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We Need Acceptance Over Tolerance
Tolerance is insufficient — but acceptance is empowering.
When it comes to differences among people, the word tolerance gets thrown around a lot.
Tolerance gets applied to tangible differences, like skin color, hair color, body type, sex, and so on. But frequently, it gets applied to intangible differences. This includes sexual orientation, gender, religion, nationality, politics, and the like.
Tolerance, however, is insufficient. Why? Because it implies negativity. As in — “well, I don’t like that — but I’ll tolerate it.”
Why is the judgment included in this? Therein lies the problem with tolerance. The implication that you disapprove, disagree, dislike, or take an otherwise negative stance but “allow” for the difference.
That changes nothing and it sure as hell doesn’t let anyone grow.
The stark truth of the United States is that white supremacy, racism, and sexism never went away. But they did go into hiding. This was often in the name of “tolerance.”
But then we got Trump. Here was the President of the United States, embracing racism, white supremacy, and sexism like the past five decades never were. Emboldened, the previously “tolerant” threw that off and started to strive to recreate and…
