Are you still grieving? You are not alone.

[Catholic_Lady]

Unfortunately when some people talk about diversity, they are referring to those of different races, sexual identity, and country of origin. It's easy to tolerate those things. Why in the world would I care what someone's skin color is? Or who they prefer to have sex with? Or what country they were born in? I don't care about that. No normal person should. Those are surface things that don't impact me or my life whatsoever.

Diversity of thought is much more difficult to tolerate. People with different religious beliefs, different values, and different political opinions. That right there is real diversity. And tolerating and respecting all people regardless of those things is real tolerance, imho.

This is what the catch-22 is. If your (global you) thought or belief is that 1. gays shouldn't have the same rights, or that 2. police killing black people without consequence is tolerable, or that 3. women and poor people should be deprived of reproductive choice, or that 4. we should round up and deport 11 million people, or that 5. white nationalism is a position worth legitimizing and supporting, then your opinion is deleterious to a free and open society.

I will support anyone's right to have those opinions, but I will be vocal in my dissent and my attempts to delegitimize those opinions. If that makes me intolerant, so be it. I am, by the same token, intolerant of attempts to evangelize any beliefs in schools or science denial.

My bold. 

Here's the thing though. 

Many people wouldn't put those things that way because that's not how they view them at all. If you stop and talk to some of these people, you may find that to them: 

1. ...it isn't about "gays not having rights." It's about keeping the definition of the word "marriage" to mean not just 2 people, but 1 man and 1 woman.

2. ...it isn't about "police killing black ppl without consequence." It's about them believing that more often than not, it's done in a case of legitimate self defense. 

3. ...it isn't about "poor people or women being deprived of reproductive choices." It's about believing that all people, no matter how small, have an inherent right to life above any other right. 

4. ...it isn't about "deporting 11 million people." It's about regulating our boarders and following the law. 

5. ...is isn't about "supporting white nationalism." It's about voting for whom they genuinely believed was the lesser of 2 evils, Trump. 

Now, before I get accused of falling into all 5 of those categories just because I'm seeing things through their point of view, let me say the only one that would apply to me is #3. Maybe #2 in certain cases.

But I'd like to think I'm able to understand that people think differently from myself. And just because someone voted for Trump, doesn't mean they are supporting white nationalism, for example. That's tolerance. 

And if Trump voters want to discuss it, I'll voice my opinion and disagreement for their candidate of choice. But I'm not going to bash them, or think the absolute worse of their motives, or stop being their friend. It's about giving people the benefit of the doubt and understanding that they may not be seeing things in the same way you're seeing them. And that doesn't make them bad people. 

As a Catholic in an atheist forum, I practice this type of tolerance of thought all the time with all of you. I'm not perfect and I screw up all the time. But I do try.