By Rosalind Featonby-Marsh, CEO and Founder, Hate Matters
Welcome to the founding issue of the Hate Matters Quarterly. The Quarterly is the journal of record for our work. It will, in time, become the journal of record for the broader movement for which our work is foundational. We are aware this is, at present, an aspiration. We hold the aspiration with confidence.
This issue, as is fitting for a founding issue, contains contributions from all four trustees of Hate Matters. We considered, briefly, soliciting external contributions. On reflection, we concluded that the trustees were the appropriate voices for the founding issue. We will be soliciting external contributions for future issues. We have not yet identified the external contributors.
The Quarterly's title was settled at the trustees' meeting of February 2023. At the trustees' meeting of March 2023, it was proposed that the publication frequency be increased to monthly, on the grounds that there was, in the trustees' view, more material than could be accommodated in a quarterly format. The proposal was adopted. The implications for the title were noted. A vote on a possible change of title was added to the agenda for a future meeting. The vote remains on the agenda.
I commend this issue to you. I commend the work it represents. I commend the movement it serves.
— Rosalind
By Duncan Chell, Senior Fellow
I have been asked to write the introduction. I have agreed. The introduction is, in many ways, the most important part of any publication. It is the part most readers read. It is, accordingly, the part the editor selects most carefully. I am grateful for the selection.
I would like, in this founding introduction, to address a question that has been put to me on numerous occasions. The question is: what qualifies you to do this work?
I have considered this question. I have considered it carefully. I have, on occasion, considered it in writing. My conclusion, repeatedly arrived at, is as follows: I am qualified to do this work because I have been doing it.
I hold a doctorate in drainage easements. I have written extensively on matters of hate. I have not, to date, held a formal qualification in any field directly relevant to my work on hate. I do not consider this material. I consider it, on balance, an asset. The fields commonly invoked in this debate — biology, sociology, ethics, law — produce specialists. Specialists, in my experience, tend to know less about what is obvious. I know what is obvious. This, I believe, is what qualifies me.
I look forward to elaborating on this in future issues.
— Duncan
By Margaret Feather-Grange, Chair, School Guidance Working Group
The Working Group I chair has, to date, met three times. On each occasion, quorum has not been achieved. Quorum requires three trustees in attendance. Attendance, on each occasion, has been one trustee: myself.
I would like to record, in this founding issue, that I do not consider this a failure. I consider it a feature of the structure within which the Working Group operates. The Working Group has work to do. I am present to do the work. The work proceeds.
I look forward to chairing further sessions. I will, in each, record the absence of quorum. I will, in each, proceed.
— Margaret
By Antony Pell, Trustee
I write to express my support for this founding issue and for the work of the charity. I am a trustee of Hate Matters. I attend trustees' meetings when I am able. I am, by background, a retired chartered surveyor. I have known Duncan since approximately 2014. I commend the issue to readers.
— Antony
Footnote 1: Subscriptions to the Quarterly are available by writing to hatematters@proton.me. The print version is, at present, distributed informally. Costs are absorbed by the charity. Donations toward the print run are welcome (see "Fund hate").
Footnote 2: The "monthly" frequency referred to in the masthead has, to date, been observed approximately every other month. We are working toward true monthly publication. We have been working toward it since 2023.