I saw this oft-used word in a another thread and it got me thinking about the way that we use it, and what it really means.

At its heart, it means to simply put up with, or "tolerate" something. In America, we usually use it in connection with other races, people with different sexual preferences, etc. I know that it has a different connonation when used in this way, but doesn't it seem as though the use of this word is inherently harmful and bad for our society? Rather than tolerating those who are different, shouldn't we seek understanding, or acceptance? I may just be blowing this all out of proportion, but the more I thought about it, the more wrong it seemed. Does anyone else see a problem with this?

Baby steps, my friend.

We're only a generation or two past lynching those who are different from us.

I think your analysis of 'tolerance' is pretty good. I tolerate a screaming baby on an airplane. I do not tolerate some wigger yelling on his fucking chirping cell phone at a movie theater.

I think tolerance is the wrong word too, because it means that what ever "it" is is bad but we put up with it anyway. I guess because we view ourselves as superior.

Should we tolerate kids wearing gang colors in schools? Should we tolerate cars driving up and down the street with 150db muffler whistles on them? Should we accept these thigns simply because someone chose them? Surely not all choices are equal, even if all people are.

I think there is a basic social contract that should be followed:



Basically; if we cause no harm to others and others are causing no harm to us.... it's the best we can hope for. We should accept (or tolerate if you like) all behavior that falls under that.

i've thought about this too, the implication of the word is like telling people that they could still hate others for being different, as long as they keep it with themselves and not make it known. Honestly, i think this type of mindset could bring some horrible consequences.

But that's what I'm saying; is this the best that we can do? Shouldn't our goal be to go beyond the harm principle, and to actually accept and understand people different than us?

And PD, isn't now a good time to re-evaluate what we think of ourselves as a society? Isn't it time for another step in the right direction?

You can't make people like each other, you can only make them tolerate each other. That is about all you can hope for in a large society.

Tolerance is a double edged sword...

I'll use the jews...

The Nazis did not tolerate the fact that germany had a Jewish population, therefore decided to try and squeeze them into squalor ghettos and eventually concentration and death camps,... the jews faltered because they tolerated this treatment,

It basically means that all problems in the world are caused by tolerance in one for or another,

there is Acceptable or good tolerance such as the kind that SHOULD be displayed between different races and groups and such,

and then there is the unacceptable or bad tolerance, that SHOULD NOT be shown, the kind of tolerance that is allows for things such as "revisionist history" and allow a people to be misled or screwed,...

that's why we should always look at things from another perspective before making decisions on things...

That was a pretty deep thought..

Sad but true.

Accpetance and understanding, in the context I think Orpheus is using them, would require a level of moral relativism that just doesn't exist. At least in America. Yet.



On rare occasion, you make sense.

You guys are probably right. It's something we'll have to work torwards as a nation, I guess.

Another question: how "tolerant" has our society really become? Would you say that most lifestyles or ways of thinking are tolerated by the average American?

It is ALWAYS time for that.

What other word could be used that doesn't imply we have to like eachother?

I've understood it to mean peacefully coexist.

I think "acceptance" is definitely preferable to "tolerance," but really my point is that we shouldn't even need a word, that we should just be cool with everyone (within reason, of course).

You're absolutely right that everyone should accept eachother. Realistically though, I don't see that happening -- ever. I don't think it's humanly possible for people not to recognize differences in eachother. Some people do, and will always have a problem with that (really just an issue of ignorance, imo).

A bit of a historical perspective, I believe the meaning of the word itself has changed significantly even since the middle of this century. Liberal scholars from the period of Hobbes, Locke, or Rousseau would define "tolerance" as simply not persecuting someone for their beliefs or behavior. Contemporary Liberals have taken this one step farther and stated that tolerance should mean tacit approval or complete acceptance of beliefs or behavior.

In America we take a very selfish of tolerance, we only tolerate those who tolerate us. The moment someone disagrees with our opinion we dont attempt to understand their viewpoint, we say they are stupid and if they cant accept their own stupidity they are "intolerant". This, my friends, IS stupidity. Its sad but true, look how often conservatives label liberals as pussies or liberals call conservatives ignorant.

I promise I would rule as a benevolent dictator

Yeah but conservatives are ignorant...

Thanks for proving my point.

I label conservatives as greedy dicks.

Uhmm, not all conservatives are ignorant,...
I Tend to think I sway more conservative than liberal on alot of issues,
But I am far from ignorant,...
But I also do not agree with alot of "conservative stances" like Death Penalty, Stem cell research, gay rights, Civil rights...

So I guess you could say, that because I am not entirely conservative, I am not entirely ignorant

I think we should accept others for some things, but certainly not all. We have basic societal norms (no pedophiles for example) that should be adhered to.

I guess what I am saying is that we should accept people for what they cannot change like race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. But I think it's ok to judge people based on their behaviors. I gave this example before, should I accept that some f**ker is yelling into his/her cell phone during a movie just because they thinks it's ok?

Well said. I believe that I can clarify this ignorance issue. One is not automatically ignorant for because they are liberal or conservative, they are ignorant when they adhere to partisan beliefs which they do not actually support or practice.

Now, back to tolerance!