Social Problems....Intolerance: An Open Letter To You

I am so SO with you. But maybe you could think more on the term of acceptance, rather than just; "tolerate"? "Tolerance" is when we're annoyed bu something and just put uo with it because we have to, or because it's seen as; "the right thing to do". My parents couldn't have been more opposite of yours. I grew up with a pic of M.L.King, hanging proudly in our home. And although we were allowed to curse to our hearts content, behind closed doors, of course. If we, or anyone else, ever uttered the "N" word we'd be punished. For life. Not that we ever even wanted to. To this day it pains me. I can't even think a derogatory word. But my bro, and I realized that my dad, went to such extreme's trying too not be racist, that maybe he actually was a racist. Brilliant hub. (As usual)

Wow billybuc! I don't know who or what got you on this tangent but you speak some pretty powerful words here and you're so absolutely right. WHO CARES?

An old friend of mine used to tell me all the time that if something that someone else is doing does not directly affect me then I have no business being upset about it.

It's pretty sad to think that, in this day and age, there are still people out there that are so narrow minded. Thanks for sharing this piece.

Really well said and great to hear how you came to your views.

Wow, great hub. But I can't tolerate narrow-mindedness, so does that make me intolerant, too? You've given us a lot to think about.

Very well put together and I pray it touches the heart of those who hate others because they are different. I am have a different opinion on a matter, but I can debate it without hatred and petty name calling. Hatred and racism IS vile. I thank my parents for not bringing me up in a home where these things were taught. People are all one race, the human race and believing in different things does not matter, that is what makes us all individuals. If I don't care for someone it is because who they are at heart (how they act and treat me and other people) not what what race they are, what political affiliation, what religion, gay or straight. What matters is simply their heart! Are they kind, trustworthy, truthful, decent people that's all that matters.

Amen! These thoughts were running through my head last night and I thought it would make a good hub! How did you get in there? haha! Excellent writing and I'm so happy you tell it like it is! Voted awesome and up!

Beautiful Hub, Billybuc. There is so much intolerance in this country and this world. I am very reassured to hear of your overcoming it. My parents have and had their intolerances though not as pronounced. Being exposed to other cultures and education will often overcome this. We need as a people to continually discuss these issues to make this situation subside. Bravo on your inspirational letter.

This is powerfully written Bill. I agree with you all the way on this one. I see so many people that are deathly afraid of those that are different.They are what I call Authoritarians.In attempting to control others, they minimize their own inadequacy.

Great Job!

Yep!!!

I've a Bowie knife my grandfather made. The blade was a bayonet that the dead Japanese officer on Guam Island no longer needed...he made the hilt.

Growing up - my uncles knew a good product, and they'd drive Nissan vehicles, but they couldn't park in their father's driveway - they had to park those things on the street!!!

My Veteran Grandfather, however, realized that his religious faith dictated that he'd have to get past that, and his final years included the purchase of a Toyota van that is still parked in his driveway, where one of his sons lives.

Interestingly enough - I inherited a Fender acoustic guitar, a very nice one...made in Japan.

You have hit the nail on the head. Why do they care? What does it matter to them? Live and let live. Although I do feel that life experiences and education (positive or negative) can affect what we become. We can fight it though, we can 'put on a new personality', its just a case of re-educating the synapses in our brains.

I know this isn't Facebook or the forums, so naughty of me to clog up your page with another comment, but I honestly feel that when someone is being intolerant to our lifestyle, they are elevating themselves, eg (I would never do such a thing, I am perfect....). all in their subconscious.

A great way to tackle this subject! You're right, I'm sure, that a lot of prejudice comes from fear or from insecurity. Sometimes it's hard not to succomb to the stereotype until we stop to think - maybe that's the problem, people do not think enough. That's why your questioning technique is so effective. Voted up, useful and awesome - powerful and well-written as usual! Ann

This hub was so awesome, it kind of makes me want to write a hub about how I came to my beliefs. My father was EXTREMELY racist when it came to African Americans, my mother on the other hand was a bit more tolerant, not much, but slightly. Yet I'm the most liberal person you will ever meet as is my sister. It's interesting how we came to our beliefs despite how we grew up. Why is that? Is it a sign of inteligence? Wisdom? What causes us to have more of an open mind? Very intriguing hub as always Bill!

Voted up and SHARED.

I agree, I think MSNBC is slightly better than Fox news, but both of them, as well as most of the news media community are biased and controlled by those with political power. It's sad really, the American public deserves to have ALL of the information and not just a biased, censored story.

I don't care...I doubt if I ever did...Live and Let Live. I think people that are insecure don't Tolerate well...I watch Fox News and flip the Channels... but take it all with a grain of salt...It's Showbiz, it's Entertainment, but I rarely see it as News...Oh, occasionally NEWS is actually reported. But the LEFT and the RIGHT are so Busy slinging the MUD that it's hard to see the Truth that lies in between...As Americans we deserve so much better.

Another winner, Billy! I'm sharing this on FB and voting up and across. Your articulate words, I hope, will touch many.

In OUR world WE are all made different, but this is what makes us ALL special and UNIQUE in every way! It amazes me how much bigotry there still is in the word, even though we are all as different and special as each snowflake that falls to the ground. Thank you for the thought provoking article! Write on my friend!

Yay! I love it! You echo my brain! I grew up around a lot of loving people who are very intolerant and college helped me to think for myself, too. Why DO so many people care? Like their religion, their race, or their marriage is affected by people who are different from them. Live and let live, I say. And I love the Beatles song. I'm bookmarking and sharing this hub. It's one of my favorites.

So beautiful and true, fantastic hub. If we spent as much time learning about someone as we spend prejudging we could learn something that would make us the greatest country in the world. It really takes us all to make a great country, we all have strengths and weaknesses,we need one another whether we realize it or not. Truly a beautiful hub, bravo:)

Very interesting hub. I'm guessing that ego has something to do with why people care about anything. We think our way is the right way, the only way.

The truth is that there are many paths and many choices in life. Acceptance and tolerance of others has to start with me.

Thanks for writing this one. You've got me thinking again. :)

It's about fear and ignorance (ha - wrote this and then reread the beginning of your hub - you said it yourself). Well thought out and written hub!

Indeed! What business is it of ANYONE what someone else is doing with their lives, (most especially their private lives) when they are hurting no one?

The self-righteous religious nabobs really get my goat, between their trespass onto private property with their door-knocking/conversion campaigns, and with trying to cram their beliefs into our very laws; subverting our separation of church and state.

I was raised in San Francisco in the 1950s and 60's. That's about as tolerant as life gets. I don't judge folks on their skin color or beliefs, but on how they BEHAVE!

If they are going to be out creating mayhem, pushing hard street drugs, robbery and murder, then I say they deserve whatever racial epithet may apply--otherwise, if they can behave as upstanding, considerate citizens who get involved in others' lives only when needed to render aid, or support a community cause, then they are simply people, no more, no less.

However, that said, I am as intolerant and unaccepting of these behaviors as you, and I have the same worry proffered by another commenter, as to whether that makes us bigots of a different stripe?

Oh, well. Just live and let live...But, I fear you are preaching to the choir.

Voted up, awesome, beautiful, useful, interesting and shared!

You are both eloquent and acerbic, a winning combination. I think all intolerence boils down to fear: fear of the unknown mixed with general ignorance. I guess all we can do is educate ourselves and be living/breathing examples of acceptance. Another interesting topic.

Very wise and profound words here, Billy. The best piece of advice I was ever given, was by my granddad, he said: 'Treat people, how you find them,' basically he was saying, just treat people as individuals, some will be nice, others will be bad; don't focus on their appearance or beliefs, its not relevant. Great hub, voted up etc.

Billybuc! Congratulations on producing a heartfelt, most outstanding hub! All the good comments have been taken. So I will just say thank you for writing a letter that many others wish they had written at some time in our lives.

This is indeed one of my all time favorite hubs! Bookmarking!

Billybuc,

Another masterpiece! Racism and intolerance due to unchallenged beliefs is dangerous for all. Those who want to put so much energy and time into hating others should take the time to walk in their shoes for some time and see what they are really like. Very well done and well said. Bravo!

Bill.....What a writer! what a guy!! what a genius!

What can I possibly say as beautifully as you have said here,which mirrors my beliefs and attitude to perfection? It could only come out as jibberish with the same intent...

I CARE that more and more people in this world that we share, come to the clear and simple realization that we need to CEASE & DESIST caring about what has ZERO to do with our similar trek to happiness, goals, peace & dreams.....the things we all want and have a birthright to achieve."

and, um....oh yeah! I CARE that you keep putting out these stunningly wonderful PSA's....that's what you do, bill....you provide a valuable service to your fellowman...you educate, you awaken.....straight from your heart through your fingertips upon the keys!

How damned far "UP" can we vote in this place anyway??!!

Yeah...yeah...don't get all philosophical on me.... It's called "Inconsistent Positive Reinforcement." Don't try to understand it...don't try to fight it.

Why? because I can't explain it, that's why!....and BTW...IF by chance you figure it out? Don't you even THINK about sharing with my husband!! As we speak, the guy is babbling, talking to himself and rocking back & forth.....and we don't have a rocking chair, btw. Just leave him alone...it's ALL cool!!

Why do I care? Because the basic greatness of America is freedom? .........You have stolen that freedom from me by allowing 67 million Americans to be on welfare! You refuse to listen when the IRS says I pay 90% of all the bills but you rant about the rich paying their fair share! You degrade me when you rant about the rich but fail to acknowledge that 50% of all Americans don't pay taxes!

Your religion? Iran is about to kill a Christian family, Syria is killing their own! Several countries have threatened to wipe Israel off the map! 911 and hundreds of bombings in this world revolve around a common denominator......all Muslims! ......Naw nothing to care about there! let them to continue to ingrain into our society!

Relationships? I care because by forcing me to accept the unnatural you break down the moral fiber of my country! The same country my grandparents sacrificed their blood to build! My family didn't do this for a man to insert his penis into another mans sphincter muscle and call it natural behaviour!

To end, you call me vile and wrong but you don't know me? This is the most ironic piece of your writing? You my friend are just like your parents with that last statement!

Hi Bill,

Good hub...IF man would become tolerant towards another man...wow...this would be a beautiful world and no wars, battles and killing and we would not even have a gun on this darn planet!

I hear ya, Bill...loud and clear!

Why do I care :)

voted way up and sharing!!

Great hub, very "user friendly." I think most people want to live in peace with their fellow man/woman/child!

FYI: The God of Abraham is the same for Muslims, Jews and Catholics (Christians...), so do not differentiate.... However, agnostics and atheists are as they say in our country, "a different talk show..." ...just food for thought....

Voted up on your wonderful hub

John

AR, I was recently reading up on many different religions, John is right, it's all the same God, all the same principles the only difference with those who do not believe in Jesus as the son of God, but all are based on our old testament.

There is good, bad, and ugly in every race, religion, political, sexual orientation, etc. Some find it easy to claim their relatives built this country but fail to mention the hard labor of the African slaves who were brought here against their will or the American Indians whose land was taken from them. When mentioning the past, it's best to not utilize selective memory because this only burns bridges and does not build them. This is a great and thought provoking hub.

Great open letter, well said, I agree

We humans are social animals, which means we live in a society. Foundation of our society stands on our ability to give and take. When we give love, we receive love. When we hate, we are hated. Here lies the importance of tolerance.

I agree with your point of view.

My mother used to say that her mother taught her that intolerance was a terrible thing. Every race, religion, and nationality had good people as well as stinkers. No one group could be lumped together and looked down on. Except Hungarians. I used to laugh at that, it seemed so ridiculous. My mother thought so too and used this as an example of how foolish intolerance is.

What can I say that your many followers have already said. Well Deserved! Keep on trucking.

Tom

Bill,

You've nailed it with this Hub! I've often thought *Why do they care?* and *What business is it of theirs?*

Keep on observing and sharing your thoughts.

I remember this hub. It's as good today as it was when I read it several months ago! Intolerance is still intolerable. Keep speaking it, my friend!

No problem, Bill. Right back at ya!

BRAVO!

Well said Bill. Open letters allow us to speak our mind:)

Great hub, you reflect all my thoughts. Each and everyone irrespective of who or what they are have a right to live and enjoy living.Voted up.

Beautiful letter to intolerance. Man is civilized enough to realize his boundaries and learn to accept the flaws of others. That's when tolerance comes to test.

I liked the natural video of you, Bill :) Such a pleasure to see ya flesh and soul :) Great to meet ya, my friend :)

Biil has spoken and there is not a single sentence I disagree with or haven't thought of myself. We're all the same regardless of culture, religion or color. Thank you, Bill for sharing these wise words.

I am with you on all this 200% Bill. I have had many situations, one that literally nearly killed me, where I was the victim of intolerant people. However that may be, i have grown to understand that everyone lives there lives differently. With that being said, why should we care how others live, as you said? I respect those who are Muslim, Sikh, Russian, African, Gay, Bi, Transgender, etc. We are too diverse of a world for all of us to follow the exact same cultural rules and regulations; hell, even live under the same form of government. Why should we care if the president is African? Why should we care if a Governor is Gay? Why should we care if parts of the Middle East are living under a Theocracy? Now, for any one that does care and has problems with them, let me ask all those people this: What have they done to you? Why not respect others for their differences, instead of hating them for it? I agree with onlooker on what she said earlier. In my opinion, there are only a few philosophies, I think, are universal around the world. One of them is this: We are all equal in difference. That equality in difference makes us who we are and how we live; why cause conflict because of that truth?

Great Hub, bill!

-KD

I'm so glad I've found this, You have said all the things I wanted to say, but I could never have put them so eloquently. This hub is remarkable. My best wishes to you Billy.

Billy, I would very much love to share this article if it is ok with you.

Regards

Another great hub , I couldn't have said any of it better! When it comes down to it, most of what we are is formed as a child. If not then from an event as an adult. It's actually quite amazing what impact just one event can cause. Voted up!

With you Mr. Holland on every single thing you said here except one, politics. The reason I differ with you on that is because everyone's vote makes a difference in everyone's life -- even a non-vote matters. There's no such thing as not being involved and if you think you aren't involved, you're in denial.

Politics makes a difference in the voter's life, the non voter's life, and everyone else's life. I also care that it can have an adverse effect on the lives of people in ways they seem not to even be aware of. So it isn’t only how your politics affect me personally, but how your politics affect everyone generally, which also affects me.

Politics affects all of our lives, sometimes in the most intimate ways. Politics affects our employment, our wages, our ability to get an education, and even where we can afford to live. Politics determines almost everything we do whether we're awake or asleep 24 hours a day. The safety of our food, how clean our water and air are, who can fix our plumbing or electrical problem, what neighborhood we live in, and the list is endless.

Politics even sticks its nose into our bedrooms -- not sufficiently to please some people, but it does just the same. Politics decides who gets healthcare -- nearly 50,000 people in this said to be richest of all countries die every year because they have no access to healthcare. That's more than one person dying every 20 minutes. Many of these people, despite accusations to the contrary, are working. Some are working 2 or more jobs, but the pay is so low and the hours so limited there still isn't money for healthcare or insurance.

Politics is what allows insurance companies to take your money and then say "sorry, that's not covered," when it comes time to pay for your health service. Politics determine laws about everything, even when it's OK to cheat people and when it isn't.

There is no person or anything in anyone's life that isn't affected by politics, either because it is regulated, or because it is not. Everyone has a say, and while one person's vote may not matter a lot, added to everyone else's vote, it does matter.

No man is an island. Like it or not, and despite how much people in the U.S. love individualism, the fact is that we all affect each other in our thinking and in our votes. We influence people around us to be tolerant or not. To be helpful to the less fortunate, or not. To take care of our planet, or not.

Just as intolerance towards various races, religions, and socioeconomic groups is hurtful and even causes wars that in turn cause wasted funds that could have been used more wisely, so voting to continue to allow 50,000 people to die and be miserable while waiting to do so has a negative effect on our country and everyone in it -- not just on the person who dies or their immediate family.

Intolerance comes in many forms, not just words and obviously ugly behavior. Believing that the only person in the world who matters is oneself is pretty intolerant if you think about it. Isn't that at the base of all intolerance? People who think they have all the right answers and so everyone should conform to their views? Even if/when that view is individualism to the point of causing other people to die? It may not be a person's intent to kill people with their views of individualism, but that is the end result.

People want help for themselves when they need it, and we all need it from time to time, but those same people do not want to contribute to helping anyone else. That's because some people believe that when they need help there's a good reason for it, but when other people need help it's because they made bad decisions, they have poor judgment, they're lazy, or there's just something wrong with them even if one can't put one's finger on it. So unlike themselves, other people deserve what they get.

Some people are fortunate to have family and friends capable and willing to help them when things get tough, but not everyone has those luxuries.

Politics determine what happens to people who have lots of resources and politics determine what happens to people who have few, or no resources. Like the air we breath and the water we drink, politics permeates every aspect of all of our lives whether we are capable of seeing that or not. What other people think, say, and do, ultimately affects ourselves and vice versa.

Voting for people to continue to die is just as ugly as calling them names or refusing to give them a job because of their religion, color, or because they simply do not agree with our politics. Yes, where I live, people will not hire someone if they know they do not subscribe to the right political party doctrine.

By keeping us all divided against each other, politicians win. We fight amongst ourselves often never really listening to each other or truly analyzing our own ideas and beliefs, and politicians on both sides are cleaning up by keeping us busy fighting and hating each other because of our differences. As you rightly pointed out, we all have far more in common than not. So why can't we not only have tolerance for difference, but a bit more kindness and willingness to lend each other a helping hand when needed?

A helping hand doesn't always mean money. It seems for some people having to give of their money or their time is asking too much, and they are often the people who need and take the most from everyone else, even if only in the form of patience and tolerance for their narrow mindedness and selfishness. A helping hand can take many forms, sometimes just offering friendship or listening.

When just one person improves their situation, we are all better off. When we help someone solve a problem, it costs fewer tax dollars for our government to step in and do what we could have done as humans for just a few minutes of our time.

Politics determines everything in our lives and we are all the reason for that. Hate and greed actually cost far more in a multitude of ways than kindness and understanding and giving a helping hand as each of us is able.

Hate and greed are the reasons we have such an expensive and extensive justice system and penal system. Discriminating against people who are different often forces them into a position where they feel they must do something desperate, or it puts them on pubic assistance. Many people who are discriminated against do in fact die as a result, but some fight back and that's why our justice, penal, and welfare systems are so overburdened.

Who is so arrogant as to believe that someone should die because they are different from themselves? Lots of people in this country would seem to be that arrogant. What if YOU were the one who was different and you were discriminated against to the point of going on welfare, committing a crime, or just dying because the first two options didn't work?

Politics determines all of these things. Our attitudes, our beliefs, and our votes matter. Every time we cast our vote – or not – millions of people are affected, not only ourselves. Every time we open our mouths we are influencing other people, so what we think, say, and do, matters. Everyone’s politics affects everyone else’s lives, not just one’s own. That is why other people's politics matter to me.

Interesting ,to the point,powerful and as always told in your own natural way.

This hub I loved and I am so glad I rooted around before finding it.

You leave so much food for thought!!

Oh yes another great hub Billy my friend.

Have a wonderful day.

Eddy.