I have no tolerance for bigots. I have no tolerance for sexists. I have no tolerance for racists, would-be slave owners, or those who would oppress another group simply because they can. I have absolutely NO tolerance for those who don’t treat other people the way they would want to be treated. I have nothing but contempt for those who would pass a constitutional amendment denying equality under the law to a segment of American citizens. We’ve fought countless battles over the years trying to bring greater equality to both this country and the world, and they would shove it aside like so much trash.
And guess what: My intolerance doesn’t kick in until YOU do something. Treat everyone equally and with respect, and we’ll never have a problem. Unfortunately, some people just don’t get it.
I won’t sugarcoat it, won’t hide it in fancy words, won’t wrap it in a swaddling of morality and fear: If you vote to restrict the rights of other people, you are trying to make them your slaves. You are telling them that the very birthright that makes us human, the right to free will and choice, the right to happiness and freedom, does not apply to them. You are flat-out stating that these people are no longer human beings, that YOU should decide what’s best, with no care for independent thought, that YOU alone know the only way to do things.
I call this oppression. I call it tyranny. I call it cruel and unjust and undeserving of consideration by anyone who would live free of shackles. America, the America I was brought up in, the America I want my children to live in, is a land of inclusion, not exclusion. “ ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’ ” There’s no addendum to the Statue of Liberty plaque that says “But hey, fags, get the JACKBOOT TO BACKSIDE out. Blacks, we don’t want you either. Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, don’t even think about it.” This country was built on the idea that everyone is equal under the law, everyone deserves the same rights and respect of free will, everyone can pursue happiness. I will happily lay down my life to protect your right to believe whatever you want, but when your actions are oppressive, we’re gonna have some problems, because now you’ve crossed the line dividing your free will from someone else’s. There is only one thing I will not allow in my life, and that is an action that tolerates discrimination.
I am completely intolerant of intolerance. Any time someone uses his opinion to enforce actions that oppress a segment of the population, I’ll be right there giving the biggest middle finger I can find. Any time someone thinks she has the right to pass laws that take away another person’s free will, I’ll be shouting profanity at the top of my lungs. Any time someone believes that life should be corralled and constrained, that actions between consenting adults that cause no harm to others should be legislated away, that the enslavement of humanity is somehow a good thing, then, by any god you care to name, I will raise my voice and call out your arrogant FLIES CIRCLING COWPAT from every single rooftop I can find.
Here’s the thing: I really don’t care what your personal opinion is on anything. If you want to believe that the Flying Spaghetti Monster will condemn us all to the Molten Mozzarella Pits for not sacrificing daily at its altar, more power to you! If you want to believe gay people getting married will usher in an eternal age of terror, that’s your choice to make (I may not agree with the choice, but it’s yours). But the instant, the very instant you change that opinion into an action—the moment you make laws forcing someone to worship at your altar, or restricting people’s right to marry whom they want, or taking away freedoms and protections due to skin color or sexuality; that coldly self-involved second when you treat me (or anyone else) as a thing, as an object, as a slave with no right to self-determination or free will—well, my friend, that’s when my intolerance kicks into high gear.
Let me tell you a little story about mirrors. When you look into a mirror, every reflected action comes from one source—you. That person you see looking back at you will treat you exactly how you treat him. If you smile, or wave, or laugh, the reflection reacts with appropriate good cheer. Make angry faces or scream, and you quickly find yourself the subject of every barb and indignity you’re trying to heap upon the shoulders of another. If you find yourself bristling under the scorn, the contempt, the lack of respect, don’t blame the mirror. All it’s reflecting is you.