BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - ALMOST everywhere one goes in the Federation one can hear the term ‘HATERS’. Even on public profiles such as hi5 and Facebook, many persons refer to their haters. But who are haters, what defines a hater, and why do people hate?
The Urban Dictionary defines a hater as a person that simply cannot be happy for another person's success. So rather than being happy they make a point of exposing a flaw in that person.
Hating, the result of being a hater, is not exactly jealousy. The hater does not want to be seen or known to possess similar traits of character of the person he or she hates; rather, the hater wants to knock someone else down a notch.
The word hater, as of lately, can be heard in many songs and are now seen on shirts bearing the slang ‘Hi Hater, Bye Hater’. The term ‘Hater Blockers’, which refers to those big goggles sunglasses, was even established as many persons say they are used to block out their haters. But why do people always assume that they have haters? What’s up with that?
SKNVibes took to the streets and spoke to some people to find out their definition of a hater.
Michelle said, “A hater is someone who has nothing good to say about you; they fight down everything you do, always negative when it comes to your name, never positive. Basically, they don’t want to see you get through in life and don’t want to see you prosper, so they hate on everything you do or accomplish in life.”
“Great men stand on the shoulders of their enemies!” This is what a young man by the name of Simp said when asked the question. He continued by saying: “Personally, a hater is a necessarily evil person! You personally need them to excel like Microsoft because they make you stronger. They keep you on your toes and they make you a lot more competitive. Haters teach control and make you insightful; they pretty much a motivational tool…you actually need enemies or the world would be a boring place.”
Twenty-six-year-old Javanna gave her definition as well and said, “I’ll say a hater is a person who just can`t be happy for another person. So rather than being happy, they make it their business to expose another person.”
Tammy said haters are people who feel angry or jealous of someone who has succeed in something they worked hard for. “So they speak badly of the person and take negative action to attempt to create problems and spread rumors about others. But I love haters though,” she added laughingly.
“I like people to talk about me, so I love haters. Haters are people who make the world go around, simple as that. If you don’t have haters, it means you’re not important because people basically hate about anything…whether it’s good or bad,” said Latoya.
“Haters? Hmmm! Let me see, a hater is just someone that hates on you for no particular reason other than just envy,” said 25-year-old Kim.
On the other hand, G, in his late 30s, said some people create their own haters. “Even thou they do not know for a fact that someone is hating on them, they assume and start with the hater talk. I guess because they want to feel important. However, haters come a dime a dozen and they are all over. Many people seem to think only women are haters but some men are just as bad when it comes to hating,” he said
Max said haters are just bad mind people: “Sometimes it’s not that they have anything bad to say about you, but it’s just that in order to make themselves look better and feel better they try to bring down someone else.”
“We live in a crab in a barrel society and that’s what haters are, crabs in barrel. In everything you do people will talk; therefore, just live life for you and forget the haters and all that,” said a young man who wants only to be known as D.
All of us have hated on someone at some point in time said Alicia, who added that a hater could be anyone even if it is just to say something simple as “I don’t like her shoes. That is considered hating, but there are some of us who take it to a next level for personal reasons or just to be negative about another person”.
There you have it from not one but 10 persons’ view on what a hater is. What is yours? But according to famous rapper TI, in his recent big hit titled ‘Live Your Live’ featuring Rihanna, “Never mind what haters say, ignore them till they fade away.”
