By Melissa Martin

No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite,” proclaimed Nelson Mandela.

Some white men with guns kill innocent human beings because of differences—hatred fueled by fear. What do they fear? Loss of power and privilege. Loss of life and liberty. Loss of being top dog. Fear of being treated like they want minorities to be treated.

After 22 people were killed in El Paso, Texas by a white supremacist, President Trump announced in a speech “in one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated.” Finally, Trump is publicly condemning white nationalism. I hope he condemns it privately. 

“Nobody’s born racist; we all found it,” stated Christian Picciolini in a 2019 interview for The Atlantic. A former violent extremist, he joined a neo-Nazi movement 30 years ago. “Picciolini now runs a global network, the Free Radicals Project, where former extremists like him provide counseling to others trying to leave extremist movements. He spoke with us yesterday morning about the mainstreaming of white nationalism, what it takes to de-radicalize far-right extremists, and why the problem is metastasizing.” 

Jewish humans, Hispanic humans, and Black humans are created in the image of God—a colorless God. A God who came to earth in the form of a Jewish man. White nationalists who hate a group of humans because of race or religion are anti-God. They do not serve the God of the Bible that I know. They serve their own made-up deity of prejudice and pride; hatred and fear; violence and murder. The Apostle Paul hunted and killed Christians before he encountered God on the Damascus Road. Then he joined them, lived with them, and loved them.

Haters feed off other haters. So white supremacists (white cowards) gather in groups for false courage—the mob mentality. Scared boys hiding behind Madison Grant and his 1916 book of fear called The Passing of the Great Race. Purposeless people hiding behind Hitler’s evil. White humans are not superior to humans of non-white skin colors. 

Hate in America

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a U.S. non-profit organization monitors domestic hate groups. There are currently 1,020 hate groups operating in the United States.

“Talk is cheap. People are dead. If Donald Trump is serious about defeating white supremacy after Dayton and El Paso, it will take more than a speech.” Source: 2019 article in USA Today.

Hate in the World

Fighting hatred with hatred is not the solution in the United States or any other country involved in ethnic wars—whether overt or covert.

Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa, struggled against apartheid, racial segregation, and discrimination. He earned the Nobel Prize. 

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that,” declared Martin Luther King Jr. He earned the Nobel Prize.

“We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children,” pronounced Jimmy Carter. He earned the Nobel Prize.

Infants are not born racist. Infants are not born hating others because of skin color, religion, or ethnicity. Infants are taught to hate other humans.

Melissa Martin, Ph.D., is an author, columnist, educator, and therapist. She lives in U.S.