Why does it seem conservatives are so confused about what Tolerant and Inclusive means? Are they really just that… stupid? oblivious? dense? shallow? Or is there something else afoot?
Tolerance [ tol-er-uhns ]: a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, beliefs, practices, racial or ethnic origins, etc., differ from one’s own; freedom from bigotry.
Now, conservatives seem to think tolerance means something akin to being a doormat and letting everyone and everything walk all over you, take advantage of you and abuse you. Which is absolute trumpery. Tolerance, at least for me, means freedom from bigotry – it doesn’t mean accepting bigotry, hatefulness or destructiveness. You do you – right up to the point you start hurting, belittling, or damaging others, then, all bets off, bud.
Inclusive [ in-kloo-siv ]: aiming to include and integrate all people and groups in activities, organizations, political processes, etc., especially those who are disadvantaged, have suffered discrimination, or are living with disabilities.
Again, conservatives seem to think being inclusive means allowing anything and everything to be part of whatever group or event is going on. Which is pure santorum. Inclusive, by definition, can not be tolerant of those who are anti-inclusive (exclusive). Including someone who is actively working against the goals or best interest of the group, activity or purpose, is never going to work.
Yes, liberals are tolerant and inclusive – but don’t expect us to tolerate your hatefulness or destructiveness. We won’t include someone who is only out to destroy. We’re not going to tolerate nor include lies, misdirection, harmful beliefs or actions. Don’t expect it. It doesn’t mean we are not tolerant, it means you are a fucking asshole.
This seeming confusion as to what those words mean add into my building theory that conservatives are just people who have no depth of comprehension. By that, I mean that they don’t see middle ground – its one way or the other, with nothing in between. It is black, or it is white – no room for gray, eggshell, obsidian, etc. They don’t seem to be able to grasp nuance or more complicated matters. In fact, they seem to oversimplify everything.
This behavior becomes even more strange when you take into consideration the fact that they often hold very contradictory beliefs – even in the same sentence. Such as, “I am very loving and inclusive. I just think we need to kill all south american refugees when they get close to the border.” “All life is precious. But we do need to execute gay people.” – and other such contradictory thoughts. I’ve seen it on many conservative facebook feeds – talking in one post about being all loving, caring, strong community, etc., and then the next post about mass killing of people they don’t agree with. One post about law and order and the next post talking about killing judges, police officers and FBI agents. One post about how patriotic they are, the next about how the 2020 election should be overturned and Trump appointed president for life, just like he wanted. “I’m all for religious freedom. However, non-christians should be burned at the stake.”
This is a real comment :
“I think probably 80% of us are left or right leaning centrists. We can control the narrative if we chose to do so. Meanwhile, we argue with one another while the country sinks further. The southern border is now a threat to the health and security of every single American. Inflation is choking the very life out of us, and the president will go on tv tonight and proceed to ramble on and alienate half the country while doing his best to destroy us as a nation.”
Seriously just put out “I am a centrist” followed by a slew of extreme right wing talking points and saying the president is trying to destroy the nation – while thinking the previous trumpster fire improved things and tried to bring people together. (ROFLOL!)
Then there is drivel such as this article – where a conservative says she doesn’t use labels, and then calls someone Liberal, ideas as progressive and called a bunch of things devious behaviors – I am sure she meant deviant behaviors.
Anyway – as always, I am for Freedom, Liberty and Justice for All. You say, believe and do whatever makes you happy – right up to the point any of those things start hurting other people. Your rights end where someone else’s rights begin. … and lying, misdirection, hatefulness and destructiveness are all harmful.