A 20-year-old man, fresh out of high school, crawled over a rooftop with a rifle, planning to commit the unthinkable. With his life ahead of him, he made the dreadful choice to take a life. This action set off a chain of irreversible events. The U.S. presidential election campaign rally in Pennsylvania was abruptly cut short as Donald Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt. A bullet grazed his earlobe, while one fan died from a fatal shot, and two more were critically wounded.

Modern-day live event coverage allowed the world to witness the tragedy unfold in real-time. Despite the chaos, Trump, bleeding from his injured ear, defiantly encouraged his supporters as his bodyguards led him away.

On his YouTube show, "No Spin News," veteran conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly explored the circumstances that led to this event. For anyone who follows the U.S. election campaign, it is not hard to spot the strong and divisive rhetoric. Unfortunately, major broadcasting services seem to have aligned themselves with one side or the other. The debates have extended far beyond the clash of ideas, edging into "us versus them" animosity. Opposing parties leave no stone unturned to incriminate their counterparts, seizing every plausible cause for legal action to gain the upper hand.

The public is bombarded with repeated rhetoric, creating a mental image that may not align with reality. O'Reilly argues that uncontrolled hate always precedes violence, and what happened in Pennsylvania is a case in point. He lists numerous news agencies and individuals who consistently air poisonous messages and use extreme, denigrating language on their platforms. With the public incessantly exposed to such rhetoric, many take the messages to heart, planting seeds of hate.

O'Reilly coined the term "The Hate Brigade" for these groups whose motives are as diverse as the messages themselves. Some are allegedly funded by well-entrenched interest groups or business magnates. However, whatever their motives or background support, the impact on the unsuspecting public is the same. They paint a vivid villain picture of their subjects and hammer the same point of view repeatedly, heavily swaying public opinion.

This situation is not unique to the current affair nor the U.S. Globally, in realms from politics and religion to sports, some take centre stage, espousing and imposing their belief systems on others. The messages may target an individual, a group, or an entity that does not share the worldview of the target audience. With the inherent tendency to look suspiciously at those different from oneself, the hate message acts as a stimulus.

Repetitive exposure kickstarts the hate dynamics, with the audience interpreting events according to the script, sowing seeds of doubt and suspicion. Further exposure weakens any reasonable defences the audience may have, eventually leading them to share the view. Any ensuing dramatic event or incident will be like adding fuel to the fire, with hate ripe for action.

I remember years ago when three friends and I were hanging out. Political issues were raised, with a couple of them sharing similar viewpoints. One friend started talking about an opposing political group, mentioning that someone in our friendship circle supported this view. The other friend could not believe their close friend held opposing views. As their debate heated up, I felt increasingly uncomfortable, unsure of where the absent friend stood. When they asked for my opinion, all I could say was that the person in question was reasonable and friendly. I had no clue about his political inclinations.