Hate Speeches in Contemporaneity: From the Subjective to the Political Aspects

Abstract

This article presents some contributions of psychoanalysis to understand the subjective and political aspects of hatred. In the current Brazilian sociopolitical context, hatred has figured as a predominant discourse, thus, spaces like digital social networks have become a fertile field for its propagation and legitimation, sometimes with the support and instigation of the public institutional apparatus. This study has as its starting point the critical reflection of Freudian texts that address concepts of identification and narcissism, central to understanding what mobilizes and enhances the incidence of this emotion, as well as its effects in contemporary times. In this analysis, it was found that hatred always appears in relationships based on intolerance to differences that might represent a threat to the subject's narcissistic illusions. Although it is considered a constitutive emotion of the human being, hatred is also a cultural, social and political phenomenon, and can become potentially destructive for humanity if used to segregate people and groups in order to eliminate differences.