Wednesday 14 June 2023
Slob
Early one recent sunny morning we saw an obese young woman in town wandering towards the Co-op dressed in what appeared to be her pyjamas while busy chatting on her mobile phone. Probably nipped out for something edible, but she looked like a slob.
Tolerance says it doesn’t matter and it doesn’t, just another of those momentary encounters with the rich tapestry of human life. Meanwhile a thought about that rich tapestry pops to the surface - maybe we undervalue prejudice and overvalue tolerance.
Tolerance won’t tolerate prejudice about appearance and demeanour, we know that, it's the comfortable attitude. Yet prejudice may eventually turn out to have been a useful defence against the decay of personal standards. Maybe prejudice is best seen as a defence rather than some outdated abomination.
Prejudice about public behaviour is not easily justified where no harm is done. Tolerance is easier and far more fashionable, both of which give it powerful social advantages. Not that we cared about or were in any way disturbed by the sight of the pyjama clad slob. Nobody would be until…
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4 comments:
Excellent thoughts there. Personally, I'm a bit conflicted on this one. Recognising differences in people and their standards is extremely important, as without that recognition one is socially blind. But I don't want to get too concerned about how other people look and behave, as that way lies a habitual censorious attitude and always being on edge. My idea would be to note that this person is a slob, quickly check to see if there is any harm being done (especially children, in the case of slobby or drunk parents) and whether I can do anything about it; and then to move on.
On the other hand, tolerance is a major vice of the middle classes in the UK. It's often an excuse for laziness, and an opportunity to signal virtue. The author Micholas Monserrat (in The Tribe that Lost its Head) used the phrase "the basic English lust to demonstrate broadmindedness". It jumped off the page at me.
Sam - thanks and yes, tolerance is a major vice of the middle classes. Ironically we seem to lack tolerance diversity - too few Mary Whitehouse types to give us a spread of competing views. It could be said that the BBC has even managed to screw up tolerance by pushing only one version - their own.
I can tolerate many behaviours... but I don't always respect them.
If many of the victimhood activists could settle for toleration rather than demonising others for their offensive lack of 'respect' then the world would be a better place. And activists would be short of a Cause and out of a job .
DJ - yes, the inability to settle for toleration seems to be characteristic of activism as we see it in the media. It often resembles partial insanity with an extremely distorted view of the importance of their claims - and their own importance.
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