Hate Week

Hate Week

1984 by George Orwell was released in 1948. Other associated milestones from this time period include, Propaganda by Edward Bernays from 1928 and the McCarthy Hearings which occurred in 1954. 

Hate Week was a device used in 1984, where the ruling party, through the character of Big Brother,  would rile up the citizenry against a fictional enemy, and this was 'celebrated' for a full week in April. It's used presently to describe the everyday antics of the occasional collusion between our governments and major media for political goals, concurrently with the media, major and minor,  criticizing the government, for what can only be described as entertainment, down to every voice that creates alarm and calls to action through fear mongering and demagoguery, in virtually any public space.

What would be a better description of our modern media was another device in that same novel, the Two Minutes Hate. Daily affirmations of who the enemy were, according to whoever was in charge at the particular moment. Although, if you take into account how the various targets are selected in each new news cycle, and that they run about the span of a week apiece, the Hate Week is not so inappropriate after all. 

As opposed to the novel, it isn't a ruling party making those daily affirmations now. Courtesy of the internet and 24 hour news channels and blogging and vlogging and podcasts and social media, there's an abundance of voices directing the ire and upset of whoever will listen. You're told who the bad guys are, who the victims are, who the heroes are, who and what to vote for or against, petitions to sign, boycotts to join, and where to direct your angry letters and angry comments and angry phone calls and angry emails, and maybe some place to meet up and be angry in a group together.

You've noticed how easily absolutely everyone is outraged and offended now? Thank the Hate Week concept.