Suffer the Haters and Hated

Not long ago I participated in a mostly friendly debate regarding whether or not law-abiding voters are (or should be), inhibited by the presence of law enforcement at or near polling places. The idea that we always ‘are’ what we ‘should’ be is a topic for another day. This week, I want to look at the prejudices we bring with us, even from early childhood, that affect how we feel about any number of things and how that affects our overall health and wellness. I doubt many of us were intentionally programmed to prejudice. Personal experience and shared experiences with others (including parents), contribute to the notions we gather over life. Even the micro expressions of caregiver faces influence the response of children to any number of situations (including how children perceive the meaning of the presence of police), inducing attitudes and bias. We know even subtle manifestations of prejudice can cause stress in the one who is the target of the discrimination. For instance, a student might perform poorly on a test after another student beside him or her scoots his/her desk away an inch or two. The ill effects of prejudice are not limited to the one targeted by discrimination, however. In the mind and body of the prejudice-driven individual, health and wellness are also affected. Empirical evidence suggests bigotry is contagious and hazardous to both the hated and the hater. Both groups are at increased risk for circulatory related death. Both are associated with increased levels of guilt and sorrow. Unchecked, extreme prejudice leads to self-loathing and depression. We’ve witnessed prejudice resultant violence and death. Everyone involved suffers. It’s believed a “pronounced sense of suffering and incapacity due directly to intense, irrational hatred of a race, religion, or ethnic group” might be considered symptoms of disease. Ronald W. Pies, MD has written extensively on the subject. A healthy minded, fully mature person will feel a sense of guilt over behaving in a discriminatory or hurtful manner toward another person, due to personal prejudice. If hurting another person doesn’t cause personal suffering to the offender, there is more to be concerned about than an attitude of prejudice. Increasing data suggests that “hatred can be conceptualized as an infectious disease, leading to the spread of violence, fear, and ignorance. Hatred is contagious (and it) cross(es) barriers and borders.” (Abuelaish and Arya; “Hatred—A Public Health Issue,” March 2017). We aren’t born prejudice. Somehow along our developmental paths, we’re infected by it. We perceive, think, and act in a way we’ve been conditioned to do, until we recognize our prejudices and deliberately, intentionally make a course correction. We can stop it where it begins: in our own hearts. Be well.