Reply #22: here's the thing--

[orleans]

i USED to be so fucking open minded that when friends of mine or acquaintances would tell racial jokes, ethnic jokes, etc. i would not say a fucking thing. sometimes i would smile politely.

i found it very sad and offensive. but i wouldn't speak out.

one day i read something that had a major impact on me (written by a black author--but i forget who), saying that if you don't speak up and you don't react, your silence is basically approval for what is being said.

so...i tried it. and i spoke up again and again. i wasn't as quiet and polite as i had been. it went from: "i don't think that's funny" to "i find that offensive" to "i don't want to hear that offensive shit and if you're going to talk like an asshole around me then i'm getting the fuck out of here."

i think that was the problem with a lot of laid-back, tye-dyed, bleeding heart liberals. we were so fucking accepting of others that people who were real pieces of shit thought it was okay to be the way they were, do the crap they did, talk the way they talked.

and it's not okay.

so now--i don't tolerate that anymore. i won't put up with people like that anymore. and i make it real clear why.

now, if you want to explain to me why it should be okay for anyone to act out their hatred on someone else (due to skin color or sexual orientation or for whatever reason) i'm letting you know i will not be bothered listening. because, for some things, there is no excuse or justification.

i'm just not as open-minded as i used to be. (but in a good way)