ID: A scene from Legally Blonde of a conversation between Warner and Elle in the corridor at Harvard, in 4 panels:

  1. Warner asks “What happened to the tolerant left?”

  2. Elle replies, smiling “Who said we were tolerant?”

  3. Warner continues “I thought you were supposed to be tolerant of all beliefs!”

  4. Elle looks confused “Why would we tolerate bigotry, inequity, or oppression?”

  • Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    The whole idea that Tolerance is a Social Contract seems to be what works best: One is Tolerant towards others who are Tolerant and those who are not Tolerant are breaking the Social Contract of Tolerance and thus are not entitled to be the recipients of Tolerance from others.

    Tolerance as a Principle doesn’t work well exactly because of the Paradox Of Tolerance which is that by Tolerating the Intolerant one is causing there to be less Tolerance since the Intolerant when their actions are tolerated will spread Intolerance (as painfully demonstrated in Present day America, especially with Trump).

    • makyo@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      3 months ago

      I like this but I’m not even sure it’s such a paradox - if you are tolerating people who do not follow that social contract then can you call yourself a part of the tolerant group yourself? It is a necessary part of being tolerant to reject the intolerant.

      • samus12345@lemm.eeEnglish
        0·
        3 months ago

        It’s not a paradox because nobody says that absolutely anything anyone does is fine. There are always rules to acceptable behavior in society. The “paradox of tolerance” is a strawman.

    • rowrowrowyourboat@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      0·
      3 months ago

      This doesn’t eliminate the paradox. Why does the contract exist in the first place?

      It’s a moral standard. If moral people didn’t decide that tolerance was a good thing for society, the contract wouldn’t exist.

      So yes, thinking about it as a contract sidesteps the paradox, but the paradox still exists.

      So Karl Popper was still right and society shouldn’t tolerate the intolerant.

        • DontTreadOnBigfoot@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          3 months ago

          Sounds exactly like how someone might justify things like internment camps, forced sterilization, and segregation.

          “Hey, they’re alive and continuing to live, so what’s the problem?”

  • DancingBear@midwest.socialEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    We tolerate the shitty uncle who gets drunk and says stupid shit at thanksgiving.

    We punch Nazis in the face.

    I don’t tolerate maga folks. I just kind of ignore them, and don’t allow them to be a part of my life.

    I do have republican and conservative friends. I do not have any maga friends.

      • SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.orgEnglish
        0·
        3 months ago

        You don’t get it. They are just voting for fascism, but they are not fascists themselves. It’s totally cool. Nothing to worry about.

        • MountingSuspicion@reddthat.comEnglish
          0·
          3 months ago

          For what it’s worth, a non zero amount of republicans and conservatives didn’t vote for Trump, probably in no small part due to the people in their life who remind them of their humanity. You might not be surprised to hear of estranged family becoming more radicalized by the right once they’ve been cut off. I have people in my life who are conservative and will never believe that abortion is acceptable, but I have been able to share stories of where it was medically necessary and they have changed their mind on supporting a total ban. Is that great? No, not really, but it’s certainly something. I don’t know that I’d call these people “friends” because I don’t really like them or share with them in the way I would my actual friends, but I have had them in my home. Unfortunately, changing hearts and minds requires a little buy in. It’s not always safe for everyone to do, and I get that, but people love to show stories of people becoming deradicalized while hating on people engaging in deradicalization. There are people out there who say “conservatives are good people they’re just misguided”, and I don’t really believe that, but I do believe they can BECOME good people. Obviously, some are a lost cause, but some can be pulled back to reality. I had a Hollywood is all trans/they’re hiding the true science (not a flat earther, just not a believer in the globe??) coworker I eventually turned into a socialist. That doesn’t happen overnight, and if they don’t at least consider you friendly, you’re not gonna see any movement.

  • But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    The problem I found with the American left this past year as an outsider looking in, is that they all splintered into groups and started seeing the other group on the left as “just as bad as trump”, nobody was “left” enough to be an ally for anyone’s rigid tastes. The left fought among itself for labels, while the conservatives on the right were united.

    I understand a lot of it for the younger left had to do with gaza but to anyone else, it’s clear Netanyahu and Musk and other oligarchs planned this out and the American left bought it and let Trump win.

    All you can do is unify and strengthen and cut out fascists and fix your country, stop trying to be world police if you can’t even fix yourself.