When ‘Hate’ Becomes a Form of Imperialism

When ‘hate’ becomes an ideology, deployed to silence rather than to protect, it corrodes the very pluralism it claims to defend.

Protesters demonstrate outside the Scottish Parliament as Scotland’s Hate Crime Law comes into force, in Edinburgh on April 1, 2024. Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Commentary

For more than a decade, Western political discourse has been dominated by a single all-purpose accusation: hate. Those who question prevailing orthodoxies on identity, gender, nationhood, or merit are not merely wrong; they are hateful. This reflexive charge has become one of the most powerful weapons in our public life.