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(In)Tolerance
Mar. 21st, 2007 12:15 pmThere are times when I wonder why I read the news. It's good to be aware of what's going on in the world, but it's jarring to read what people will do to each other without hesitation.
Teacher gets suspended for allowing a student to run an editorial promoting gay tolerance. From the sound of things, it wasn't even an inflammatory editorial; it simply stated the opinion that it's wrong to look down on another person simply because they're gay. Still, the teacher was suspended for letting it go to press, rather than allowing the principal to censor the article. Is this what kids learn about freedom of the press, and freedom of speech? Is this what we're teaching them about tolerance?
A 14-year-old black girl shoves a hall monitor and gets 7 years in prison. School officials insisted that she deserved jail time, rather than probation, and the school has quite a reputation for disciplining black students more harshly than white students. She also received this sentence after after a white teenager burned down her family's home and only received probation. How does that make sense?
Women in the military get sexually harassed and raped during service, and nobody does anything about it. The few women who are brave enough to report these kind of incidents receive ridicule and more harassment, while the perpetrators receive mere slaps on the wrist... and that's if the investigation *isn't* closed due to "lack of evidence." They're driven to the brink of madness not only by the war, but by the very people who are supposed to protect them in combat, and they don't even get to see justice served when they come home.
Hearing stories like these is frightening and disturbing, and it makes you think about what you'd do, if you were in such a situation. It's easy to say, "if I ever saw something like that happening, I'd stand up and do what's right." But really, would you? Or would fear or apathy keep you silent, as it seems to with so many others?
I suppose that the best we can do for now is to lead by example, and show tolerance through our words and deeds... and be ready to do the right thing when it's needed most.
Teacher gets suspended for allowing a student to run an editorial promoting gay tolerance. From the sound of things, it wasn't even an inflammatory editorial; it simply stated the opinion that it's wrong to look down on another person simply because they're gay. Still, the teacher was suspended for letting it go to press, rather than allowing the principal to censor the article. Is this what kids learn about freedom of the press, and freedom of speech? Is this what we're teaching them about tolerance?
A 14-year-old black girl shoves a hall monitor and gets 7 years in prison. School officials insisted that she deserved jail time, rather than probation, and the school has quite a reputation for disciplining black students more harshly than white students. She also received this sentence after after a white teenager burned down her family's home and only received probation. How does that make sense?
Women in the military get sexually harassed and raped during service, and nobody does anything about it. The few women who are brave enough to report these kind of incidents receive ridicule and more harassment, while the perpetrators receive mere slaps on the wrist... and that's if the investigation *isn't* closed due to "lack of evidence." They're driven to the brink of madness not only by the war, but by the very people who are supposed to protect them in combat, and they don't even get to see justice served when they come home.
Hearing stories like these is frightening and disturbing, and it makes you think about what you'd do, if you were in such a situation. It's easy to say, "if I ever saw something like that happening, I'd stand up and do what's right." But really, would you? Or would fear or apathy keep you silent, as it seems to with so many others?
I suppose that the best we can do for now is to lead by example, and show tolerance through our words and deeds... and be ready to do the right thing when it's needed most.
