When we preach tolerance to the mistreated

 



A long remark I made on tolerance and its limits, from December, 2020.

Discussion on Freelance Christianity: Is Tolerance a Luxury or a Virtue?


"May I say that "teaching tolerance" has gone too far in U.S. "liberal" and "left-wing" circles? Lessons in tolerance are for those who can afford to be forbearing. If a man "tolerates" a female colleague or partner of equal or similar talent or other merit, it's because he can afford to give some ground to her. If a white woman carefully thinks through her presumptions and learns to work amicably with one or two black men, it's because the free passes and protections she enjoys as a "Karen" give her the space she needs to make those small concessions. (Why are we so afraid of these guys, anyway?!) And even among downtrodden non-whites, cis-het men can acknowledge that the civil-dignity claims of the women and GLBT's in their neighborhoods are based almost entirely on the Gospel, the Bill of Rights, and the sermons of Dr. MLK.

"But since when are Jews supposed to sit and listen to anti-Semitic abuse, or blacks to white racist tirades? The [chief] problem with the gratuitous insults white Christians routinely throw at non-whites, non-Christians, and the marginalized in general is not that those mean gestures hurt the targets' feelings, because those feelings are solely in the heads of the individuals having them. [And, unfortunately, people, including dear little moi, will get their feelings hurt over hard but necessary truths, innocent remarks, and truth claims that don't mesh with their personal agendas and worldviews.] The problem with the insults is that they are declarations of civic and economic war on the recipients; the speaker is declaring that they intend to undercut the vital interests of the people they hate. 

"And this is an attitude worth stamping out, which is why swastika displays are prohibited in modern Germany."


How far does anyone else think tolerance can go before our brains fall out of our heads and our hearts go cold?

Posted by Jennifer A. Nolan


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