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Mon 5 Apr, 2004 06:44 am
Can the tolerant peoples of the world afford to allow the intolerant to rule the world.
I don't know, but how can we afford to be intolerant of intolerance?
Everyone is intolerant of others to some degree. Even the most tolerant people. Like Terry says if you are intolerant of intolerance then you are being intolerant of others. Myself I am intolerant of lazy people.
Re: tolerance or intolerance
Ibredd wrote:Can the tolerant peoples of the world afford to allow the intolerant to rule the world.
They wouldn't be tolerant if they didn't.
on a rare serious note; i think we are perverting the meaning of 'tolerance' here.
Tolerance refers to accepting differences of anothers biology, history, education, enthusiasms, etc.
It is not desirable to 'tolerate' evil, or abuse, or disrespect for the lives of 'others'. When tolerance turns to acceptance of intentional harm, it is time to make our disagreements known, vigorously!
While i may be tolerant of anothers religion, and their right to practice its creed without interference, i will not tolerate harm those beliefs inflict on its practitioners.
But it is important to know exactly where the 'line' is drawn.
BoGoWo wrote:But it is important to know exactly where the 'line' is drawn.
The problem is that people tend to draw the line wherever it suits their personal interests and then try to use the term as a whip to beat on others that do the same thing.
1.Tolerance immediately raises the issue of potential conflict - intolerance is the realisation of such conflict.
2.The "drawing of the line" is a dynamic process which is a function of perceived threat according to historical circumstances.
3. It may be that negative prejudice and primative tribalism are innate evolutionary traits in human consciousness. When the group is threatened the moraity of tolerance becomes irrelevent.
Re: Tolerance/Intolerance
Select dictionary.com definitions:
tolerance:
Quote:The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.
intolerance:
Quote:The quality of being intolerant; refusal to allow to others the enjoyment of their opinions, chosen modes of worship, and the like; want of patience and forbearance; illiberality; bigotry; as, intolerance shown toward a religious sect."
Quick answer to Ibredd: No. Tolerant people cannot allow intolerance to reign supreme.
Tolerance respects the peoples' right to live however they choose - within their own space. Any time people try to get inside that personal space and make decisions for others there's a problem. Tolerance needs to be defended.
Look at it this way. Killing someone is illegal if you're the aggresor - because you are going into someone's space and enforcing your will upon them. Killing someone in self-defense is legal, because they've tried to enforce their will to end your life.
I think you can look at the line between tolerance and intolerance in a similar manner. It's only okay to be intolerant of someone who's being intolerant toward you. Once you've stymied their intolerance you are obligated to resume tolerance yourself.
Thoughts??
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