Is being intolerant of the intolerant hypocritical?

[FortyTwo]

Hyperboles aside, the reasons and reasonings for our opinions will not all be the same.

But if someone holds a certain opinion, and it causes harm, then it doesn't matter what their reasoning is.

It doesn't matter why someone is a white supremacist. White supremacists cause harm. I'm not going to look at a KKK member and say, "why do you hold these beliefs?" because I know that they hold those beliefs, and I know they are going to cause harm to society. I'm not being unfair to certain members of the KKK who might be, objectively speaking, "less prejudiced" based on the reasoning behind their opinions, because their opinions are directly harmful and it doesn't matter where those opinions come from.

 

[Envy]

It does for me.

And opinions aren't inherently harmful.

 

[Mischief]

Hyperboles aside, the reasons and reasonings for our opinions will not all be the same.

Of course people can, and often do, have different reasons/reasoning for various opinions. That may or may not affect how I (or others) view those opinions.

For example, I don't think it's any more admirable to dislike homosexual people for religious reasons than for nonreligious reasons. I think that man creates God in his image, rather than vice versa; IOW, people choose a religion that reflects their own feelings/thoughts.

 

[FortyTwo]

It does for me.

And opinions aren't inherently harmful.

If someone dehumanizes an entire demographic of people based on a single trait that is literally inescapable, and not a source of anything other than diversity, then yes, that is inherently harmful. Inexcusable, really.

All metaphysical gripes aside, speaking entirely practically, every one of us is capable of making choices, and I am not going to award any respect to anyone with an awful viewpoint dedicated to ruining life for other people.

 

[FortyTwo]

Of course people can, and often do, have different reasons/reasoning for various opinions. That may or may not affect how I (or others) view those opinions.

For example, I don't think it's any more admirable to dislike homosexual people for religious reasons than for nonreligious reasons. I think that man creates God in his image, rather than vice versa; IOW, people choose a religion that reflects their own feelings/thoughts.

Exactly! Fantastic example. There's no obligation to respect their opinion; inwardly, there might be a different motivation ("I believe LGBTQ people defy my religion" vs "I think LGBTQ people are gross"), but that doesn't affect what happens to everyone else ("LGBTQ people shouldn't have certain rights" vs "LGBTQ people shouldn't have certain rights").

 

[Moll Flanders]

Dismantle the power structures behind the kind of oppression that allows people to get away with being hateful assholes and you end up with a world where people aren't being taught that it's okay to act like that from the beginning of their lives. It'd be nice if people who believed LGBTQ people deserve less than everyone else got the same kind of treatment by society as, say, white supremacists. But no, instead we're told that these people have a right to their opinion, and we're just as bad as them if we try and fight back. Which, although you certainly mean well, is a notion that your attitude toward this supports.

It might not be a good idea to compare LGBTQ struggles to veganism, either... I mean, we chose veganism for ourselves. If someone doesn't want to offer me vegan food then sure, they might be a dick, but I understand that veganism is a choice I made. LGBTQ people don't have the opportunity to just stop being who we are. We can't rewire our brains, and we sure as hell wouldn't want to if we could.

Well yes, exactly, to both points.

 

[FortyTwo]

The latest xkcd is very relevant to this thread.