"Love your blog. And I love the pictures!" -- Karen Freeman
"Nice blog btw." -- Rob O'Connor
"Your blog is so cute, with the photos and all!" -- Frances Haworth
"What a fantastic blog its makes me want to jump on plane." -- Christabel Atkins
"BORING!" -- David K Lappin
"The individual protests against the world, but he does not get beyond protest, he is just a single protestor." -- Friederich Durrenmatt
I had a temp job yesterday stuffing envelopes. I have no idea what was in the envelopes, but there was some sort of registration form. Vast swaths of the rain forest were going into this mass mailing, and most of the letters would doubtless go into the bin. Still, next time you encounter junk mail, think of the effort (and papercuts - I should get combat pay) that went into posting it to you.
There were a few other temps with me, so it wasn't too bad - we were able to have a bit of banter. At least at first. All was going well until this English girl started talking about how tolernt and gay-friendly Melbourne is. She concluded with "It's disgusting. They're not normal." Um... say that again? She said she "hates gay people." I've always suspected that this is what intolerant biggots whisper to each other over late-night vodka sessions with other crazy conservatives, but to admit to people you don't know that you're an intolerant biggot? I just didn't think that was done.
Baiting her, I said "Huh. How about blacks and Jews? You hate them too, do you?" She owned that they were all right, because "they can't help being black or Jewish." Where to begin with that?
There was nearly a brawl over it. I said she was a biggot, and told her I'd never met someone who was openly homophobic with strangers. She said she was entitled to her opinion. Another temp stepped in and quieted us down, making us drop the subject.
It raises the question, though, if she is entitled to her opinion (and we good liberals believe she is), how do you tolerate intolerance? We'll allow different points of view, different opinions, but what about those that don't tolerate us? This isn't a tricky call, like abortion or the death penalty (which came up later - she thinks people in prison should be tortured and killed - but I didn't rise to it, having caused enough trouble). This is the fundamental dignity of every person. Are there things too heinous to accept? People can make their own choices and make their own decisions, but you're not allowed to be racist/ sexist/ homophobic/ anti-Semetic? I'll accept you, but you have to accept me too. If you don't, I won't accept you anymore?
I told them about blood diamonds earlier in the day, and argued against the purchase of diamonds unless they are certified by the Kimberley Process. They'd never heard of conflict diamonds, but I hope I was at least able to make them think the next time they hankered after
diamonds.Last night Les and I went to see Children of Men and Catch A Fire as a double-bill at the Astor Theatre. It came up in conversation with my fellow temps what we were up to in the evening. They'd never heard of Catch A Fire, so I outlined the plot, a story about a man during South African Apartheid who was arrested and tortured for a crime he didn't commit, and becoming radicalised by his experience, became a freedom fighter against white oppression.
I think I became known as the crazy liberal.
2 comments:
I think tolerance means not hating other people who have very different beliefs (as that young woman hates various people). It means recognizing that there's some good in every person, even if it's hard to spot sometime! But it doesn't mean accepting the other person's beliefs as just as good as yours -- that would be cultural relativism. If you have the courage of your convictions, and you do, you're obviously not a cultural relativist.
love you/mum
P.S. Looks as if you guys got the very first egg from a little hen's very first effort at laying one!
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