"I hate you"

[koganbot]

"I hate you"

Person A says to Person B, "I hate you." Is it more likely that Person A is:

(1) expressing affection?

or

(2) expressing hostility?

Let's posit that A and B are each over twenty years old, and that they're speaking English. This is all we know. "More likely" means "probability of at least 50.1%."

Although "expressing a mixture of affection and hostility" is a reasonable third option, I'm not allowing it. Just pick (1) or (2).

See comments.

Comments

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Hate actually kind of implies an emotional vulnerability, so if you admit to someone you truly hate that you hate them, all they have to say is "I don't care what you feel about me and I feel nothing about you," and you have no comeback -- you've lost the fight, because you've lost your cool.