I was looking for an analogy to a situation of hate I encountered recently. Basically because of the past hateful acts of a group I belong to (white women), a person lashed out at me. I was saddled with the hate earned by the angry, bigoted, hurtful acts of white women over time, acts born in many ways out of privilege.
I didn't like being judged or grouped by skin shade, but I did recognize that white women own responsibility for hateful, bigoted, hurtful acts over time. Even recently, look at how many white women voted for Donald Trump, a truly evil, hurtful, deadly leader.
I will do what I can to earn back trust by learning and supporting those who are working to make this situation better.
I racked my brain trying to find a situation when I held some hate for an entire group, and I finally realized that I did hold some hate for football players. As a teen and college student, I encountered many football players that were unkind and hurtful via their words and actions. Time and again, I found that football players used their privilege in ways that were hurtful and oppressive. I gained great dislike for football players. Then I had a couple of sons that became football players. Through my sons, I saw another side of football. I noticed how they loved the game, the athleticism, and the camaraderie. I watched how their coaches not only helped them become physically stronger, but also helped them to become better young men. I constantly reminded my sons along the way too about the way football players over time have misused their power and privilege, and worked to help my sons not go down that road. Fortunately the culture has changed quite a bit too so coaches and other school personnel worked with the athletes on issues such as respect for women, service to others, respectful behavior overall, honesty and more.
I must say that I'm still often suspicious of football players since the early oppression I felt in their midst is still strong in me, but I'm much more open minded after meeting many good football players via my son's experiences. This example has helped me to see how groups can develop great hate and disdain for other groups who have mistreated them over time, and it also shows me some avenues for helping to rebuild trust and break down that hate too.
I'm still learning, and I welcome your thoughts on this topic.