On Tolerating Intolerance

“To be tolerant, you must tolerate intolerance.” Anyone who has ever stood up for the rights of others has been told this line for decades. It’s a pithy little soundbite that sounds tautologically accurate and is used as a hammer to demolish the idea that we ought not to be assholes to our fellow humans. It’s used so often that it has found its place as a linchpin in modern hate-disguised-as-freedom philosophy.

And I, worried that I might have been logically defeated, carved out a little space in my mind to say, well, maybe they have a point. Maybe I am coming across as a little too harsh. Maybe I can tone it down a bit.

Well, I was wrong. There is no such thing as “too harsh” against the hatred that’s erupted in the new America. Forget civility against people who refuse to show it to others. Forget winning an intellectual chess match. And screw you if you’re offended that I’m hard on you for your cherished beliefs. You’ve manipulated my liberal insecurities for far too long.

I won’t tolerate hatred, bigotry, harassment, or bullying anymore. I will wear that pin even if someone thinks I’m being a slacktivist. I will give money to good organizations that have fought hatred every day for over half a century. I will be courageous and stand up and speak when I see it, even though I have an anxiety disorder and it makes me want to crawl into a hole and die just thinking about it.

I will not tolerate intolerance.

To butcher FDR, the only thing we have to hate is hate itself.

Quit acting like that’s so damn hypocritical.