Hating the Haters

"Every time I go out jogging, and doing aerobics or playing ultimate disc, some guy comes up and threatens me. He's loco!"

- Bernie Crane



Hating the Haters is the first mission in Grand Theft Auto IV given to protagonist Niko Bellic by Bernie Crane from his apartment on Ivy Drive South in Middle Park West, Algonquin, Liberty City.

Mission
Niko arrives at Bernie's apartment after receiving an urgent call from him. Bernie tells Niko that there is a homophobic man who keeps threatening Bernie. Bernie fears going outside now and feels like he's a prisoner in his own home. As a result, Niko decides to help Bernie by confronting with this man by luring him out as Bernie does his regular jogging in Middle Park, and drives him to the park.

After Bernie does some stretching, he jogs along a path while Niko is required to keep a distance behind to ensure the homophobe appears. As Bernie jogs under a bridge, the homophobe is found to be hiding behind the bridge and hits Bernie in the crotch with a baseball bat. Niko comes along and wants the man to pick on him instead, which translates to the player being required to kill the homophobe.

If the player is unable to kill the target swiftly, the man will acquire a parked Faggio and flee, forcing the player to steal another parked Faggio and give chase in a pursuit that predominantly takes place within the borders of Middle Park. Once Niko kills the man, Bernie is so happy that he doesn't have to worry anymore and wants Niko to drive him to Perseus in The Exchange.

Mission Objectives
In order to complete the mission the player must:
 * Take Bernie to Middle Park.
 * Follow Bernie as he jogs, but keep your distance.
 * Take down the hater.
 * Pick up Bernie.
 * Take Bernie to Perseus in The Exchange.

Reward

 * $6,000
 * The mission Union Drive is unlocked.

Deaths

 * The Hater - Killed by Niko for harassing Bernie.

Trivia

 * There is a rare unlocked Comet parked outside Bernie's apartment at the start of this mission. The player may park this Comet at a safehouse for safekeeping, and continue the mission in another car. In some cases the Comet is available in a very unusual dark grey color which appears red in certain angles, more specifically in the bumpers and skirts.
 * The homophobe and his attacks on gay joggers is mentioned in the Liberty City Tree and Weazel News websites at some point in the game.
 * Bernie is immune to any damage (excluding player inflicted damage, such as shooting him) until the player gets to Middle Park and trigger the cutscene. He will also defend Niko if he's being attacked.
 * Shooting Bernie in the legs does not impede on his jogging ability, instead, he will continue to perpetuate the jogging animation.
 * If the player lags behind Bernie, he will wait for Niko to catch up to him via busying himself with stretches.
 * If the player is fast enough, it is possible to kill the homophobe while he's riding away on the Middle Park Bridge, which skips the Faggio chase.
 * Presumably the presence of the Faggio scooter is an innuendo on Bernie's homosexuality and the homophobe that appears in the mission.
 * If the player goes to Bernie's apartment between 10pm and 4am, they will be told that the mission is not available at the moment.
 * One of the Faggios that the player stole belongs to the two pedestrians that are chatting near it. One of them may grab onto the motorcycle while it is moving. There are also two Faggios across the street, again with two pedestrians chatting near it. One of these pedestrians can sometimes share a player model with Carmen Ortiz.
 * If the player tries to drive a car inside Middle Park to follow Bernie jogging, the following message will be displayed: "Exit the vehicle. Driving inside the park draws too much attention." If the player continues to drive inside Middle Park, eventually the mission will fail. However, motorcycles are exceptions.
 * If the player reaches the park with Bernie driving a bus, the following cutscene will show the bus falling on Niko's head and smashing him. It's unknown if Niko can die that way.
 * The part of this mission where Niko chases after The Hater while both are riding a Faggio is somewhat similar to the mission Stop the Press in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories where Ned Burner tries to escape using a Faggio and Toni Cipriani has the option of chasing after him on another Faggio. The chase paths are also similar, as they both go through a park.
 * If the hater is knocked off his Faggio, and Niko pursues on foot prior to picking up Bernie, upon passing Bernie's location, Bernie will remark on his injuries and tell Niko to go on alone.
 * After the chase in Middle Park, the hater will simply drive randomly and slowly throughout Northwood, North Holland and East Holland.

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