Do hurricanes hate or love Florida?

[Laurence Horn]

At 3:59 PM -0400 9/16/04, Thomas Paikeday wrote:
>This, of course, is a question of usage rather than idiom. There's
>no question about what is meant here. The reference is to Charlie,
>Frances, and Ivan visiting the state in quick succession. My
>question is, figuratively speaking, is it really hate that propels
>hurricanes wherever they visit? Does the sentence "Why hurricanes
>hate Florida" (TIME, Sept. 20) make sense?
>
>If you hate a person or thing, you tend to hurt them. But hurricanes
>are hurtful by nature. A hurricane that doesn't cause havoc is no
>hurricane, like a barking animal that doesn't bark. So I think it
>makes more sense to say hurricanes love Florida. I wonder what
>rhetoricians think about this, i.e., if they care to comment on a
>question that may be more appropriate in a Freshman Composition
>class.
>
Same as mosquitos--I remember spending a lot of time arguing about
that back in the day.

larry