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[Bunjov AT aol.com]

> At what point is is "ok" to not 
> be tolerant?  Is it ever  acceptable?  For me, it is when my survival or 
> my family's  survival or way of life is threatened.
 
I think we have to draw the line at someone being hurt. Whether it's  
psychologically or physically injured, no one should get hurt - or mentally  
maimed. 
We need to live each day on an upbeat note. Anything that defeats this  
feeling should not be tolerated. I try to look into the distance, and see 
what  the 
possibilities for danger are, and head them off, especially when they have  
the potential to threaten the innocent - not just MY innocent, but the 
helpless  
innocence of most life itself. 
 
Life is a positive thing. We need to go each morning into the garden, into  
the workplace, into the world...wearing a banner of 'life is good'. Anything  
that comes into our path to the contrary needs to be stepped on and squashed  
immediately. Evil exists, and slithers about our feet, and we often don't see 
it  until it's too late.
 
The 'life is good' feeling needs to be transmitted on a daily basis to our  
animals, our plants, and our lovers.
They will all prosper.
 
Sandy
Mid-Mojave
 
 
 
 
In a message dated 10/9/2008 8:47:18 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
erthnsky AT bellsouth.net writes:

This  brings up a point..
I would like to know how you guys define  intolerant.  There has been
much ado about this group or that sect  being intolerant, so I would like
to know how exactly you define it.   Is it a personal thought bias?  Is
it actively going out verbally  trashing the intolerant sect, like on an
email list?  Is it physically  going out and doing harm?  What is
intolerance?

Here are my  thoughts:

Tolerate...to tolerate something means you really don't like  it, but you
live with it.  You can tolerate someone, their ideas,  their culture,
etc. To tolerate someone, you have to be in proximity to  that
person.  You have to be 'stuck' with them, no escape.  It is  easy to
tolerate people on an email list, because you are not living with  them
or near them and you can always just unsub or turn the computer off  or
delete the message.  To be tolerant of someone means that you  tolerate
them,,,,you don't react to them, you are as neutral towards them  in your
actions and as your thoughts allow, even though you personally  don't
agree or approve of the other person.

To become tolerant, to  have tolerance, one must have contact with
another.  If you have  always been in a homogenous group in your own
neighborhood, school,  workplace, etc. then you have had no opportunity
to be 'stuck' to learn  tolerance...and it must be learned...one
must learn the process of opening  one's own mind to that which is
strangely, conversely, or irritatingly  different, open the mind, 
understand where the other person gets their  beliefs, and try to come to 
some sort of peace so that the inner conflict  doesn't eat you up....
IMO, one is not being tolerant if they speak(or  write) ill of someone or
something.  One can only claim tolerance if  they 1. are in close contact
with another 2. Have a natural dislike or  fear  3. Overcome that dislike
or fear to the point where one can  remain neutral in their actions(they
can still think ill, but must not act  upon it)

I'm gonna pick on Lynn cuz I know she can take it..
I know  that Lynn lived in the inner-city of Philly for almost 2 decades,
I  think..  I think it is safe to say that she lived with or in  close
proximity to drug users, gangs, and those that shared a
different  culture and world view, to include those decent folks who just
love living  with no yard and in a building with 50 other people or more.
I  seriously doubt Lynn has ever lived near or worked with surfer
dudes, those  youth of the surfing culture, therefore she would not know
whether or not  she is tolerant of that.  She's probably not familiar 
with kill the  haole....or living within a community of nudists or 
witches, or  Mormons.  Or, perhaps she is tolerant of the gangs she is 
familiar  with, but not tolerant of other gangs.  What if she, for 
example, was  so tolerant of gangs, developing a live and let live 
philosophy, that one  day a new, violent, racist gangbanger moved into 
her building and  threatened her physically, threatened her children, her 
peace.  What  does she do to learn to tolerate them, or does she?  If she 
is being  terrorized by someone who hates her because she is different 
and wants to  do her harm, what does Lynn do to still be considered 
'tolerant' of his  beliefs and actions?  Is it possible to live and be 
tolerant in those  circumstances-when the other person is intolerant of 
you?  Does going  to the police to complain mean she will be labeled 
intolerant?
And  where do you draw the line for stating 'history' like reminding 
folks of  the Crusades and the Inquisition, and actually speaking ill of 
to  denigrate something?  Is that intolerance?
A lot of people ASSUME that  atheists are neutral, but very often, they 
can be so ANTI-FAITH that that  in and of itself is intolerance.  One may 
be extremely tolerant of  say Muslims because they had a Muslim roommate 
in college, but they make  be intolerant of Indians and Pakistanis from 
anger that they own so many  businesses here.
So I'll be curious as to how y'all think of tolerance, and  specifically, 
I would like you to define intolerance.  At what point  is is "ok" to not 
be tolerant?  Is it ever acceptable?  For me,  it is when my survival or 
my family's survival or way of life is  threatened.

Bev


>> Lynn, many times on this list I  have read your statements about
>> "Christians trying to wipe out  anyone who isn't Christian".

-- 
"The nine most terrifying words in  the English language are: 'I'm from
the government and I'm here to  help.'"  Ronald  Reagan




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