"Let me tell you the story of right hand, left hand. It is a tale of good and evil. Hate. It was with this hand that Cain iced his brother." — Radio Raheem, Do The Right Thing

Love and hate often work hand in hand. And we live in a society that exhibits the precariousness of this relationship in many ways; romantic relationships, friendships and professional spaces are just a few. How many of us have dated someone we love and loathe at the same time? How many of us have witnessed "best friends" turn on each other and treat each other worse than they ever treated any real or perceived enemy? How many of us work at a place where we love the people but hate the job -- or vice versa?

One space that this uncomfortable relationship exists in a more profound sense is in the public sphere, most notably popular culture. One only has to examine the relationship that the media has with its celebrities; these institutions work together to simultaneously build these figures up while tearing them down.

We have witnessed on multiple occasions the "fall from grace" that many stars experience, whether warranted or not. Love quickly turns to hate with a misstep, misdeed or just plain overexposure. Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, Don Imus, Tom Cruise, O.J. Simpson, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Kanye West are celebrities many love and hate with the same amount of furor.

As of late, the interconnectedness of love and hate is most visible in the race for the White House -- most notably in the cases of senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain. When it comes to these candidates, hate crimes are in abundance; although the term "hate crime" in this instance refers to words or actions that are symbolically criminal in terms of how they are carried out against someone or the consequences intended.

Many argue that Clinton and Obama are the first viable female and African-American United States presidential candidates. In a country that's experienced a serious love/hate relationship with women and blacks, it's exciting to witness history being made in politics and society. Who would have imagined it? A black man and a woman slated to be the presidential nominee for a major political party? Of course, this pair is not unprecedented in their run for the office of president. American suffragist Victoria Claflin Woodhull ran for president in 1872. Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, Socialist Workers Party leader Linda Jenness and philosopher/social critic Evelyn Reed ran in 1972. The Rev. Jesse Jackson ran for president in 1984 and 1988. (In 1988, he captured 6.9 million votes and won seven primaries in the Democratic primaries.)

Clinton and Obama are not new, just different. And they're running at a time when people are seemingly ready for a black or female president. But Clinton has come under attack for her association with her husband, her appearance, her "masculinity" and for being a "bitch." Obama has come under attack for lack of experience, not being black enough, having a name that is "too black" and skipping over more seasoned black political candidates and civil rights activists.

On the other hand, Sen. McCain has finally moved from the margins to the center, taking the top slot of the Republican Party. While he is respected by many Democrats and Republicans, he has been admonished for his age, his military service record has been attacked and he has been rebuked by the GOP "base" for not being a "true conservative." Even staunch Republican Chuck Norris questioned his ability to live long enough to serve out a presidential term, when endorsing Mike Huckabee.

Love and hate are working side by side as it relates to these candidates. Women love Hillary Rodham Clinton for the same reasons that they hate her: her success in male-dominated arenas and the fact that she takes herself seriously. Blacks actually love Barack Obama to death, but he has been "hated on" by a few prominent blacks, most notably BET founder and Charlotte Bobcats owner Robert L. Johnson. Republicans love John McCain, but hardcore conservative Republicans hate his guts. When dissecting this phenomenon of love and hate, it's ironically interesting to note that these candidates are getting hated on by their own people -- and in a very public way.

"So, how do we beat the 'bitch?'" -- A female supporter, in a reference to Hillary Clinton, at a John McCain campaign rally in South Carolina

Why is it that women hate on women and blacks hate on blacks? Dr. Margret Grebowicz, assistant professor of philosophy at Goucher College says, "Oppressed groups internalize the stakes of oppression. When people operate within an essentialist framework, they do not see these behaviors as oppressive, they do not see them for what they really are." Many members of disenfranchised groups believe that there is only one way to be female or black and if you do not fit that mold, then you do not count. Additionally, some embrace the stereotypes that are associated with their group, acting them out and punishing those who resist or challenge them.

In an advanced public relations class I teach, I usually begin by asking my students to discuss current events. Recently, a female student blurted out, "Hillary is a bitch." When prompted for further explanation, she discussed an article in The New York Times that examined Clinton's perception as a "bitch," according to the results of a recent poll. What's ironic about this poll is that Hillary had been previously criticized for being too soft when she showed emotion or cried during a campaign stop. After a debate in South Carolina, Clinton was criticized for "attacking" Obama about his ties to a "slumlord" in Chicago; this occurred after his attack on her affiliation with her husband, which somehow went unnoticed. She went from being a sap to being a bitch within a matter of seconds. She has also been criticized for showing too much cleavage and dressing like a man, all in the same week.

It seems that Clinton cannot win in the court of public opinion.

Dr. Kandace L. Harris, assistant professor of communication at Johnson C. Smith University comments, "Hillary Clinton's treatment by the media is clearly sexist. We are a society of categories, and everyone must fit neatly into his or her category. When someone challenges assumptions about that category, then language is used to symbolically return them to their category and the status attached to it. Although Clinton has privilege due to race, we still live in a very sexist society that is threatened by powerful women."

In spite of the fact that Clinton has many female supporters, her support is drowned out by the language of hate -- some of which is articulated by women. "It freaks me out that women are so quick to accept gender essentialism," says Grebowicz. "We are the ones that you often hear saying things like 'We're more emotional, talk more and catty.' These are things that women seem to embrace about womanhood. The uncritical social acceptance of gender essentialism is one of the reasons that women really do not unite as a group in a way that would create significant social, cultural and political change in this country."

When women commit "hate crimes and misdemeanors" against each other, it reverberates in society, feeding hateful language that is used by men and women.

One does not have to be a Hillary supporter to recognize the visceral language that is used when depicting her. "Bitch" is the preferred pejorative term that is uttered publicly and privately to describe her, and there is clearly a double standard when it comes to race and gender in terms of the language that is allowed to be used publicly. Can you imagine what would have happened had a John McCain supporter uttered, "So, how do we beat the nigger?" Instead, folks just laughed, including McCain, who was visibly nervous when this female supporter uttered the vile term."It is completely unacceptable to say something about the 'nature' of black people," says Grebowicz. "That would be identified as an outdated, archaic way of looking at people. It is perfectly acceptable to talk about women in this way because women seem to accept stereotyping in ways that blacks do not."

"It's a thin line between love and hate." -- The Persuaders

Obama has seemingly captured the hearts and minds of all types of Americans, not just black Americans. He even survived prodding by fading civil rights leaders who seemed too concerned at best and threatened at worse by a young, dynamic man who could displace their cultural capital in the African-American community. He cleared all the hurdles questioning his blackness (God forbid if you have one white parent, were born to an African and attended Harvard).

It's funny how the "one-drop" rule dropped off when determining the blackness of a literally defined African-American. "Enigma" was replaced by "rock star," which has become the term of choice used most often to describe him because of his wide appeal across many demographic categories.

All of the love, however, came to a screeching halt when Clinton supporter (and part-time Charlottean) Robert Johnson cast aspersions on Obama's character during a Clinton campaign stop in South Carolina. And as a result, Johnson came under attack by black intellectuals, pundits and the like.

"Uncle Tom" and "sellout" became the terms of choice when referring to Johnson. Folks were up in arms about his "attack" on Obama and let him know in myriad ways. Ironically, the language used to attack Johnson was hateful and mean-spirited. Politicians are in the limelight and expect to have dirt dug up and thrown in their direction. Why were folks so alarmed when Johnson did it? Perhaps it was because he was satisfying the "crabs in a barrel" stereotype -- when successful black people pull down or tear town other successful blacks out of fear, paranoia and jealousy.

According to Dr. Robert Samuel Smith, assistant professor of history and African studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, "Bob Johnson's comments about Obama were really unwarranted. For a black man who offered virtually no direction in terms of a political agenda for black people to attack Obama, an upstanding man and politician, is unacceptable. Obama deserves better than that based on the stances that he took and that Johnson refused to take. How dare he criticize Obama in that sort of degrading fashion? He did not have to make it a situation where he enacted a 'Bob crime' as opposed to 'Bob critique.' He can critique the man without being insulting."

Johnson appeared to be doing more "hating" than helping the situation. Consequently, he was denounced in ways that he had previously never been denounced. With all of its problems over sexist and nihilistic images, BET was the first black TV network, and Johnson gave a national platform to many black media professionals including Ed Gordon, Ananda Lewis and Tavis Smiley. A man who has been hated, and rightfully so in some instances, turns around and does the same thing to another black man, causing people to forget the good things that he did. Perhaps it's due to the recent spates of "hate crimes" that have occurred within the black community.

"They think they're hip. They can't read; they can't write. They're laughing and giggling, and they're going nowhere." -- Bill Cosby, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition & Citizenship Education Fund's 2004 Annual Conference

Bill Cosby's comments about poor blacks were considered by many to be hateful. And statements made by Oprah Winfrey about opening a school in South Africa as opposed to the United States because black people here would not appreciate it were inflammatory.

As someone who teaches in rural schools in South Africa, I understand Winfrey's intended meaning; education is valued in a completely different way in South Africa by everyone, not just blacks. The same way that education is devalued in this country by many people, not just blacks, it is valued in South Africa and other countries I would argue, in a much more impassioned way.

But when Winfrey makes those statements, people hear that blacks in America do not want to learn -- not that there is a different value system in place in South Africa. People focus on what poor blacks are doing or not doing as opposed to the socio-economic conditions and racist institutions that have historically contributed to the factors at which Cosby and Winfrey express disgust and disdain. If those observations were not the intended meanings of their words, then they should know what happens to words that come in contact with the media, especially since they -- as well as Johnson -- made their fortunes in media industries.

"Each of these three folks are examples of the millionaires that emerged post-civil rights," Smith says. "They each in some way have benefited from the disposable income of middle- and upper-class black people. They also owe a major debt to working-class and poor blacks because in many ways it was their cultural productivity that helped to drive their success."

Thus, blacks who've become rich and famous based on black support from the masses early in their careers should be mindful of how they talk about blacks, politicians or the community as a whole. "When Cosby blatantly attacks poor black people and does not do a good job of explaining his statements, which are clearly elitist and classist, he is wrong," says Smith. "How do you make fun of issues of illiteracy, but you don't blame the school system or the legislation that stripped it away? He has not critiqued those [who] are responsible for government inequities."

"And I would prefer not to have conservative Republicans in the Congress paralyzed by having to support, out of party loyalty, a Republican president who is not conservative." -- Rush Limbaugh, Conservative Pundit, People magazine, Feb. 5, 2008

While John McCain is not part of the race and gender equation, he has fallen victim to the idea that there is only one way to be a Republican.

Although he has overwhelmingly won the support of the party and the popular voters, he has been under scrutiny by ultra-conservative Republicans because he is not "conservative" enough. Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingram have weighed-in on McCain's conservatism. Just as feminists suggest that Clinton does not have a truly feminist agenda and some blacks suggest that Obama's intentions for the black community are not clear, McCain is being vilified by his fellow right-wingers.

McCain's previously impeccable military record has even been attacked by members of his own party, all because he dares to think differently from those who have had a major influence on the party over the last decade.

Folks in his party hate him so much that they have released information about an "inappropriate" relationship with a lobbyist, just before he officially wins or accepts the Republican nomination. They will attempt to blame the Democrats, but it looks like an inside job. Who would bring up an alleged affair as a reason why McCain should not be president? Clinton certainly does not want to re-visit that issue and Obama does not want to make that an issue when there are so many others.

What is compelling about all of these candidates is that a climate exists in this country in which people feel that it is their right to express hate publicly and sometimes without any research or support. Harris states, "America does not have a fair or balanced view about anything. We don't read. We don't do our research. We are used to being sounding boards. A lot of the shows that we do have like Real Time with Bill Maher, Best Week Ever, Chelsea Lately, The O'Reilly Factor and The View are big on opinion and short on research."

"I hate u because I love u. But I can't love u, because I hate u." -- Prince, "I Hate U" The Gold Experience

Theoretically, we live in a free society and should be allowed to say what we want; that is the beauty of living in America. But, to go after one of your own raises many moral and ethical questions. Should we say what we want just because we can? Smith offers: "It is not necessarily the acts, it is the unintended consequences of those acts."

Just because someone is a minority or female does not mean that he or she is above reproach. It simply means that if you are a minority or female, or both for that matter, it is imperative to be mindful of how you represent yourself and others -- particularly when they have been historically misrepresented in such denigrating ways.

Is it right to smear McCain at this stage of the game, when there is so much to lose? That is the crime. Love and hate become complicated and confused, and static surfaces. The collective falls victim to the individual, similar to love falling victim to hate.

Harris suggests that we have moved into a voyeuristic and narcissistic way of thinking so much so that community responsibility has fallen by the wayside. "Our culture seems to thrive off of this nastiness," she says. "It is how we put people down. People make careers of it. Nancy Grace. Ann Coulter. Chelsea Handler. Sean Hannity. There are too many bloggers to even name. As a society, we eat it up and do not realize how sick it is and how much of a disease it is and how it affects our psyche and how we interact and communicate with others. We do not censor ourselves about what to say and when to say it. Everybody is a critic now, which is part of the problem."

"There's the devastating right [love] and hate is hurt. He's down. And ooh. Left hand hate KO'd by love." -- Radio Raheem

Critic or not, hating your own is a crime, and not realizing why is a misdemeanor. Perhaps one day love will win out over hate, and we will realize the damage that is done when we attack instead of critique each other from an informed perspective.