I'm pretty liberal. Too much. Yet, 18 yrs old, 1990. Hampshire
College, amherst ma. Liberal as liberal gets. Here's what I said
too frequently (or not enough) that was my "friend test":
Someone would start ranting to me about intolerant people.
Intolerant this, intolerant that. I was sympathetic: I could see
where they were coming from and in GENERAL, I could agree
mostly. But... here was my friend test: "Ok, but if you're so
tolerant, doesn't that mean you need to tolerate the intolerant
people too? Otherwise you're being intolerant. What if the
people who you are calling intolerant are actually tolerating
YOU, making THEM the tolerant ones, and you the intolerant that
you so despise?" I remember it well because I said it a lot, and
I have NO IDEA where it came from. Anyway, it was a good friend
sorter. Many got offended. Some wouldn't talk to me again. But a
few "got" what I was saying, and get a knowing look like, "k,
you got me, you got me on that". Those ppl? I'm on and off life
long friends with. The ones that left in a huff that prior
thought I was better than Jesus? Hardly said "boo" to me after
that. I guess I was a little 18 yr old smartass. I thought I was
clever.
