By Miles Jaye
How dare you hate me! How dare you dare to hate me! How dare you despise me, detest the sight of me.
How dare you hate me human. You hate me free. You hate me, a man. You hate God for loving me.
How dare you hate my moth- er. How dare you hate my father. How dare you hate my sister and brother. How dare you hate my children. How dare you hate my loving family and friends — my people.
Isn’t it I, who should hate you and every generation of you and yours who have hated me and mine?
Isn’t it I, who should hate you for every stretch of red earth that black feet traversed en route to hell, here?
Isn’t it I, who should hate you for every one of millions of corpses flung overboard ships to no return?
Isn’t it I, who should hate every buyer and seller, every bid at every auction, trading people as livestock?
Shouldn’t it be me who hates you for every lash and every blood drenched stripe on a Black man’s back?
Shouldn’t it be me who hates you for every rape, each time you put your hands on my mother’s mother?
Shouldn’t it be me who hates you for every drop of sweat we sweat, picking crops for your profit?
Shouldn’t it be me who hates you for every grain of rice, granule of sugar, leaf of tobacco, boll of cotton?
I should hate you for every acre of land you’ve stolen from my people– every house, farm and barn.
I should hate you for every church you bombed and burned– you love to burn.
I should hate you for every town and city you bombed and burned– you love fire.
I should hate you for every bullet and every young black man you’ve killed– you love to kill.
If only… hating you would bleach the sadness, dim the sorrow and mute the pain and suffering you bring.
If only… hating you could revive the countless lives you’ve robbed us of, the joy you’ve pirated from us.
If only… hating you would rejoin families broken by men and women too broken and wounded to love.
If only… hating you would stop me from hating me– I might find peace.
1 John 4:20 says, “Whoever claims to love God, yet hates a brother or sister is a liar.”
Ecclesiastes 3:8 says there is, “A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” Luke 6:27 says, “But to you who are listening I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.”
Maya said, “Hate has caused a lot of problems in this world, but it has not solved a single one.”
Martin said, “Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do t h a t .” I ask, how much love does it take?
No justice, no peace? I say, only within our hearts and minds, free of hate, can we find an abiding love and lasting peace.
I can’t afford to wait for you to not hate me, to love you.
That’s what’s on my mind!
Website: www.milesjaye.net
Podcast: https://bit.ly/2zkhSRv
Email: milesjaye360@gmail.com
