Race hate isn't human nature; race hate is the abandonment of

The words of Orson Welles—“Race hate isn't human nature; race hate is the abandonment of human nature”—resound like a clarion call to conscience. They tell us that hatred based on race is not born from the essence of man but is instead a betrayal of it. For human nature, in its truest and most uncorrupted form, is the desire to connect, to create, to nurture, and to live in harmony. When men choose hate, they turn their backs on that divine spark within them and fall into a shadow that is alien to the soul.

The origin of this wisdom lies in the recognition that children, before they are taught division, embrace one another without prejudice. The young play together without care for color or heritage, guided only by curiosity and joy. It is only later, when poisoned by fear and falsehood, that hatred takes root. Thus, Welles declares that race hate is not natural—it is learned, constructed, and imposed. It is not the instinct of the human heart but the corruption of it, the silencing of compassion and the surrender of reason.

History gives us countless examples of both the abandonment of human nature through hate and the restoration of it through love. Consider the dark days of Nazi Germany, when millions were slaughtered because of their race. In that era, humanity was abandoned on a vast scale, and hate masqueraded as law and order. Yet even in those shadows, there were glimmers of human nature reclaimed—like Oskar Schindler, who risked his life and fortune to save Jewish families. In him, the essence of humanity, compassion, and courage prevailed over the machinery of hatred. His example proves Welles’s truth: hatred is a denial of our nature, while mercy is its highest expression.

The emotional power of Welles’s words lies in their bold redefinition of what it means to be human. Too often people excuse hatred by saying, “It is just human nature to fear what is different.” But this is a lie. Fear may arise from ignorance, but hate is a choice. True human nature calls us to recognize ourselves in others, to see in every face a mirror of our own hopes and sorrows. To hate another for their race is not to be more human but to be less, to abandon the very core of what it means to live as man rather than beast.

There is something heroic in this teaching, for it calls us not merely to tolerance, but to resistance. To resist hatred is to stand for the essence of humanity itself. The abolitionists who fought against slavery, the civil rights leaders who marched for equality, the countless nameless souls who defied segregation—all of them bore witness to Welles’s truth. They saw that justice was not a new invention, but a return to the eternal law of human dignity. Hatred sought to divide and destroy, but they stood as defenders of what mankind was always meant to be.

The lesson for us is clear: if hatred is the abandonment of human nature, then to embrace compassion is to return to it. We must be vigilant against the whispers of prejudice, for they are not harmless—they are the seeds of abandonment. We must teach children not only facts and skills but also empathy, so that they may grow unpoisoned. We must honor diversity, not as an obstacle but as a gift, a reflection of the infinite variety of creation.

What, then, shall we do? Let us examine our own hearts for traces of prejudice and uproot them. Let us speak against hatred wherever it shows itself, whether in our communities or in the quiet corners of conversation. Let us support those who suffer under the weight of racial injustice, lifting them as brothers and sisters. And above all, let us live as witnesses to the truth that human nature is love, and to hate is to betray it.

Thus, the words of Orson Welles become more than observation—they are a command to the future. Race hate is not our destiny, nor our essence; it is the betrayal of both. To reject it is to reclaim our humanity. To live in compassion, in justice, in unity—that is to live as we were truly meant to be. And in this, we do not abandon our nature but fulfill it.