There are lots of words that annoy me. Like ‘mush’ (rhyming with bush), which is what leigh’s father insists on calling my children’s mouths. He hates the word ‘kid’, so I try to use it at least three times for every time he says mush.
But the word that really drives me batty is tolerant. I can barely tolerate it. Really, I hate the way people use that word as though tolerance is something virtuous.
As in “Australia is a wonderful, tolerant country.”
Well, you know what? There’s nothing wonderful about tolerance. Tolerating something means putting up with it, because you think it’s impolite not to.
Tolerating gay people or people with little english or people who look or think differently is not the same as accepting them or embracing them.
It’s not even the same as being indifferent to them. I’ll take indifference over the condescension of tolerance any day, thanks.
Of course, intolerance is worse than tolerance, but it just shits me to no end that people who claim to be tolerant think they’re doing the world such a favour.