Building & Destroying (aka Analysis vs 'Hatin')

Peace,

The impetus to write this particular post came from 2 sources: 1) A article written on thesource.com by an old friend of mine (Daina Richie) on 'hatin' in HH (Check it out if/when you get a chance) & 2) An article by a God whose views I respect b.u.t. dont always agree with.

The title of this post is 'Hatin vs. Analysis' and it's based on the following questions: How do you know when your analysis becomes "Hatin"? Is there a difference? How much of this is real vs. imaginary?

Now anyone who's turned on a radio or opened a HH magazine in the last 10 years is familar with the term "Hatin". The now ubiquitous term originated in the bay (The slang capital of Black America) as a response to anyone (usu. "squares") who spoke ill of a brother who made moves in the street. As it gained momentum outside of the bay through HH, it became more of a general term referring to anyone who leveled criticism (justified or not) at someone's actions.

At the date of this writing, the term is primarily used as a defense mechanism for weaknesses & defiencies. If you don't like a song, you're hatin; If you don't like to wear skulls & tight t-shirts, you're hatin; Disagree with someone's strategies, you're hatin. While at first glance, it seems pretty low on the list of things to worry about, it's actually a little deeper. If you have a community of people who are consistently resistant to critique, criticism, or analysis, they become insulated, slow-moving & growth-resistant. One look at contemporary HH tells the whole story. Now, some of this I can charge to youth, b.u.t. the fact remains that as long as youth adopt that mentality, we'll see the slowest-moving generation in 100 years.

Now on the other side, there are those who utilize analysis & critique as a cover for their hate. The integral ingredient that creates a difference: bias. Critique & analysis have a certain level of neutrality at their base, while bias (& by extension, hating) do not. Scathing & personal remarks lend themselves to what we commonly call hate, & indicate insecurity on behalf of the writer. Vulgar diatribes only interest those who watch Maury for fun & Fox for news.

While the line between analysis & "Hatin" seem blurry, in actuality, intention clearly seperates the two. Knowing the difference will allow us all to grow faster & escape the bottom of the 8 (destroying).