Is it right to hate bad people?

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I've always been a believer that we are all imperfect and that we are all fundamentally good, so the idea of hating 'evil' people seems pretty abhorrent to me. I guess because if you love people conditionally, in a way you don't really love them at all, since hypothetically that love could always disappear.

Should we hate evil people, people who commit murder and other atrocities, or should we love them and pray for their souls? Is it good and right to hate the wicked? Is it wrong and evil to love wrong-doers?

I've gotten a lot of flack for saying we need to extend our love to compassion to the worst people in our society, but I still believe strongly we have to or else we will never really have a peaceful society.

Hatred solves nothing, and can motivate people to irrational behavior. Even with this knowledge, however, I find it difficult to not hate evil people, especially when they murder innocent people.

IMO its not necessarily evil but it can be a wasted effort if we're...say...projecting hate on people where there's nothing we can do about it.

That said though I am a full determinist, I do agree with you that nothing (including identity) is inherently anyone's fault, but at the same time punishment and penalty are there for a deterrent and as a society shaper to redirect rather than necessarily get vengeance. That said if someone does an evil act and they get a lot of cold looks, cold shoulders, ignored, and treated somewhat like a non person - if what they did was evil, what needs to happen is happening. However, if the people involved are losing sleep over it or sitting there dwelling on it, damaging their arteries and adrenal glands with extra pressure - that's bad.

The only thing I might add - if someone is that mangled psychologically or so malignantly high on themselves that they need to be either kept in jail for life or sent back to the universe sooner, so be it.

depends, i truly think there are evil people, how they became that way is what interests me.

to me any person that shows rampant disregard for human life loses any form of respect i have, if there is something one can critisize one should have the right to do so, especially in more extreme cases.

It is not wrong to hate but it is sort of lame.

Hating is a huge waste of energy that gives nothing to you in return.

I am a believer of free will. as*holes are responsible for their own actions. Love and compassion are a mutual affair, so only those who give it receive it. I believe we are conflicted beings that have an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, but some don't choose to keep the devil on their shoulder in check. Some are sociopaths that are incapable of this, but are certainly capable of self-restraint, og comprehending that their actions harm others, and should be held just as responsible. Most crooks do in fact have a conscience, but what allows them to shut it off temporarily or even rationalize in the first place is their pathological selfishness.

Should we hate them? That's up to you. Should I have to unconditionally love them? Hell no. If the fact that I can lose compassion for someone if they choose to act like a scumbag makes them feel insecure, so be it.