As the recipient of a hateful action, I wondered, Where does hate come from?
I thought about times that I have felt hate for others. The few times in my life that I've felt that very strong and worrisome feeling, it has almost always come from the experience of someone obstructing who I was and what I wanted to do. These people that I hated stood like brick walls when it came to my self confidence and ability to live my life well, they were a source of constant challenge, oppression and discomfort. I have also felt this strong and horrible feeling when people have acted in ways that purposefully and hatefully cause death and destruction of others for their own self gain.
Sometimes we may act in hateful ways when we don't really feel hate for another. Instead we may translate our feelings of jealousy, annoyance and frustration into a hateful response when in truth we don't hate the person, but simply are at odds with that person for many reasons.
When people treat you in hateful ways, it is important to get underneath those feelings before you act. Years ago, a friend began to treat me this way. I wish I had taken more time to get underneath the situation because in hindsight, I realize that the friend was in the midst of tremendous challenge--the kind of challenge that totally muddies your ability to see or act clearly. If I had realized that then, I would have kindly spoken to my friend about the situation. Together I think we could have untangled the set of challenging, hurtful events and made better.
So, if you experience hate from others, get underneath it--see the strong emotional response clearly and then work to clean up the situation if possible. Onward.