# Intolerance of intolerance:  tolerant or intolerant?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerance-of-intolerance-tolerant-or-intolerant/75604>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [August 9, 2001, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerance-of-intolerance-tolerant-or-intolerant/75604 "2001-08-09T15:47:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2001, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intolerance-of-intolerance-tolerant-or-intolerant/75604/41 "2001-08-13T19:12:13Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by ultrafilter \*  
> Yes, but discrimination is never the same thing as intolerance, and isn’t necessarily proof of it either. **Kimstu** ’s description of the motivations of the KKK and the all-women’s college serve as a nice example. On the one hand, we have people who are definitely intolerant discriminating (the KKK), and on the other we have possibly very tolerant people who discriminate to aid a historically disenfranchised group.

I don’t agree that discrimination is never the same thing as intolerance. I do agree they aren’t synonyms, but they do have very similar connotations and given appropriate contexts can be used interchangably.

On one hand we have a discriminating group (we don’t want your kind here) preaching intolerance (which I’m not sure I agree with 100% for the KKK). On the other hand we have a discriminating group (we don’t want that kind here) not preaching anything as a rule.

Apart from that, being intolerant of ideas is, I would think, justifiable if one can demonstrate why this intolerance leads to a stable or improved condition. I don’t think the woman’s college discrimination (or intolerance of free admission processes) is justifiable in this regard. If it were, then so long as any racist group felt it was historically disadvantaged it could promote its own racist ideas to help themselves at the exclusion of all others. And since poor white people were oppressed by rich white people, we could have redneck communists running wild, preaching their own brand of the French Revolution and sell “Eat the rich” shirts or some such garbage.

Now, I don’t mind people being racist so much; I don’t understand it, but who am I to say? I think the important thing is an ability to peacably assemble to promote whatever ideas you want on your time, with your money, etc., and if a private college wants to only allow females in, then so be it. I just don’t think they’re discriminating and being intolerant for justifiable reasons, 's’all. I’m not going to pat them on the back, eh?

> [@](#):
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> Perhaps the confusion stems from the negative connotation of the word “discrimination”. Remember, discrimination is the act of prefering some people over others. I wouldn’t hire a blind man to drive my car; that is discrimination at its most blatant, yet I don’t think anyone would fault me for it.

This is true. I don’t find anything inherently wrong with discrimination, either, I just find that it is difficult to justify discrimination based on intention.

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