The Disease of Double-Reverse Hating

"Hater." With all due respect to "swagger," it's the most overused word in hip-hop today. Now we can all agree that hating is a horrible disease that should be eliminated, but like Darth Vadar, attempts to squash any signs of hatred have slowly morphed from a societal good to an almost absolute evil. (I'm already regretting the Star Wars reference). Here, let me break it down this way.

First we need to establish what is a hater is. A hater, in the truest sense of the word, is someone who wants to see you fail for no other reason than they can't succeed themselves. They'll do anything to keep you down so long as you stay at their level. These haters unquestionably and absolutely need to be stopped. End of story.

However, what we're seeing now is a hatred on haters that essentially amounts to a a double-reverse hate, a hate that's just as bad as the original hatred (follow that?). Take it from someone who writes about music for a living. If someone doesn't like what you're saying and/or writing, even if it's a completely valid, thoughtful and non hate-filled point, they'll simply shout "hater!" and the discussion's over. Ironically I've found that this is a tactic employed most prominently by actual haters to stop any criticism of their horrible work.

To illustrate my point, let's take a look at what the would world look like if other jobs used double-reverse hating:
Coach: 'You've thrown seven interceptions today! Sit down, I'm bringing in the back-up."
QB: "Damn, why are you such a hater coach?"
Coach: "Shit, you're right. Get back out there."

Nurse: "Doctor! You've cut the wrong artery!"
Heart surgeon: "When will the hating stop? When?"
Nurse: "You're right. I'm sorry. I'll give my condolences to his family."

You: "Um, sorry but this isn't the right change. You still owe me $10."
Cashier: "I knew you were a hater from the moment I saw you."
You: "You know what, keep the money. My bad."

The point is, we've completely confused valid criticism and hatred, and those who deserve to be criticized are using this double-reverse hating like a shield to hide behind. I'd love to live in a world where everyone makes great and meaningful music, but you know what, that's not the world we live in. Some people just don't make good music, and when hip-hop as a whole is worse off for it, they deserve to be called out.

For a culture that grew up around the idea of battles, hip-hop's gotten pretty damn sensitive lately. So sorry guy who's only in it for the money. If you make terrible music, I'm calling you out. It's my job. And if that makes me a hater, then I say hate on hater. Hate on.