Tolerance
November 19th, 2008 |In the spirit of diversity and tolerance, should all view points be weighted and respected equally?
Or, are there some points of view that should not be tolerated in the public forum? Should we not just be intolerant of some beliefs, but actively speak out against these beliefs? Where do you draw the line between respecting someone’s opinion and calling them out as a crackpot?
“Women who have abortions are murderers.”
“Gay people should not have equal rights.”
“My religious beliefs are superior to yours.”
“The Earth is only 10,000 years old.”
“Evolution is a myth.”
How long does it take for a society to become so tolerate of abhorrent and idiotic view points before people start accepting the idea of flying planes into buildings?
7 Responses to “Tolerance”
Just tell em to “f..off” and don’t go to any more family reunions.
A distinction should be made between statements of opinion and statements about facts.
A. “Evolution is a myth and dinosaurs didn’t exist” is a statement about facts and doesn’t need to be tolerated.
B. “Cadel Evans will never win the Tour. Oh, and there is no god” is a statement of opinion and can be tolerated as long as two more conditions are met.
1. There is the possibility of discussion
2. No dire harm comes from this statement. Sure Cadel’s feelings might be harmed but that isn’t dire. A statement of opinion such as “Islam is a threat to democracy and should be removed from this earth by any means necessary” does create events of dire harm.
Your first three fall under B although condition 1 is frequently ignored by both proponents and opponents of those views. The last two are As and you can point and laugh all you want.
I think a lot of people “cling” to whatever beliefs they want to, but there is such a thing as “free speech”. Typically, all you can really do-and probably the “sensible” thing to do is to let them have their say and perhaps call them a “crackpot” in your own mind. Trying to “silence” them only makes them more firmly planted in their positions in most cases, doesn’t it?
fire at will… but seriously, is the food good enough to risk alienating the cook and never getting invited back, this is the things to consider, eyes on the prize
What happened to all the comments below?
Question everything, do we still thing the earth is flat? Can man travel to outer space?
If someone is going to provide an opinion, they better be receptive of mine.
@painman: Was Neil Armstrong the first man to walk on the surface of the sun?