Prisoners of Hate Quotes

“Egocentricity is a problem, however, when it becomes exaggerated and is not balanced by such social traits as love, empathy, and altruism, the capacity for which is probably also represented in our genome. Interestingly, very few of us think to look for egocentricity in ourselves, although we are dazzled by it in others.”
― Aaron T. Beck, Prisoners Of Hate: The Cognitive Basis of Anger, Hostility, and Violence

“The intercommunication system also includes the expectations and demands that people place on themselves and others—something that has been labeled “the tyranny of the shoulds.” 2 It is important to recognize these injunctions and prohibitions because rigid expectations or compulsive attempts to regulate the behavior of others are bound to lead to disappointment and frustration.”
― Aaron T. Beck, Prisoners Of Hate: The Cognitive Basis of Anger, Hostility, and Violence

“When people identify their own individualistic and sociophilic strivings with the goals of the group, they are subject not only to the benefits of group identification but also to its dark side: xenophobia, chauvinism, prejudice, and intolerance. They also exhibit the same thinking toward other groups that they show toward individuals within their group who have offended them. This involves such errors as overgeneralization and dichotomous thinking, as well as the fixation on “single-cause” explanations—seeing the outgroup as the sole cause of their distress, otherwise known as scape-goating.”
― Aaron T. Beck, Prisoners Of Hate: The Cognitive Basis of Anger, Hostility, and Violence

“Although these domains appear to be remote from each other, the themes underlying anger and hatred in close relationships appear to be similar to those manifested by antagonistic groups and nations. The overreactions of friends, associates, and marital partners to presumed wrongs and offenses are paralleled by the hostile responses of people in confrontation with members of different religious, ethnic, or racial groups.”
― Aaron T. Beck, Prisoners Of Hate: The Cognitive Basis of Anger, Hostility, and Violence

“however, the reflexive image of the Enemy creates destructive hatred between individuals and between groups. Although these individuals or groups may feel liberated from restraints against attacking the supposed adversary, such people have actually surrendered their freedom of choice, abdicated their rationality, and are now the prisoners of a primal thinking mechanism.”
― Aaron T. Beck, Prisoners Of Hate: The Cognitive Basis of Anger, Hostility, and Violence