[LMB] OT: Tolerating bigotry.

[Azalais Aranxta]

On Fri, 4 May 2007, Rachel Ganz wrote:

> Don't know if this is list-baiting, in which case put out a
> pizza call right now, but I'm really curious at what point a
> different viewpoint is different, and at what point it is
> wrong?

When the person insists on acting upon it in a way that
diminishes other people, and yes, speaking opinions which amount
to "persons of X characteristic aren't full human beings" does
count as acting upon it.  I believe in freedom of speech
including the freedom to say abominable things.  I also believe
in freedom of association, which in my case extends to shunning
people who insist on saying abominable things, with very few
exceptions, all of whom are elderly, ill and related to me, and
even then, I don't allow it to go unchallenged.

> But one person may think that sexual orientation is a matter of
> taste and the other thinks it's a matter of morals BUT, the one
> who thinks it's a matter of taste may think that it is a matter
> of morals that it's a matter of taste. (Sorry, that's got a bit
> convoluted.) So if you think it's wrong to be narrow-minded,
> then can you accept that someone who is narrow-minded is simply
> different? Or do you think that you are right?

Not all kinds of narrow-mindedness are alike.  The argument above
presumes that "I don't like Chinese food" and "I don't like gay
people" are morally equivalent statements, when in fact the
person who holds the first opinion and acts on it harms no-one
but themselves, and the person who holds the second opinion and
acts on it, especially in the voting box, harms lots of other
people.

It absolutely flummoxes and flabbergasts me that there are people
in the world who think I should accept their homophobia as "just
a different opinion", and I certainly never will, no more so than
I would accept their racism, were they racist, as "just a
different opinion".  Of course homophobia and racism are
"opinions"--they certainly aren't provable facts.  But "opinion"
is not a magic word that makes abominable statements acceptable.

"A man and a man should not be allowed to get married" is no
different from "a black person and a white person should not be
allowed to get married" and I would treat the person who said the
first exactly the same as I would treat the person who said the
second.

Religious belief is not an excuse.  I don't expect people who
don't share my religious beliefs to share my religious practises.
Those who do expect that of others have brought us the Crusades,
the Inquisition and al-Qaeda.  Theocracy is an ugly thing.

If that's intolerant then I guess I'm not only intolerant but
proud to be.  This is not to say that I can't love people who
believe abominable things, but that privilege basically extends
to the members of my family who believe abominable things, not
new acquaintances.  IMNSHO the issue isn't tolerance and never
was.  The issue is human rights.  Do I respect the right of other
people to have different religious views?  Absolutely.  But their
right to have different religious views ends when it interferes
with the right of other people to live their lives, just as my
right to swing my fist stops at your nose.

Narrow-mindedness about personal tastes is fine with me.  It
doesn't bother me a whit if people refuse to eat sushi or won't
read my favourite authors, because that's their loss.

Narrow-mindedness about other humans, particularly when it
extends to attempting to pass laws which restrict whether or
not they are able to have happy, fulfilling lives, because of
factors they cannot control that are not harmful to others
(provably harmful, not in some nebulous spiritual way that
requires I buy into your religious POV for your argument to make
sense) deserves, and by me will always be given, an uglier name
than "narrow-mindedness".

Those who express such "opinions" in my presence will be
challenged, period, until they either learn better or appear to
have learnt better.  If this makes bigoted people feel unsafe and
judged talking to me, I'm perfectly OK with that.

~malfoy :)

****************************************************************
Azalais Aranxta (~malfoy)
ataniell93 on LiveJournal and Vox
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/malfoymadness

"I know the true world, and you know I do. But we needn't let it
think we all bow down." --Christopher Morley