Paul Kriese is writing the book on hate.
For decades, Kriese, an associate professor of political science at Indiana University East in Richmond , has worked to better understand hate and why it continues. By researching hate, Kriese hopes to develop an approach to avoid it.
“I research hate because I believe in democracy, and I believe in people understanding their environment and why they do what they do,” says Kriese. “Hate is often based on fear and fear of the unknown. When we fear, we try to make our reality safe, comfortable, and predictable. One of the ways we do that is to create an environment we can control.”
But a comfortable environment may be different for every person. Kriese's research focuses on understanding what happens when people share a common space.
“It is important to understand how people relate and react to each other,” he says. “If people do not conform to our environment, there are two options: We can revise and start over, or we can say, ‘What's wrong with you?' and change that person until we feel secure again.”
Although hate and the circumstances that create it among neighbors and strangers often appear intentional, Kriese says that's not always the case. “I think a lot of hate is created unintentionally. We don't realize both sides can be right. Hate creates a dynamic in which only one person can win, but in fact, both lose,” he says.
To understand hate, Kriese looks at historical events and personal life experiences and “completes the story.” He reviews events from the formation of the American colonies and the disputes between the early settlers and Europeans to race relations in the 1950s to today's relationships between the Palestinians and Israelis.
One of the most tragic historical events Kriese has considered is the World Trade Center attacks in New York on Sept. 11, 2001. Kriese believes many Americans assumed the planes were piloted by Iraqis or Palestinians. “We believe that they are bad people so it is exactly what we expected. After the investigation, we found out most of the terrorists were Saudi Arabians, but that didn't change our assumption. The belief now became, ‘Well it wasn't them this time.'”
Kriese notes the durability of hate: “Hate exists because otherwise we have to admit we are wrong. Hate is life without ambiguity.” But he adds, “if hate is a common human behavior, it can be changed. And since it is a common human behavior, it means that hate can be avoided.”
Studying hate is also a reflection of Kriese's belief in democracy. For the past year, he has participated in the American Democracy Project, a national multicampus initiative to get college students more engaged in democracy.
“In the United States , we have lost the sense that it is okay to be wrong and to question authority,” Kriese says. “Democracy is important because it allows people to participate. If they can't participate, they believe democracy doesn't exist. I study hate so we can create a democratic environment. I study hate because I want people to live better lives. I want people to get along.”
Kriese is writing a manuscript on hate in the United States . He also takes an active role in the Richmond community and in the education community to put a spotlight on hate. The city of Richmond has implemented the Ripple Effect in 2005, a yearlong series of events focusing on Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl , including a play based on the novel by the Richmond Civic Theater. Kriese will lead a public discussion on the events of the book and the issues surrounding World War II.
He is also educating the public on hate through a lecture series and publications, including an IU East faculty lecture called “The Scorpion and the Alligator: Hate as Common Human Behavior.”
