for 18 January 2001. Updated every WEEKDAY.

Tim Cavanaugh
Special Guest Editor

Terry Colon
Art Director

Heather Havrilesky
Senior Editor

Joey Anuff
Publisher

The problem with using 'hate' to describe racism and other kinds of prejudice is that this is such a poor description of the phenomenon, and is so disconnected from other everyday uses of the word 'hate' that the word degenerates into a mere insult. To say Eminem, Hitler, and Nixon are all examples of hate becomes as meaningful as saying that all three are gooberheads.

Having a racist attitude involves prejudice, lack of compassion, a desire that my group should have a place of privilege, fear that another group may displace that privilege, fear of difference in general, and probably a bunch of other stuff, all of which seem very different from the emotion you feel when someone divorces you or cuts you off in traffic or films a live version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas or puts one of those knockoff Calvin-peeing stickers on his car.

When you accuse a racist of hate, you play right into his hands, because very likely he can honestly and introspectively deny that he feels hate for the group in question. Then he's off the hook.

'Homophobia' has a similar problem, except that being a new word it has a little more room to assert its own meaning. 'Hate' probably has too much inertia to ever mean what your trying to make it mean. Sloppy usage threatens to turn 'racist' into a mere insult as well, but that's another problem.

On the other hand, I'm aware that, for Suck, the need to make a hockey pun that Terry can get a good cartoon out of has to take priority.

Michael Straight
<straight@email.unc.edu>

Very true. No wonder they call you Michael Straight!

In the case of "hate," our favorite memory is a poster they used to put up around dear old Rutgers back in the day: It had a drawing of a big fist being slammed down on the word "HATE" and smashing it the way the Blue Meanies smashed the big "KNOW" statue so that it read "NO." It was a wonderfully hardcore approach to loving your neighbor.

As for the current context of "hate speech" and these "hate crimes legislation" proposals that are pretty much guaranteed to be counterproductive, we'd have to say that the term has been put into such common currency that we can use it in its simpering liberal context and be understood. And believe it or not, we do like to be understood from time to time.

Sucksters

Today's hate nanny ... did a great job of showing just how devalued the word "hate" has become. Whether it's rapper Enema getting stormed for being a white guy offering the same misogyny and "homophobia" black rappers have sold for years, or Donald Rumsfeld on a hissing White House tape from 30 years ago offering an occasional "uhhhh" while Big Dick discussed eugenics, being a "hater" has never been easier.

Ralph Ward
<rward@boardroominsider.com>

Not easy enough, apparently. The Sucksters hate just about everybody, and nobody's nominated us for a Grammy. At least, not yet.

Sucksters