Tolerance

This is probably the word of the century... tolerance... tolerate... endure...

So what's the real meaning of this word anyhow? I'd like to compare this to forcing yourself to eat something you don't like. Like spinach or fish (although I like both of them, but I'm tolerant...). Let's assume that I'm with a bunch of vegetarians and go for diner in a steak restaurant. We all sit down at a table and have a look at the menu. Hmmm... I'll have that T-Bone steak with extra-ribs. They look at each other and begin to make me a lesson about how the poor animals are slaughtered and blablabla... to finaly end up asking me to be a bit more tolerant towards them. Wow! That's discrimination! What about my feelings and my needs, huh? What about being tolerant towards me? Or doesn't tolerance work this way? Of course not!

Tolerance is a bit like racism. In our society, in our times, it just happens to be a one-way road. Call a colored person an asshole and he'll tell you that you're a racist. But if he calls you an asshole, you just aren't allowed to call him a racist, because you'd just feel like an idiot calling him so (although our origins, our genes come from the very same homo sapiens... or erectus... or africanus... or any other ape). Just as a side-note, I think that the people who call other people racists aren't doing themselves a favor, because doing so, they constantly put themselves in the role of the victim. But enough of that...

Fact is, tolerance is a weapon of choice, the final argument for people who's bad habits they force us to endure, even though our entire body tells us either to run, scream, vomit or slap a person in the face. It's a little word capable of letting the other person feel very bad (and that's truly not the main idea behind the word tolerance, isn't it). Tolerance is accepting (and enduring) what or who is different from ourselves. But isn't it a bit unnatural? It is... it truly is. Intolerance is an instinct meant to protect ourselves from harm. It's a manifestation of fear. It's like a minor phobia (no joke, ask a psychologist). Let's have another example: do I tolerate murder? Of course not! Because my sense of moral, my logic and my education tell me that it's bad. So you could even think of intolerance as a normal social behavior. It doesn't need to go into extremes, like getting violent. But no other person should condemn you just because you don't share the same tastes, feelings, point of views as he does, because... well... that's intolerant! LOL

So in the end, those who call other people intolerant are mostly intolerant themselves and therefor haven't the slightest idea of what the deeper meaning of this word actually is. Instead, be open minded and try to discuss things to understand why the other person doesn't see things as you do... also accept the fact that other people don't necessarly share your own convictions, as stupid as they might be.

I like to put the word "intolerance" in the same sentence as "unpopular" (See? I did!). Doing or saying something that others consider as a threat to their own beliefs or to the popular opinion, will very gladly grant you the title of being an "intolerant person" (or worse, but let's stick to intolerant), an outsider, someone who is to be rejected... and that is... intolerant.

See how difficult being tolerant truly is? So stop using this word... Really.

PS: I was just thinking about that racism thing I said. You know, I don't think being an asshole is dependent of the color of your skin. It doesn't even make halt for animals you know... I've got a cat, a black & white cat, called Starsky (don't ask... please). Most of the time, Starsky is just ok, strifes around the garden and plays around with the other animals (especialy birds, he's also a bit sadistic, like all cats are). But once in a while, he comes over to me, starts to beg for attention (which he gets) and suddenly, he scratches and bites me. He behaves just like an asshole (yep! no doubts about that). Maybe behaving bad is also just another natural thing... do you trust people who seem "happy happy happy" all the time and never get mad? I don't... really... these people are creepy to me.