The opposite of love is not hate — it's apathy. It's not giving a damn. If somebody hates me, they must "feel" something , or they couldn't possibly hate. Therefore, there's some way in which I can get to them.

Leo Buscaglia (1924–1998), a professor and popular lecturer often dubbed “Dr. Love,” built his public work around humanistic psychology, emotional literacy, and the practice of compassion. This remark reflects a recurring theme in his talks and writings from the 1970s–1990s: that emotional engagement—even when negative—signals a remaining relational connection, while indifference signals withdrawal and dehumanization. The phrasing suggests an oral, lecture-style origin (addressing an audience directly, using emphatic asides like “feel” and “giving a damn”), consistent with how Buscaglia’s ideas circulated widely through speeches, classroom anecdotes, and later quotation anthologies.

The quote reframes hatred as a form of involvement: hate still acknowledges the other person’s significance, whereas apathy denies it. Buscaglia’s point is pragmatic as well as ethical. If someone hates you, they are emotionally invested, which means communication, influence, or reconciliation may still be possible—“there’s some way in which I can get to them.” Apathy, by contrast, is emotional absence: no curiosity, no concern, no willingness to respond. The line thus argues that the real enemy of love is not conflict but disengagement, and it encourages persistence in reaching others by treating even hostility as evidence of a remaining human bond.