Someone Inquires: "What Gets An Unnecessary Amount Of Hate?" And 30 Peeps Online Deliver

On the Internet, you can find several threads, the authors of which ask the question: "What is something that gets an unnecessary amount of hate?" The resulting lists contain a huge number of people, phenomena and things, food and services, behavior patterns... and literally everything that surrounds us. And do you know what the most frightening thing about all these lists is? Many of the elements in them are 100% true.

For example, one of the most popular things found in some lists is the situation when older people are interested in things that society usually associates with youth. In fact, there is nothing reprehensible in this, but how much hate was poured out on the "old people" doing "the things of the young!"

The most interesting thing is that usually the authors of such digs are also older people. Perhaps this is just a manifestation of envy? Envy that someone dares to live life to the fullest, enjoy every moment of their life, and at a very respectable age? Once, many years ago, I played tennis with a guy in his mid-70s, and, damn, I was almost as happy with his every successful hit as he was...

There's also the old belief that black cats bring bad luck. This is actually an echo of Medieval superstitions that associated cats - and especially black ones - with witches and sorcerers. As a result, thousands of cats met their sad end at the stake of the Inquisition along with their owners - and when the plague came from the East, European cities didn't have enough cats to catch the rats that carried the epidemic...

The most interesting thing is that we now know about this, too - but we still feel somehow uneasy when another black cat crosses our path. At least once, I caught myself spitting over my left shoulder in such a case. This is despite the fact that I do consider myself a fairly rational person. Echoes of our ancestors' magical thinking? Well, it's quite possible.

"The emergence of various superstitions now would seem to be almost impossible - after all, people have the opportunity to find out literally any information on the Internet," says Valery Bolgan, a historian and editor-in-chief of the Intent news agency from Ukraine, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment. "In fact, this is precisely the problem, the incredible availability of information."

"If earlier, centuries ago, people simply didn't have enough sources of information - and what they were told often turned out to be fairy tales that couldn't be verified, today literally anyone can spread information. Without particularly caring about its reliability. And if this person becomes popular enough, they begin to be trusted unconditionally."

"Hence the tendency to transfer negative emotions from, for example, movie or TV series characters to the actors who played them. Some actors who played villains, especially talented ones, later said that they even received threats by mail or on the Internet. Addressed, of course, to the characters. And even now, in the 21st century, many of us are unable to make such a simple distinction..." Valery concludes.

By the way, another sad trend follows from here - threats from sports fans to athletes who make critical mistakes. For example, if even thirty-odd years ago Scott Norwood, who missed the decisive field goal in the last seconds of the Super Bowl, received many threats by mail - it's scary to think what would have happened to him today, in the era of social media... Alas, our social evolution really hasn't kept up with technical progress.

Perhaps, reading this selection, you will find something in it that will remind you of your own negative emotions directed at something or someone. And then, who knows - maybe you will try to reconsider your own attitude to this - and there will be a little more goodness and positivity in this world. At least, I sincerely believe and hope in this, so let's go on scrolling and reading!