Hatred as an Ally
Hatred is just as valuable and important as love, gratitude, or passion.
Every emotion is given to us for survival, meeting our needs, and providing a healthy, congruent response to reality. None of them should be suppressed or labeled as bad or negative.
The primary function of hatred is to decide, survive, and act. Boldly, swiftly, aggressively. This is exactly what we need right now.
Our hatred is not only justified.
It is essential.
It is our ally.
We must cherish and respect it because it is thanks to hatred that we are still standing today. Hatred is the only adequate and healthy reaction to what is happening.
From the moment the invaders entered my hometown, Melitopol, residents took to the streets daily in protest, risking their lives to block tanks. The mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, was held hostage for about a week. Every day, residents gathered outside the city administration building, chanting, “Where is our mayor?”
Eventually, he was exchanged for prisoners. He is now in Zaporizhzhia. Thank God, he is alive and well.
The first humanitarian aid convoy trying to reach Melitopol was seized by the occupiers, and its goods were put up for sale in stores. Every single teacher refused to cooperate with the new regime and declined to open Russian-language schools. They submitted their resignation letters without even entering the education department building, delivering them to the self-proclaimed “mayor,” the collaborator Galina Danilchenko.
Afterward, several teachers were forcibly taken from their homes, driven 30 km out of Melitopol, and abandoned in a field. They walked back home on foot. Thankfully, they were not killed...
The new regime came up with a “brilliant” plan — they decided to recruit new school principals and teachers from technical colleges. They hired anyone for teaching positions — even security guards and plumbers.
This approach was also attempted in the village of Konstantinovka. The newly appointed head of the village invited all the teachers to a formal meeting about reopening schools and promised double salaries. Not a single teacher showed up. All those invited collectively turned off their phones and sabotaged the event.
For a week, Melitopol was completely cut off from any communication. At night, people wandered to bridges and fields, searching for a signal.
This is the city where I spent my childhood and youth. Cherries, bunkers, the military airfield, the steppe, the heat, and the lilacs. So much of it is a part of me.
And now, it’s filled with pain, lies, and the boots of Russian invaders.
Hatred, stay with us until the end.
April 16, 2022.