apartments. Some people sold meat on the street for dinner, and down a block was a brand new Nike store, while a few blocks away was an entire market for exotic pets. People yelling, cars honking, old ladies laughing, young men working…a chaotic and good amalgam of things.

The smells and sounds were ever present. Turn a corner to find an alley stuffed with small shops all peddling their variation of noodle dishes. Another turn leads you to a market where all sorts of trinkets, clothes, accessories, were being sold. Weave down another street and a group of kids are playing a game, only stopping to let a car go past. One more turn and you find yourself at the top of a hill at the entrance to a temple of sorts. People have gathered here in all forms. A business man in a fine suit taking a lunch break sits a few meters away from someone dressed in dirty clothes. Both seated and praying. Both here to try and find peace.
This city is so different from my normal if I am staring through a window as an onlooker…but there are more similarities when I pay attention and share experiences with them as best I can.

How anyone can hate what they don’t know is forever baffling and upsetting.

March 16, 2021 A white terrorist in Atlanta targeted multiple nail salons and killed 8 people. 6 were Asian. He was obviously full of hate. He hunted them down because they were Asian.

This won’t be the most well thought out of posts but the initial thought is this:

I think I pity the people that hold hate in their heart for things they don’t know. Pity because it’s one of the easiest signs for me to spot their ignorance (read: stupidity) and they don’t even notice it. I say “I think” because I truly don’t know if I pity them anymore. It’s parasitic and sadly I don’t know if I’d miss them…especially if they aren’t even willing to take steps to better themselves.
You dislike foreign cultures and traditions? Great, you sit here in your trailer park of a mind and live the same way day in and day out. I’m going to go explore and make friends and when I come back with a wealth of knowledge and experience I look forward to finding you in the same exact spot I left you…probably complaining about things you could have worked to change about yourself long ago.

I’m blessed in that most of the things I hate are comical in comparison. Boiled carrots. That’s what came to mind.
There are folks who hate other people because of their skin color, religion, culture and they know nothing about that person.

Hate is weakness.

- Pat