Hate lies dormant in us all.

Byline: KELLY LEE 20Below News Team / The Register-Guard

IT BLEW INTO town a few weeks ago. Concealed by a whirlwind of rumors, it landed on car windshields and doorsteps. While some tucked it in their pockets, others threw it in the fire. Many simply were unaware of it.

Through tracking it down, I realized that this thing is by no means new. I realized, instead, that it had been around long before me and is still living, hidden deep within the hearts of people.

Though "it" manifests in many forms, it responds to one name: hate.

About three weeks ago, pamphlets sponsored by the World Church of the Creator, a white supremacist organization, were distributed along E Street in Springfield.

Rumors surfaced about racist rallies in Eugene. Information, passed from eye to mouth to ear, spread like fire throughout the community.

Some people were horrified by the pro-hate literature they found in their mailboxes, calling the pamphlets "garbage." Others quietly agreed with their outraged neighbors, secretly gathering comfort from the hate-filled pages held tightly in their neighbors' clenched fists.

In other words, while some felt threatened by the material, others felt more threatened by the negative response to the material.

An undercurrent of hatred runs through this community, touching both young and old. Our community has seen its share of cross burnings and schoolyard harassments. The hatred that was alive and well just 40 years ago is still around today, clinging to the walls of society like withering ivy on an old stone wall.

Granted, people are much more accepting today, but prejudices have not entirely burned out or faded away. Hatred has, instead, crawled deep into the closets and corners of our minds, further fogging the rose-colored lenses with which we judge others and ourselves.

Hatred in this form - the hidden form - is hatred at its worst, for it is so well concealed inside of us that we do not notice or acknowledge its existence.

When told about the pro-hate pamphlets, many young people were perplexed, exclaiming that they didn't realize such information was still available. The question arises: Does our youths' lack of knowledge about hatred signify a dwindling presence of hatred in society?

I think not. From observing the behaviors of friends at school and from examining my own behavior, I've come to realize that prejudice still exists and grows in the minds of young people.

We have not abandoned hate, but we have chosen to ignore it. We have not rejected prejudice, but we have accepted it on such a basic level that we no longer recognize it as prejudice; we write it off as human nature.

We may be astonished by the intensity of the hatred described in the pamphlets scattered along E Street in Springfield. But should we look at ourselves, we might be more astonished by the prejudices we harbor in our hearts.

Students, activists and politicians have reacted to the seemingly sudden appearance of hate material in Springfield. I have found what many community leaders already know: This hatred isn't suddenly appearing, but slowly resurfacing.

Hatred is an opportunistic disease that, aided by events such as the World Trade Center bombing, emerges every now and then, leaving sores on the skin of society that we bandage and treat.

We cannot destroy hatred by treating outbreaks. We must, instead, address the hatred that festers within ourselves.

Kelly Lee is a senior-to-be at Springfield High. She can be reached by e-mail at [e-mail].