
Fortune News | Aug 11,2024
Apr 22 , 2023
By Eden Sahle
I have observed people, including those close to me, discriminate against others or suffer social injustice because of their background.
The stress and pain may stretch to the point of breaking up marriages and families, leaving children with an identity crisis and societies with division and enmities. Hate speech has become rampant on social media platforms and in real life.
The elderly couple I have acquaintance with are no different.
To the casual observer, they might appear as an embodiment of success and propriety. With accomplished children and a long-lasting marriage, they could be held up as role models for others. However, behind the facade lies a deep-rooted hostility, as they have actively sought to dissolve their children's marriages and reject their grandchildren due to differing backgrounds. This uncompromising attitude has forced their children to sever ties with them, revealing the destructive nature of prejudice even within seemingly picture-perfect families.
It is sickening to see older people who were presumed to have wisdom speak drivel and spread hate. Sadly, they are not alone.
A former colleague left Ethiopia for the United States (US) after experiencing similar hostility. Seven months pregnant, her husband abruptly annulled their marriage due to his family's disapproval of her background. Devastated, she felt compelled to seek solace elsewhere, joining countless others who had been forced from their homes by forces beyond their control.
Our basic human needs, thoughts, and emotions are deeply interconnected with each other, regardless of our background.
Phycologists attribute hate to some perceived threat. It is an attitude that triggers hostility and aggression toward others, a reaction to and destruction from some form of inner pain. They explain that people who hate others believe the only way to overcome their pain is to strike out at others preemptively.
These crises lie in our history, culture, politics and family. Each moment of hate is a temporary reprieve from their own inner suffering.
We live in a society that is accustomed to violence in which hate becomes the way of life, in fear of connection because division has become paramount. We are taught to consider others as enemies for being different. Fighting is embraced rather than amiability, while empathy and unity are infrequent.
The heightened hate and fueling crisis in society have serious effects on our personal lives and economic damage.
Development and prosperity would be a myth if the road down the line remains the same because hate has a powerful destructive ability to damage core values permanently. It numbs the guilt and shame that people ought to feel for prejudice.
History teaches us how hate can be exploited, leading an entire nation to commit despicable crimes against others. It would be wise not to repeat it.
Change can come if society challenges the underlying toxic beliefs and assumptions of looking down on others. This would allow communities to reclaim humanity, lifting the heavy weight off of each other. It frees many who are paying unnecessary painful prices because of their background.
PUBLISHED ON
Apr 22,2023 [ VOL
24 , NO
1199]
Fortune News | Aug 11,2024
Fortune News | Jun 13,2025
Fortune News | Sep 01,2024
Sunday with Eden | Jul 07,2024
Agenda | Dec 08,2024
Sunday with Eden | May 24,2025
Fortune News | Aug 14,2022
Commentaries | Sep 10,2023
Radar | Oct 22,2022
Viewpoints | Oct 30,2022
My Opinion | 130666 Views | Aug 14,2021
My Opinion | 126987 Views | Aug 21,2021
My Opinion | 124990 Views | Sep 10,2021
My Opinion | 122685 Views | Aug 07,2021
Dec 22 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitiv...
Aug 18 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Although predictable Yonas Zerihun's job in the ride-hailing service is not immune to...
Jul 28 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Unhabitual, perhaps too many, Samuel Gebreyohannes, 38, used to occasionally enjoy a couple of beers at breakfast. However, he recently swit...
Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Investors who rely on tractors, trucks, and field vehicles for commuting, transporting commodities, and f...
Jun 14 , 2025
Yet again, the Horn of Africa is bracing for trouble. A region already frayed by wars...
Jun 7 , 2025
Few promises shine brighter in Addis Abeba than the pledge of a roof for every family...
May 31 , 2025
It is seldom flattering to be bracketed with North Korea and Myanmar. Ironically, Eth...
May 24 , 2025
Public hospitals have fallen eerily quiet lately. Corridors once crowded with patient...
Jun 15 , 2025
Kegna Beverages on Saturday, June 14, 2025, uncorked its first bottles of Kegna Beer...
Jun 15 , 2025 . By NAHOM AYELE
The federal government presented legislators with a budget proposal for the fiscal ye...
Jun 15 , 2025 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER
A three-year effort by the Audit Stakeholders Forum to restore fiscal discipline acro...
Jun 15 , 2025 . By YITBAREK GETACHEW
Environmental authorities have signalled a shift toward regulatory intervention, intr...