Haters to the Left

Has anyone else noticed the progressive use of the word 'hater' in the last couple of years? Is anyone else irritated by this progressive use? Cos I am.

I think the word 'hater' was borne out of honest intentions. Probably. Rather than looking inward and thinking, "I'm a big freaking loser and no one likes me because she called me fat and ugly!", people (mostly girls) began considering the possibility that those who tried to put them down were just jealous and that their opinion wasn't worth regarding. The latter became known as 'haters'.

The trouble now is that if you express dislike or disapproval towards someone or something for a valid reason, you are immediately labelled, without hesitance, a 'hater'. I am not allowed to say I find Lady Gaga an unoriginal attention-seeking copycat without her fans calling me a hater; I am not allowed to say that some of the sentiments of the likes of Rihanna and Beyonce's lyrics or music videos are socially damaging without being told I'm a hater; I am not allowed to think Madonna is just plain crap without having hater-shaped blades thrown at me. I am, according to the world, a hater.

And yes, while it is true that I am easily irritated by a lot of people and a lot of things, I don't consider myself a jealous person who looks for the worst in everyone. I think Stephanie Germanotta (known to the world now as 'Lady Gaga') and Beyonce are two incredibly talented individuals, but that it's not talent that they promote: it's controversy and sex, respectively. I don't think Rihanna is a bad person; I think she's young and possibly doesn't realise the full extent to which she impresses on young girls. As for Madonna.... Alright, maybe in her case I am a hater.

The term 'hater' doesn't just exist in the celebrity world anymore; it now plagues the youth of today. It promotes the idea that anyone can do anything they want and never be told to consider the implications of their decisions; it promotes the idea of "I'm right, you're wrong and that's that"; it promotes naivety, self-importance and arrogance. I am all for being yourself, "I am who I am" and all that jazz, but we need to start taking responsibility for our actions. Maybe sometimes we do need to look inwards.

We need to stop promoting arrogance and start promoting intelligence and healthy debate; if that means we have to promote 'hating', then so be it.