Tumblelog by Soup.io
Newer posts are loading.
You are at the newest post.
Click here to check if anything new just came in.

July 22 2008

andreaspizsa
06:01

mjg59: The fallacy of the completely inclusive community

It's amusing to watch how people struggle with "tolerance". "Advocating tolerance excludes the intolerant" is the usual "standpoint" of the self-proclaimed "tolerant" - which is so absurd and contradictory that it’s hardly possible to ignore and leave uncommented. That would be "ignorant",which is not to be confused with "tolerant", although both are pretty similar ;)

Let’s keep it short: there is no such thing as "tolerance". Most of the time, tolerance is politically correct lingo code for arrogance - where the "tolerant" person feels superior to the "tolerated" person; it’s the "finest" form of vanity. It humiliates the tolerated and at the same time gives the tolerant the aura of "openness", "understanding", "kindness" and "generosity".

Don’t be tolerant; be honest.
Give honest feedback; tell something about yourself and your personal preferences. "I oppose your views and I don’t want you to express them here on my web site. I don’t want to invest the time to discuss this with you, so please stop posting about these issues or go elsewhere". Now, that is probably the exact opposite of "tolerance", it’s an open rebuke. But what’s wrong with that? For most people it’s that it doesn’t leave the p.c. nimbus of "tolerance" on them. It makes them vulnerable, and given a choice, most people choose "generosity" over "vulnerability" ;)

Advocating honesty excludes the "tolerant"
The obvious "solution" for someone who wants to be politically correct but still rebuke someone is to come up with BS like "Advocating tolerance excludes the intolerant" - "Tolerance is intolerance". I’m not saying I’m perfect either. I make up inconsistencies like this myself, and many times I realize that I’m about to being dishonest - to myself and to others. Logical inconsistencies are good indicators that something is wrong on a deeper, personal level and I can probably benefit from rethinking and rephrasing it in an honest manner.