Tolerance

This issue seems to be popping up a lot in my life as of late, and I want to set the record clear. I'm not a big fan of hate. Hate is defined by Wikipedia as "an emotion of intense revulsion, distaste, enmity, or antipathy for a person, thing, or phenomenon; a desire to avoid, restrict, remove, or destroy its object." Wanting to destroy something is pretty intense. I'm most certainly not a fan of bigots, "people who hates opinions, lifestyles, or identities differing from their own."

If you get to know me and it turns out that you're just not a fan and don't like me, that's fine. I'm OK with that. I'm not everyone's cup of tea. What I am not OK with is someone prejudging me and disliking me because of my skin color (though I am white so this is not something I have to worry about often), my sex (though I am male), my height (though I am tall), my intelligence or anything else. I understand that these attributes will often give me an unfair leg up in life. And I will forever question if I got something because of the initial impression I made that so happened to include all of the above or did I get it because I earned it. It does bother me at work that when I answer the phone, it is automatically assumed that I am an attorney because I am male. Yes, things are unfair and people need to stop being so damn judgmental.

A post was made to MetaFilter, Why is reverse racism ok? that seems to have stirred up some discussion. I don't want to address the discussion that ensued, but rather the question posed. I think the question should have omitted the word reverse. Why? Because I racism is not defined as whites hating blacks. Rather, it is defined as "a hatred or intolerance of another race or other races." The question should have been "Why is racism ok?" and the answer is it's not. I have never been a fan of exclusionary groups as I strongly believe they serve to polarize society.

I also believe that you can be pro-something without being anti-something else. You can be pro-black, that is you can believe blacks are equal, have rights, should be treated like everyone else, etc without being anti-white. The second you become anti-anything, you're just another hate group. You can be pro-female without being anti-male. You can be pro-religion without being anti-science.

Don't try and put someone else or someone else's ideas down. Make yours better. There is far too much hate in this small world. We've all got to learn to live together. Segregation, exclusionary meetings, anti-something people need to understand tolerance:

Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human. Tolerance is harmony in difference.

We view tolerance as a way of thinking and feeling — but most importantly, of acting — that gives us peace in our individuality, respect for those unlike us, the wisdom to discern humane values and the courage to act upon them.

John Lennon had it right all along when he said:

You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
All right, all right

You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well, you know
We're doing what we can
But when you want money
for people with minds that hate
All I can tell is brother you have to wait
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
All right, all right

Yes, the world needs to be made better, but making it better by knocking others down is not the way to do it. We don't need more people with "minds that hate" but instead, we need more tolerance.

Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Feel free to disagree, that's your right as a free-thinking individual.