We like to think of things in polarity - black/white, good/evil - since we have been conditioned to thinking with our left brain. We have set rules and roles for everything and everyone. Females are nurturing, males not so much. Sometimes these stereotypes are true, possibly because we so often see what we expect to see. Yet they are not always correct. Bentley a four year old mastiff cross adopted a kitten named Minuit. He was quite protective of his "baby", especially when Minuit went outside on a leash. Minuit would act as though Bently was his mother, even to trying to nurse from him. It was quite an amazing thing to see. Minuit is almost a year old now, yet he will occasionally revert to his kitten behaviour and Bentley, good-natured as he is, allows it. Yet this allowance is more than mere tolerance. It is acceptance.
I highly doubt that Bentley, although he is not the brightest example of dog IQ, thinks that Minuit is a dog. Yet he accepts him as a member of the family pack.
North the second in the pack, after yours truly, who is the alpha female, also accepts the cat as a member of the pack but it is a much more grudging acceptance. He doesn't want any physical contact with the cat. Acceptance of differences has its degrees within the pack.
In Canada, as a "cultural mosaic", it has long been about tolerance. I personally never understood why anyone would settle for tolerance. Tolerance to me has the sense of "putting up with although never really liking", which is no compliment. As a female I abhor tolerance of my abilities. I am as fully human as any male member of the species and should have the same opportunities at self-actualization. I have never wanted or needed women's liberation. I am free already to choose my path. What I prefer to have is acceptance yet I will choose my path with or without others' acceptance. Tolerance is a habit of the mind, a social directive. Acceptance comes from the heart and is difficult to counterfeit. So if we can't give acceptance to one another, tolerance is a poor substitute. We would be wise to dispense with it.
I highly doubt that Bentley, although he is not the brightest example of dog IQ, thinks that Minuit is a dog. Yet he accepts him as a member of the family pack.
North the second in the pack, after yours truly, who is the alpha female, also accepts the cat as a member of the pack but it is a much more grudging acceptance. He doesn't want any physical contact with the cat. Acceptance of differences has its degrees within the pack.
In Canada, as a "cultural mosaic", it has long been about tolerance. I personally never understood why anyone would settle for tolerance. Tolerance to me has the sense of "putting up with although never really liking", which is no compliment. As a female I abhor tolerance of my abilities. I am as fully human as any male member of the species and should have the same opportunities at self-actualization. I have never wanted or needed women's liberation. I am free already to choose my path. What I prefer to have is acceptance yet I will choose my path with or without others' acceptance. Tolerance is a habit of the mind, a social directive. Acceptance comes from the heart and is difficult to counterfeit. So if we can't give acceptance to one another, tolerance is a poor substitute. We would be wise to dispense with it.
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