"He's a great kid. He hates the same way I do"
About this Quote
The line is half boast, half confession. Character is not measured by virtues or achievements but by alignment of animosities. Approval hinges on whether someone shares the same enemies and intensity of feeling. It is a glimpse into a worldview where loyalty is forged in negative solidarity, where hate functions as a litmus test more reliable than ideals or arguments.
Joseph P. Kennedy built power by reading people quickly and backing those who fought as hard as he did, in business and in politics. Coming from an Irish Catholic outsider milieu in Brahmin Boston, he learned that status and respect were contested terrain. His ascent through Wall Street, Hollywood, and diplomacy honed a combative ethic: identify opponents, strike first, reward friends, punish foes. The word hate, blunt and unsentimental, turns that ethic into a principle. Affinity becomes a tally of shared vendettas; kinship is sealed by the enemies one keeps.
The line also carries a familial echo. Kennedy expected his sons to win and to withstand humiliation, and he prized the steel that comes from grievance. That legacy gave them relentless discipline and a taste for hard-edged politics. It also transmitted a darker impulse: the belief that passion against an adversary is the purest proof of commitment. The historical record of his prejudices and his readiness to back scorched-earth tactics shows how easily that impulse can slide into corrosive politics.
There is a chilling candor here about mid-century American power. Coalitions often formed less around coherent programs than around shared resentments, whether against elites, the press, or ideological foes. The sentence strips away euphemism and reveals a simple calculus: we are on the same side because we hate in the same direction. It is effective, even energizing. It is also a warning about what gets lost when hatred becomes the measure of greatness.
Joseph P. Kennedy built power by reading people quickly and backing those who fought as hard as he did, in business and in politics. Coming from an Irish Catholic outsider milieu in Brahmin Boston, he learned that status and respect were contested terrain. His ascent through Wall Street, Hollywood, and diplomacy honed a combative ethic: identify opponents, strike first, reward friends, punish foes. The word hate, blunt and unsentimental, turns that ethic into a principle. Affinity becomes a tally of shared vendettas; kinship is sealed by the enemies one keeps.
The line also carries a familial echo. Kennedy expected his sons to win and to withstand humiliation, and he prized the steel that comes from grievance. That legacy gave them relentless discipline and a taste for hard-edged politics. It also transmitted a darker impulse: the belief that passion against an adversary is the purest proof of commitment. The historical record of his prejudices and his readiness to back scorched-earth tactics shows how easily that impulse can slide into corrosive politics.
There is a chilling candor here about mid-century American power. Coalitions often formed less around coherent programs than around shared resentments, whether against elites, the press, or ideological foes. The sentence strips away euphemism and reveals a simple calculus: we are on the same side because we hate in the same direction. It is effective, even energizing. It is also a warning about what gets lost when hatred becomes the measure of greatness.
Quote Details
| Topic | Son |
|---|
More Quotes by Joseph
Add to List
