The Tolerance Paradox

It's always difficult to start a new blog.  What to call it, what its focus will be.  What to post about first.

I'm not a violent person, it takes a lot for me to want to fight back.  I don't like physical confrontation, I'm an introvert, and while I might seethe internally, I rarely do anything about it.  I consider myself a tolerant progressive and generally believe in a live-and-let-live philosophy.

I'm watching what's happening in the United States right now - my home, and my family's home for over 250 years - and I wonder if the Grand Experiment is over.

The last four years have been horrific, traumatizing, disheartening.

As a result, the "Punch a Nazi" sentiment is strong.  But I honestly doubt I'd ever go so far as to actually hit someone.  I think too much about the consequences, I guess.

But how does that sentiment align with my supposed L&LL ideals?  Why won't I permit Nazi's, fascists, racists, other people who hate and are generally intolerant to just go do their thing as long as it leaves me alone?

Why do I not tolerate the intolerant?

Because it's necessary.  It's known as the Paradox of Tolerance.

Wikipedia has done a better job than I in explaining it, but the short version is this:

If an intolerant group within an otherwise tolerant society is not kept in check, they will eventually take over society, making it no longer tolerant.  Therefore, for a tolerant society to remain so, it must not tolerate the intolerant - their power must be checked.

Another sentiment along these lines is the "First they came..." poem:

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left

To speak out for me

It's so easy to get in our ruts, our cliques, our special interest groups, our echo chambers, and just... ignore everything else.  There's only so much time in the day, right?

But just because someone isn't like me, or perfectly shares my own point of view, or has the same experiences I do, or the same culture, the same skin color, the same religion (or lack thereof) as me, doesn't mean they should not exist.

All lives matter, yes, but right now... the Black Lives are the ones they're coming for.  You don't put water on a house that's not on fire - you take the fire truck down to the one that is on fire, and you do what it takes to keep that house from burning down, and save the lives of the people inside.

I'm not always good at remembering this - I get wrapped up in my own stuff a lot - but I try to get better every day. 

Maybe someday I'll have the courage to punch a Nazi.