How To Be an Ethical Hater: Scaachi Koul on "Hating Up"

The Nuance of "Hating Up"

• 💡 The concept of "ethical hating" is explored, distinguishing it from indiscriminate negativity and framing it as a tool for positive change.
• 🎯 Michelle Obama's "When they go low, we go high" is critiqued as potentially ineffective advice, suggesting that strategic "going low" is sometimes necessary for effective resistance.
• 🔑 Hating is redefined not as being mad for no reason, but as appropriately adjudicating the garbage in front of us.

The Origin and Practice of Ethical Hating

• 🧠 Scaachi Koul, a culture writer and author, shares her "hater origin story" rooted in her upbringing by South Asian immigrants who were "original haters."
• 🎯 Ethical hating requires "hating up," meaning directing criticism towards those in power, analogous to "punching up."
• ⚠️ It's unethical to direct negativity towards those in less powerful positions, like a Walgreens employee, but ethical to criticize the CEO of Walgreens.

Humor, Power, and Resistance

• 🎭 Humor is presented as a crucial tool for survival, especially for oppressed individuals, as those in power often lack the capacity to understand humor.
• 🚀 The ability to be light-hearted and make jokes stems from drawing power from more solid sources, rather than from the oppression of others.
• 💬 Complex and layered communication, often employing humor, can be a way to navigate censorship and avoid being easily attacked or misunderstood.

The Purpose and Practice of Hating

• ⚡ Hating is most effective when used for joy and validation, not as a means to seek external validation or to feel complete.
• 🤝 For hating to be sustainable, it must be rooted in community and loyalty, and directed towards protecting and standing up for others.
• 📚 Entry-level hating activities include reading books with unpleasant protagonists and making lists of things one dislikes to identify where energy is best directed.

Love, Hate, and Social Change

• ❤️ The definition of love can include fighting and disagreement, as unconditional agreement is not true love.
• ⚖️ Directing hatred towards systems of oppression, like the "capitalist machine," is seen as a loving act that supports those suffering under it.
• 🗣️ The ultimate pursuit of human connection is to be understood and to share similar experiences and feelings with others.