The daily choice

Hate. A short word, but with enormous weight, capable of carving deep scars through history and insinuating itself, now more than ever, into the folds of our digital daily lives.
Hate is not just an extreme emotion, but a complex mechanism: a toxic reaction to fear, ignorance, and frustration, which finds fertile ground in the anonymity of the web and the exacerbated polarization of public debate. Freeing ourselves from hate is not merely an idealistic wish, but an active responsibility and an ethical choice that challenges us every day.

While in the past, hate manifested itself in public discourse through slander or limited defamation, the advent of social media has transformed this phenomenon into a true social plague: hate speech. The ability to hide behind fake profiles, or the excessive freedom granted on some platforms, has turned the web into a no-man's land where gratuitous aggression and violent tones often become the norm, rather than the exception.

As evidenced by legislation (think of Article 595 of the Criminal Code on defamation, which now extends to online contexts), people's reputations and honor are constantly at risk. Physical distance and the lack of direct confrontation seem to empower many to express their worst selves, transforming discussions on sensitive issues—from politics to immigration, from civil rights to health—into virtual lynchings. The target, be it an individual, an ethnic group, or a minority, suffers harm that transcends the screen and profoundly impacts real life, as evidenced by rising anti-Semitic phenomena or hate campaigns against women.

Hatred has deep historical roots, often linked to the fear of those who are different or the political exploitation of the "enemy." History, with its unresolved traumas, teaches us that hatred, if left unchallenged, can degenerate from words to actions, eventually becoming collective horror, as symbolic places like Sarajevo remind us, where wounds and the future coexist in a fragile balance. Yet memory itself can act as an antidote.
Recognizing and honoring the stories of the Righteous, of those who chose moral resistance even in the deepest darkness, illuminates an alternative path.
Hate is not an inevitable fate: in every process of discrimination, there is always a moment when one can choose to act differently. This is where the work of anti-hate organizations and networks that promote awareness and education comes in.
How, then, can we free ourselves from this spiral? The answer lies in promoting a culture of responsibility and the power of counter-narratives.

Digital Responsibility: It's not enough to condemn hate; we must act.
This means not simply "sleepwalking" and passively suffering events, but refusing to amplify hateful messages, reporting offensive content, and, above all, not participating in toxic flame wars. Social networks must be held accountable for not "dealing with hate," ensuring verified profiles and effective sanctions for offenders.

Empathy and Education: The fight against hate requires overcoming ignorance.
Educating about diversity, promoting dialogue, and spreading alternative and positive narratives are essential to dismantling the prejudices that fuel discrimination.
Overcoming hate means regaining our own space for thought and action, protecting it from the toxicity of the internet and political manipulation.
It means choosing humanity and mutual respect as guiding principles. It is a difficult path, requiring constant vigilance, but necessary to build a society where history is never "behind us," but becomes a lesson to be applied daily.
The choice, as always, is ours: succumb to hate or rise up through responsibility and empathy.

Photos and text by Roberto Cristaudo
Focus
NP December 2025