Is hatred ever a productive thing to have?

[Angrboda]

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.

It has been suggested that this is why we have such intense hatred for members of our own family, and especially our parents. In them, we see ourselves, and especially those parts of ourselves that we don't like or are uncomfortable with. There may be other reasons for the intensity among family, but this is certainly an important element. If my experience is any indicator, we focus much of our energies over our lifetimes simply trying to rid ourselves of what we saw as faults in our parents. My mother was a hoarder, my father controlling and distant, and my sisters are always late. Struggles with these issues have defined my life. A friend who had never seen my apartment came over one day and saw the shelves filled with things and casually remarked, "Oh, you're a collector." She didn't mean anything by it of course, but to me it was felt as a deeply wounding remark.

That still leaves the question somewhat threadbare though. Surely this in some small measure it explains what we hate in certain instances, but not why we hate. (And it seems a different breed of hate than say that expressed in bigotry or racism.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qahT62n8tcA