Tolerance
tolerance [tol-er-uhns] Part of Speech: noun Definition: open-mindedness
Synonyms: altruism, benevolence, broad-mindedness, charity, clemency, compassion, concession, endurance, forbearance, freedom, good will, grace, humanity, indulgence, kindness, lenience, leniency, lenity, liberalism, liberality, liberalness, license, magnanimity, mercifulness, mercy, patience, permission, permissiveness, sensitivity, sufferance, sympathy, toleration, understanding
Antonyms: bias, disapproval, intolerance, narrow-mindedness, prejudice
Having been part of some diversity discussions on DU, it seems that the one-step forward, five-steps sideways aspect to some threads, is not merely different points of view or background information; it's a matter of the ability to tolerate - for the sake of discussion - the possibility that you don't know something.
Tolerance is not merely tolerating a point of view you don't identify with. It's tolerating the fact that you can't possibly know everything and sometimes it's okay - recommended even - to step back and take a breath.
Especially when it come to issues of race/gender/(lack of)faith and other topics too hot for the dining room, sometimes STFU is not a bad tactic. LISTEN. Face the fact that - unless it's your story, you can't know what that person has been through. You have your opinions. You may not have The Truth.
It's okay to say I don't know. It's okay to try to imagine how the word "boy" or "bitch" or "god" affects someone else. It may be different for you. And when certain group experiences are encoded to the point of cultural resonance for those words; when you KNOW at least intellectually, that they may offend others, EVEN IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND OR RELATE TO HOW AND WHY, it's okay to just be. Let them be. Befriend, don't offend. Organize, don't antagonize.
http://www.tolerance.org/
http://www.museumoftolerance.com/site/c.tmL6KfNVLtH/b.4865925/k.83A7/Whats_Happening_at_the_MOT.htm
http://www.bpf.org/
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