Is hatred ever a productive thing to have?

[festive1]

I would say that anger can be very useful. Hatred… not so much. Why do we hate an individual? I suspect that at least some of the time (and probably closer to most of the time) it is because we recognize parts of ourselves in that individual, normally parts that we try to squash, change, or contain. Therefore, isn't hating an individual a projection of our dissatisfaction with a part or parts of ourself? This is not always the case, but in instances where it is, we should examine the details of why we feel this way. Self-hatred is not good and leads to negative modes of thinking and actions. The most mean, hateful people I know are very unhappy with themselves.