I realized that the preceding rambling blog post was originally intended to make a pithy comment about the latest Mel Gibson Act of Outrageousity, but I never got around to it. That’s one side-effect of getting most of the Hate out of my life; I can’t rant, I can only ramble.
Anyway, I’m actually somewhat amused by the fact that ANYBODY is shocked that Gibbers used the “n-word” in the process of insulting his Ex. The words “shocked that he could do even worse” than the 2007 incident actually perplexed me. That bigoted blathering he did then was directed at a cop, for goodness sake, and as drunk as he apparently was at the time, there was no doubt in my mind that he was capable of committing even greater offense in conversation with someone he was (a) close to and (b) had personal issues with, an his Ex certainly qualified on both counts. In fact, there are no doubt dozens of things he has said to her that were even MORE offensive/bigoted/insensitive/stupid than that, but were not uttered within range of a good microphone.
Of course, “haters gonna hate” is one of the most self-definingly stupid catchphrases of the 21st Century so far (and shows promise of making the Top 30 of the entire century, one of the reasons I’m somewhat relieved I won’t be living that long). This kind of turn of phrase is the reason I attempted a few years ago (failing badly) to popularize the acronym UGOTO, standing for “Uncanny Grasp Of The Obvious”, a quote the illustrious sportscaster and put-down artist Howard Cosell used in reference to one of his cliche-spouting colleagues (extra points to Howie that the target of that bon mot was O.J. Simpson, long before he became REALLY famous). “Haters gonna hate” is, at the face of it, a UGOTO.
But of course, nothing that stupid comes without an almost-equally stupid subtext. Since if you are the target of that phrase, the person blathering it is pointing out that you have been caught being hateful and therefore deserve being labeled, above all other identifiers (such as red-headed, systems analyst, diabetic, stamp collector, regular viewer of “CSI” and walks with a limp) as a HATER!
It really does fail rather badly as a put-down, especially since research shows that 98% of the people using it on others are identifiably hate-filled themselves (73% practicing even more Hate than the person they target)*. It’s one of the verbal attacks for which “I am rubber, you are glue” is appropriate in most occasions.
Then again, being a Hater is not such a terrible thing (as long as you also are red-headed, systems analyst, etc.). While it is one of the most destructive human emotional tendencies, it is also one of the most common. Everybody hates. Or maybe 95% of the human race do**. Those few that don’t are either insufferably smug, out of touch with most of reality or spiritually/philosophically/religiously devoted and disciplined enough to be totally irrelevant.
I remember one of the Top 5 Cringeworthy Songs of the 1970′s was all about the same subject, and, like every other song to sell more than a half-dozen 45s during that time, it has a video on YouTube.
Ladies and gentlemen and haters of all ages, I shamefully present Razzy Bailey’s unfortunately immortal recording: “I Hate Hate”. (Be warned: if you can not withstand 3 minutes of uninterrupted preachiness, do NOT click on the YouTube imbed).
If you’re like me (and are old enough), you just relived one of your seven worst moments of the ’70s.
A few years after that misbegotten record came out, I met a guy who, like me, was trying to break into radio whose last name was Hayter, spelled exactly that way but pronounced exactly the same as Hater. That was the worst name for radio I encountered during those years, and I knew other radio guys named Vanbenthuysen and Sakellarides.
Anyway, I admit to being a Hater, but that is no higher than #58 on the list of things I am, right between #57, Bullwinkle fan and #59, user of three pillows when sleeping. It used to rank much higher, but just in the last few years I found it to be a waste of time and energy that could be better used watching Bullwinkle cartoons for the 50th time. It is still not too difficult for something or someone I consider morally reprehensible to make me “get my hate on”, but I no longer hate the merely obnoxious or annoying. I’m kinda proud of that, but I’m not setting any goal to become spiritually/philosophically/religiously devoted and disciplined enough to be totally irrelevant. Especially since I am already totally irrelevant, and you know what? I totally HATE that.
* figures from a study made by somebody whose names I don’t remember
** figure pulled directly out of my ass
