Monday, December 28, 2009

On the school of tolerance and anger…

Shall we?

A certain knavish troll welcomed this bitch back from my cyber vacation with an email asking…

1. Why this bitch is so intolerant when Democrats are supposed to be tolerant?

&

2. Why a bitch is so angry when Democrats are supposed to be peaceful?

Pause…consider…continue.

Just for form a bitch must point out to my troll that all black people aren’t Democrats, I have a job, I don’t have any children so I certainly don’t have ten of 'em up in a one room apartment, I’m not on public assistance (nothing wrong with that, by the damned way) and black people aren’t the only people who need public assistance, I’ve never been incarcerated…umm, oh yeah…and a bitch was born in Minnesota so I am “home”, motherfucker.

Sigh.

Do y’all have a playbook for this shit…I’m just curious because you’re predictable as a motherfucker.

Blink.

Now, normally a bitch would not answer the questions of a knave…but since non-knavish folks have also asked these questions and I’ve been meaning to revisit them, I’m going to make an exception.

Pause…sip coffee…continue.

Why this bitch is so intolerant when Democrats are supposed to be tolerant?

A bitch is not a Democrat.

Gasp!

I’m not.

I’m a liberal who often votes for Democrats…and there is a difference.

The world needs both…party loyalists and liberals. Lose one – like Republicans who strayed far away from fiscal conservatism in order to seduce social value voters in a quest for power at any cost– and you may just lose your soul.

Lose your soul – like Republicans whom, had they not strayed far away from fiscal conservatism in order to seduce social value voters in a quest for power at any cost, would be cashing in on Democratic fuck ups right now – and you’ll become a political party in name only, minus any workable definition or policy and led by folksy media creations lacking intellect, philosophy and integrity.

Blink.

I reject the school of tolerance.

A body tolerates a stench…and only for as long as it has to.

Me and mine are not something to “tolerate” nor do I wish to “tolerate” others.

I seek to understand and, if that understanding reveals extreme rancidity, I do not tolerate it.

The school of tolerance is kryptonite to true social change…so yes; I reject the hell out of it.

Now to a question of my own – why the fuck do people who do not know liberals and do not listen to liberals always try to define that which they do not know or listen to or even have a workable understand of?

***cue crickets***

Onward!

Why a bitch is so angry when Democrats are supposed to be peaceful?

Refer to my first answer regarding that Democrat thing.

As for anger and peace…now that’s a great question!

Anger is a normal and healthy emotion that I long suppressed because society does not suffer an angry black woman to live long and prosper. But then I realized that society wasn’t taking shit seriously because too many folks were attempting to discuss very important shit sans emotion. ‘Tis freakish to observe – passionate people dispassionately debating shit like basic civil rights, oppression and injustice as if it is all just abstract theory and people’s lives aren’t hanging in the balance. And the response to such freakish debates is perfectly understandable – people response in kind, casually pondering these life-in-balance things much like one ponders what movie to see because the discussion has been presented as not all that important or…wait for it…folks would be angry about it.

Well I am worked up about reproductive justice. I am incapable of separating my emotions from the movement. I see the faces of people I know and care about…I feel the weight of the impact policy has on people’s lives and bodies and prospects…and I get angry or joyful or depressed or inspired.

I feel…because there’s nothing abstract or distant about this shit.

Just because I get angry doesn’t mean I become incapable of functioning. That’s rage and rage can force an activist into an emotional spin that gets you nowhere and gets you there fast.

As much as anger must be allowed a public appearance, folks must also not settle for public displays of anger or full on fits of rage.

That’s why I practice the fine art of bitchitude!

I am an activist who blogs…I take my values out of storage and live them…and I blog about that shit so that folks know that first you get angry, then you get wise and then you go do something about the shit that you got angry and wise about.

In conclusion…

People who don't know any Democrats and can not accurately name a single plank of the Democratic Party's platform should not attempt to define Democrats.

Anger is different from rage and a bitch didn't sign a School of Tolerance Agreement for All Black People Who Pledge to Not Be Angry Even When Confronted with Shit the Makes Normal People Angry As Hell document at the last Official Meeting of Black Folk - Maintaining the Monolith conference.

A fool tolerates a stench and never cleans up the stankified bullshit that’s causing the stink.

An activist organizes the masses to remove the bull from the room it’s been shitting in.

And if you’re not angry you’re not paying attention.

Wink.

Thanks for asking!

Toodles...

24 comments:

SagaciousHillbilly said...

Good post AB!
I too reject the school of "tolerance." Always have and always will for the same reasons you stated. It blow some liberal granola chewer's minds when I tell them to stick their "tolerance" BS up their intolerable asses, but then, who cares?
Always nice to be here.
SH

IseultTheIdle said...

Preach.

I admit I didn't hatch out of the egg understanding the point about tolerance; but now I do, and I largely have you (and a few other blessed souls who aren't afraid to speak up) to thank for that.

I'm always amused by people, generally lower-middle class or so, who vote Republican. Why in the world would you deliberately vote against your own best interests?

Blue said...

You're spot on as usual, although I'm not certain I agree there's a necessity for any party loyalists.

Delux said...

a bitch didn't sign a School of Tolerance Agreement for All Black People Who Pledge to Not Be Angry Even When Confronted with Shit the Makes Normal People Angry As Hell document at the last Official Meeting of Black Folk - Maintaining the Monolith conference.

Well damn. I want my money back!

Shark-Fu said...

Delux...

All sales are final, sistah!

I read the fine print in the Blackness for Beginners Manual...

J9 said...

Shark Fu,

As always, you have given me something more to think about - the difference between tolerance and understanding. Thank-you!

Oh, and thanks for the mail you sent - you could have just told me where to go to get them. I have a Planned Parenthood not far from my home, but also have private health insurance, and haven't gone there since I was a teen.

Anonymous said...

YES. "Aren't you liberals supposed to be tolerant?" is something that trolls ask all the time on liberal sites. My answer: why the hell should I be tolerant of your bigotry?

Shark-Fu said...

J9...glad you got them! I wasn't sure they'd be available at every PP so I went ahead and sent them. Still looking for online resources, but they should provide a good start!

Anonymous said...

Can I just say that in my experience people who think anger = violence think so because they personally only know how to deal with their anger by getting violent.

Sandra said...

slythwolf...BINGO!!! You hit the bullseye with that.

And Shark-fu- thank you for saying what I've been thinking the last few years. I never signed that bullshit pledge either. I won't tolerate the idiocy of tolerance.

Unknown said...

This post seems so common-sense to me, I can not believe anyone could argue with your logic.

But then...I find it hard to believe that people stand against their own self-interests..

Blog-on Shark Fu! ;)

Michael Bersin said...

Awesome!

...And if you’re not angry you’re not paying attention...

Postcards From The 8 said...

Amen, ma'am.

I have only one minor anecdote to add:

My father sat me down once, when I was about 10, and he said (I approximate, for memory is faulty): "Understand, son, that your people have been Democrats ever since they emancipated the rednecks. But we are not Democrats for that reason. We are Democrats because the Peace and Freedom Party doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of ever beating that pig-***ker Reagan.

Gaiilonfong said...

although a lurker, I read you all the time. This is one of your greatest hits. I love me some angry bitch!
Thanks for your work.

ZhyKitty said...

Amen! Well said! That was awesome! You just hooked a new reader! lol
A bitch enjoyed that very much!

The only thing missing here are my choir robes. I must have shouted "YES!" "Amen!" and "Preach!" 5 or 6 times during that post.

(NOT an xtian - just raised in their churches)

I am a regular reader of JMG for a couple of years now - just started to actually speak on occasion in the comments on his site. Saw your name and couldnt resist having a peek - so glad I did.

PoliBohoGlam said...

1. The "aren't you liberals supposed to be tolerant" comment sounds so much to me like people of white privilege getting mad about poc calling them "racist".

"You're a racist for playing the race card and calling me out on my racism".

So sick of hateful turds telling people (particularly those who they regularly step and shat on) how to be meek, accepting, and tolerant.
This is my first time on the blog, and I'm immensely pleased. Reader for life on post one.
I truly <3 you for this!

Best line?
"The school of tolerance is kryptonite to true social change…so yes; I reject the hell out of it."
No truer organizing words have ever been spoken . . . er, typed.

Tendai said...

I love you!!!

kmh said...

"Tolerance" certainly isn't this positive feel good attribute that some make it out to be. "Tolerance can function as a substitute for or as a supplement to formal liberal equality or liberty; it can also overtly block the pursuit of substantive equality and freedom." From Karen Brown's Regulating Aversion. As long as people are "tolerant", true equality gets put on the back burner.

Chitown Kev said...

First time commenting here, thank you for this.

I get sooooooooooooooo irritated when people assume that I vote Democratic simply because I'm black; hell, even the family does it at times. Like I'm supposed to have a Democratic Party gene in the DNA or something...please.

On most issues I'm liberal, on some I'm libertarian (e.g. I am pro drug legalization)...under some circumstances to do like smaller government (but government should also be effective.)

I've voted for Dems, Greens, and even a Republican occasionally (Repubs in Illinois are somewhat reasonable, for the most part anyway).

Anonymous said...

I loved this post, as usual. Once, when I pointed out someone's racism, the arrogant smile disappeared from his face as he told me, "I TOLERATE all kinds." Case closed.

SLG said...

Thank you.

Some days I think I'm going insane when people tell me to calm down and that getting angry isn't healthy and that if I'm getting this worked up, I must be crazy.

When really, getting angry is one of the sanest responses when you realize what is going down--what people have done to you and what you have done to others.

So thank you for the reminder that we are not on the crazy side of the fence.

mark brooks said...

AB
Your younger than I am so I reckon your more tolerant of trolls like this fuckwit. Well said.

mark
carlisle iowa

Colonel de Guerlass said...

"La tolérance! la tolérance! Il y a des maisons pour celà.
"
Attributed to Clémenceau...

PPR_Scribe said...

Re: the Blackness for Beginners Manual

Where can I get a copy? Actually, I think I might be ready for the intermediate edition.

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