Sadly, for the most part these people are just following the gender and social norms/stereotypes that dictate our lives. These norms dictate how a man and woman must behave and dress. And we are bucking the established norms. For many to be considered a 'real man' you must conform to the the stereotypes that society has established. If you divert and do anything considered feminine, your not a man.
I hate bigots ... because they are different!
Sorry, it's not the same thing at all. Observing intolerance in others is not intolerance. I am so effing tired of hearing that simple-minded trope that I could scream. People are entitled to believe any superstition/religion they like. When thy start defending their bigotry and hatred as if that's some kind of right, they've crossed the line. There is a world of difference between, "I believe it's wrong, according to the tenets of my religion...", and, "I don't believe <insert minority group here> should have the same rights as me because it's wrong, according to..." We've all heard the kind of speech that Traci heard today. As common as it is, it is not defensible.Originally Posted by Lisa85
I heartily concur with Kelly. When someone says, "A is wrong" because "my book says so" you are dealing with nothing more than simple bigotry. Every extreme ideology, every totalitarian regime employs the same notion. Bigotry isn't right because a book says so.
But back to an earlier point, why do fundamentalists (whether religious or ideological) insist that their point of view must apply to all? I doubt that David Duke or the Ayatollah Khomeini thought that their pronouncements would cause all those who disagreed to suddenly fall in line. NO, the purpose was to make their followers feel that they apart from the rest of humanity, even better to make them think that they were under "attack" by the outsiders.
Sound at all familiar. Its a theme that has been replayed through the millennia.
Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Two questions:
1: Why do you refer to a bigot at work as a good friend? Seems strange to be friends with someone who pisses you off.
2: Why are you still married to someone who treats you like the plague? I mean, you do realise you only get one life and it's not a rehersal for a better one, yes?
I avoid anyone who pisses me off and hence no-one ever does (more than once at least).
In life, we encounter people with views that are different from our own. Unless we decide to move to a rural mountain top with no neighbors, TV or Internet, we have to co-exist with them. That's life. Remember, other people believe they are right just as you believe you are right. Arguing with them isn't going to change their minds an more than they will change your mind. Change the subject or walk away if you have to.
Krisi
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