Intolerance

[MissHoneychurch]

Why is there intolerance in this world? What is so hard about the saying "Live and let live"? On the one hand people want others to be tolerant about their life(style) but are incapable to give the same tolerance back. It just boggles my mind.
What are they afraid of??

I know there are no real answers to that.

[slackmaster]

1. Because some people are poopy-head busybodies who can't mind their own business

So they think they have to mind everyone else's business.

[Swamp Rat]

2. Fear of everything, in general; fear of being human and having to survive somehow; fear of pain

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.




Wie geht's MissHoneychurch? :hi::loveya:

[MissHoneychurch]

6. For example Fear of homosexuality

That would mean they are not confident in their sexuality. Why else would they scream murder???

Btw, I love the "gay agenda" .... I hope they will succeed someday :evilgrin:



Doing fine. How are you doing? :hi: :hug:

[Skittles]

3. people blaming the wrong people for their problems

[Lyric]

4. When things get bad, scared people tend to blame the easiest target.

For example: how often have Jews been blamed for things? Minorities are easy targets. When people searching for the cause of a problem, they often look for those who are "different" and blame them because that's easier and more emotionally satisfying than more-complex thinking. People don't want to consider that their cherished, familiar routines might be to blame--or that there might not BE anyone to place the blame on. During the Black Plague, Jews were often blamed for what was going on. People didn't know that diseases are caused by germs; they thought that diseases were punishments from God. They killed Jews, women, gamblers, anyone who was "odd" or suspected of witchcraft/heresy/sin, because they were terrified and looking for a way to feel like they had some control over their lives again.

Science and rational thinking are the only "cures" for this kind of behavior, but we're fighting an uphill battle. Science is just never going to feel as good as religion.

[MissHoneychurch]

5. Thank you Lyric

that is a pretty good explanation - and a scary one. To me it means people never learn from history. And for me history is there to learn from. Why make mistakes more than once? Yes, it is an uphill battle and I worry about the future.


They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.

(Martin Niemöller)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came...

[Lyric]

8. It's true. We really DON'T learn from history.

I think that it all really comes down to simple human ego. A VERY simplified version of the process goes like this:

1. People are doing their thing, living their lives.
2. Something bad happens. People get scared.
3. Their first instinctive reaction is to look for someone to blame.
4. They decide that X minority group is to blame. They do terrible things to X minority group.
5. Someone points out rational reasons why blaming X minority group is wrong, and why the people hurting X minority group are doing bad things.
6. Ego kicks in; people simply will NOT believe that their actions are unmerited, because that would mean admitting that THEY might be wrong, or even evil.
7. Therefore, to solve the cognitive dissonance and to keep themselves from feeling guilt and remorse, they become even MORE determined to "prove" that X minority group "deserves what they get". The original "bad thing" that instigated the whole mess is largely forgotten.
8. They think of new things that X minority group is to blame for. Eventually the situation degrades to the point where X minority group is being blamed for literally EVERY bad thing.
9. Violence against X minority group escalates to a point where the social order itself is threatened; common morality is twisted and contradicted in order to find more and more justifications for hurting X minority group. People start to feel frightened at the level of hate and violence, and the "mob" starts to slowly back away from it until the only people left are those who are either truly evil or incredibly ignorant.
10. A new generation grows to maturity and denounces the oppression of X minority group. Their voices start to outnumber the few remaining anti-X-minority-group holdouts, and persecution of X minority group slowly becomes a serious social taboo.
11. People settle down. Everyone goes back to doing their thing, living their lives. A new bad thing happens, and a new minority group is blamed for it--with X minority group often participating in the new persecution. The whole cycle starts again.

Ad infinitum.

[chervilant]

7. Actually,

more people are speaking out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax96cghOnY4