Messala death scene, Ben Hur (1959)

There was something on the web that I just saw that reminded me of this. I won't link to it. It made me think that there really are people that want to make you hate them. I keep seeing that this affinity for hatred, and wonder what is driving it.

It's a trap. That seems to be the message of that entire film. Messala wanted Ben Hur to hate him. Here's the scene in the flick. The author of the book upon which the movie was based, was a Civil War vet.