Ease of communication, isolation and anonymity.
I think spending more time with each other is what cures hate. Like Sheriff said we’ve already become so isolated in our online echo chambers before a global pandemic which has kept us apart from people for the best part of two years.
I guarantee though, any two people from this board could get together for a pint and have a laugh, find common ground, get along on 99% of things. I’ve had a nice time with plenty of people whose views on one thing I find utterly repellant, but the person behind it, like the rest of us, are quite nice really. People are far more than the sum of their most controversial views, but online communication filters out all of that and just leaves you with the extreme bit (which usually isn’t very well communicated anyway, because typing a tweet isn’t a normal way to communicate).
It’s also so easy to be hateful and abusive and extreme online. If, 20 years ago, you wanted to send racist abuse to a footballer or a threat to an MP in your lowest moment, you’d have to type a letter, print it out and post it, and at some point you’d probably realise that it was a bad idea. Now you can fire off an Instagram DM in seconds with no consequences. Technology has moved really fast and our brains / social codes haven’t caught up.
And yeah, for sure political parties stoke this division, fear, feeling of unfairness for their gain because it’s a powerful emotion and much easier to do that than work hard to fix the problems. And yeah, they’re usually right wing parties like the Conservatives and the Republicans and the Bolsonaros of the world, I don’t mind saying that because it’s true. Go back and watch Donald Trump’s inauguration speech again and it’s terrifying, he paints this picture of the world being overwhelmed by darkness and America being under siege and all that. Nonsense, but powerful, if you’re already a bit disenfranchised and unhappy with your life - which a hell of a lot of us are.
I think the way we cure hate is all to get out more and put our phones down for a bit. Says me posting on an anonymous internet messageboard.