Who do you hate?

[Andrew Green]

I was at a conference the other day and the presenter mentioned a interesting study (which unfortunately I can't cite ) which seperated men into 4 groups

gay
bisexual
straight - non-homophobic
straight - homophobic

Then showed them all gay porn and measured their level of sexual arrousal. To no one's surprise the first two groups became arroused. The third group didn't. But the majority of the forth group did.

Now this is actually a well known pyschological phenomena called projection. Basically it is when someone hates some characteristic about themself and to cover this lashes out at anyone who displays even the slightest hint of it.

Now I know I've seen people like this, who completely embody the characteristic that they use to justify their hate of others and can't for the life of them see it, and I would imagine just about everyone here has.

Which brings me to the question, What trait do you hate in others?

 

[Feisty Mouse]

Bigotry? LOL!

 

[Ray]

Which brings me to the question, What trait do you hate in others?

I'm more concerned with traits in me that I hate rather than traits in others.

 

[sgtmac_46]

I was at a conference the other day and the presenter mentioned a interesting study (which unfortunately I can't cite ) which seperated men into 4 groups

gay
bisexual
straight - non-homophobic
straight - homophobic

Then showed them all gay porn and measured their level of sexual arrousal. To no one's surprise the first two groups became arroused. The third group didn't. But the majority of the forth group did.

Now this is actually a well known pyschological phenomena called projection. Basically it is when someone hates some characteristic about themself and to cover this lashes out at anyone who displays even the slightest hint of it.

Now I know I've seen people like this, who completely embody the characteristic that they use to justify their hate of others and can't for the life of them see it, and I would imagine just about everyone here has.

Which brings me to the question, What trait do you hate in others?

Color me cynical, but any time I see some study that conveniently supports a political perspective, I tend to be a bit dubious. That study sounds a little too convenient to me. I'm not doubting in many cases that it might be true, but I have to wonder if we are dealing with a "fake but accurate" moment here. I'm not question your veracity, merely the accuracy and reliability of the study you are citing. I'd love to see the supporting evidence.

Of course that wasn't your question, your question was "what trait do you hate in others?" I can't stand inconsistency of thought or action, in myself or others. I also get irritated by people who make decisions based on an purely on an emotional response. Finally, if there's one thing I won't tolerate, it's intolerance.

 

[shesulsa]

Apathy. I hate apathy. In fact, I'm rather apathetic to those who are apathetic.

 

[sgtmac_46]

Apathy. I hate apathy. In fact, I'm rather apathetic to those who are apathetic.

I'd reply to that comment, but i'll probably just sit here instead.

 

[kid]

Hate is a strong word. I try to only use it when i mean it. And one of the only time i would is when someone tried to hurt anyone i cared about. Even then its not hate that i feel but rage against them.

 

[raedyn]

Somebody told me once that usually the things that really annoy you about someone else are because they remind you of parts of yourself you don't like. In my experience this is often true. When I find someone else really annoys me, I try to pin-point what exactly bothers me (she talks too much, he will argue any point even when he's clearly wrong, etc) then do a self-analysis to see if maybe these are things I do, too. Often it's true - or it's something I used to do but I smartened up.

I've found this practice can be a useful tool in self-improvment.

 

[Andrew Green]

Color me cynical, but any time I see some study that conveniently supports a political perspective, I tend to be a bit dubious.

Yes, you are right. Statistics can be used to demonstrate just about anything if you use them right. But I don't think it's the numbers that are important to the point.

That said http://www.heretical.com/sexsci/bpsychol.html will give you a description of "projection" a google on it will turn up more, this was just the first one listed

 

[heretic888]

Interesting. But nothing new here, really.

Freud and Jung have been talking about this kinda stuff for damn near a century. These psychological structures are also revealed in more contemporary studies examining the nature of "evil" within people's belief systems.

 

[raedyn]

I would be careful with the links to heretical, Andrew Green. It's a white supremacist "aryan nation" type of site.

*quietly barfs in the corner*

 

[Blindside]

The scientist in me is interested how they got people to reveal if they were aroused or not. There is going to be obvious bias in just asking people their feelings ("so Mr. Homophobe did that video turn you on?") I'm going to guess some sort encephalogram or something much simpler like a remote expandable circumfrence meter.... "just slip this on please, the video will be on in a moment."

While I am hard pressed to think of a group I "hate" some things like like rapists or child molesters comes high on the list.

So that makes me a.... ?

Lamont

 

[Andrew Green]

I would be careful with the links to heretical, Andrew Green. It's a white supremacist "aryan nation" type of site.

*quietly barfs in the corner*

lol... opps... I'll find another

Never trust a search engine

when in doubt go to the wiki....

Unfortunately not much here, but whatever...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_projection

Haven't really looked at the site, but if it is a supremist site, odd that they'd have a definition of projection on it... lol... Well, I find that funny. Maybe they should all read that page a few times

 

[Cryozombie]

I hate Political Elitism on either side of the fence.

 

[Andrew Green]

The scientist in me is interested how they got people to reveal if they were aroused or not. There is going to be obvious bias in just asking people their feelings ("so Mr. Homophobe did that video turn you on?") I'm going to guess some sort encephalogram or something much simpler like a remote expandable circumfrence meter.... "just slip this on please, the video will be on in a moment."

Basically a high tech ring

 

[Feisty Mouse]

The scientist in me is interested how they got people to reveal if they were aroused or not. There is going to be obvious bias in just asking people their feelings ("so Mr. Homophobe did that video turn you on?") I'm going to guess some sort encephalogram or something much simpler like a remote expandable circumfrence meter.... "just slip this on please, the video will be on in a moment."

While I am hard pressed to think of a group I "hate" some things like like rapists or child molesters comes high on the list.

So that makes me a.... ?

Lamont

The studies that have been done on this issue at the Kinsey Institute usually, I believe, use plathysmograph technology (for men and women - the devices look slightly different, but function similarly). The Plathysmograph measures (via light reflection from tissues) the amount of blood in the tissue. Thus, if a part of the body were to, say, become slightly more full of blood - or engorged, one might say - the plathysograph would record the amount of blood in the body part.

That's one way to get a nice quantitative measure of arousal.

And to address the original issue - I don't think the idea is that homophobes *hate* gays because they have some homosexual desires, but rather they react to their own *fear* by lashing out at a group they don't want to be part of.

I would relate it to fear, rather than hate (or hate based on fear).

 

[Touch Of Death]

I hate all you slackers out there! Whata ya just sitting there playing on your computers? When is the last time you read a book cover to cover? If you would just practice instead of hoping to click on the magic bullet, you might be getting somewhere. Now hand me the remote, and I know you didn't snag my last Pepsi!!!! :whip:

 

[Eldritch Knight]

I can honestly say that I don't hate. Quite inexplicable, actually.

 

[Loki]

Yes, you are right. Statistics can be used to demonstrate just about anything if you use them right. But I don't think it's the numbers that are important to the point.

Carl Jung said the same thing. He preferred to interpret anecdotes.

As to the original question, I probably hate, more than other things, ignorance and insensitivity.

As I write this, I realize that these are two things which are polar opposites of my personal characteristics. I always do my best to keep myself well-informed, and I consider myself a very sensitive person. Just a thought.

~ Loki

 

[Sarah]

Apathy, indecisiveness....and yes I hate those traits in myself.