Judges embody discernment and poise. While many of us are quick to speak — often letting our voices engage before our brains — judges could be called professional procrastinators. They pause, consider, and withhold judgment until they are certain. And thank goodness for that; the popular vote is not always the healthiest for society.
When asked whether it is healthier to love or to hate, most people instinctively respond that love is better for us. Yet history and literature remind us that love is not always safe or healthy. Cleopatra VII’s love ended in death when she took the asp to her breast. Juliet in Romeo and Juliet chose suicide with Romeo’s dagger rather than a life without him. Samson’s love for Delilah cost him his strength and, ultimately, his life when he brought down the Philistine temple.
Our first reaction may be that hate is less healthy than love, but examples like these encourage us to pause and reflect.
Hate, however, has a long and devastating history. The word pogrom—originally used to describe massacres of Jewish communities in 19th-century Russia—has since been applied to atrocities committed against many minority groups, including Sikhs, Muslims, and Arabs. Hate fuels violence, destruction, and large-scale human suffering. Unlike personal tragedies of love, such events are often abstract to us unless we know the victims personally. This highlights an interesting human tendency: individual stories (“quality”) resonate more deeply than large-scale statistics (“quantity”).
Love vs Hate: Health Impacts
Love:
Promotes connection: Fosters empathy, understanding, and stronger relationships.
Encourages cooperation: Inspires people to support one another and work towards shared goals.
Reduces stress: Associated with improved mental health and overall well-being.
Enables forgiveness: Allows individuals and communities to heal and move forward.
Hate:
Damages relationships: Breeds division, resentment, and toxicity.
Drives conflict: Fuels anger, aggression, and sometimes violence.
Increases stress: Prolonged hate leads to anxiety, emotional strain, and poor health.
Creates isolation: Hate separates individuals from meaningful social bonds.
Both love and hate are powerful emotions, but love overwhelmingly supports personal and societal well-being.
Love, Hate, and the Courtroom
For judges, understanding love and hate has particular significance. Most defendants do not commit crimes in the name of love; rather, crimes are often steeped in hate, anger, or fear. These emotional states are rooted in the limbic system—the part of the brain that governs primal emotions and survival instincts.
The Limbic System:
Located beneath the cerebral cortex and surrounding the thalamus.
Amygdala: Processes emotions like fear and aggression.
Hippocampus: Forms emotional and long-term memories.
Hypothalamus: Regulates basic survival needs (hunger, thirst, temperature).
When someone commits a crime “in the heat of the moment,” they are often operating from their limbic—instinctual—state rather than their civilised, rational mind.
Civilisation is learned. A baby is born purely limbic: crying for food, warmth, or comfort. Over time, society and caregivers teach the child self-control, empathy, and social norms. Sadly, many offenders never fully acquire these civilised responses. Part of the role of the Court is to remove dangerous individuals from society and, ideally, place them in environments where love, care, and rehabilitation can take root.
When Hate Can Be Healthy
While love is generally the healthier path, certain forms of hate are useful and protective. Hating smoking or hating the abuse of the innocent are constructive aversions that safeguard ourselves and others.
Most of us respond impulsively to the love-versus-hate question with a superficial answer. Judges, by contrast, recognise the nuance. They see how hate leads to harm and how love—tempered with wisdom—offers the best hope for personal and societal health.