When we tolerate something offensive (slavery, sexism, racism) for a long time, we “normalize” it.  We do this as individuals and as a people.  This is what victims do, by the way.  They go along with abuse until they become numb to it and can no longer think for themselves.  But just because you/we tolerate offensive behavior, by shrugging it off, laughing about it, minimizing it, or telling y/ourself it is “normal”, does not mean that it IS normal or even acceptable, and in fact it may be atrocious or even heinous.   I hope and believe that people (all of us) are waking up to this right now.  But for some, it is going to be a rude awakening, like ice water, and they will object to anyone calling them out.

If you have been stumbling along for years like a sheep, tolerantly blind to the offenses made by those in your circle, then the response of others to those offenses may catch you unawares, like a bucket of ice water in your face.  At the very least.

And you won’t like that.  You may curse, splutter, defend the offender and question the intolerance.  You may hear yourself saying:  “What’s the big deal?  Why can’t we just be tolerant?”

And the answer is:  Because we are done with it.  Wake up, come alive, and see what you are doing.

All of those little jokes that smack of the isms and phobias:  racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and all of the micro-aggressions that people used to “get away” with are now being met with vehement push back.  Racist jokes. Gay jokes.  Jokes about women and porn, which ignore the connection to trafficking, de-humanization, and slavery.  Smug platitudes about being great, as though bullying defines greatness.

Wake up, because hell no, we do not and we will not accept or tolerate ANY of that.  No, we are not going to just ignore it.  No, we will not lighten up about it.   We are not amused, we are disgusted.  We’re done.

Come to higher ground.  We have so many things to work for right now:  the environment, education, healthcare, water, our basic rights, our safety and integrity as a democracy, to name just a few.

We are so done with being tolerant with the assaults on our dignity, our bodies, our collective voices, and our unique individual gifts.  Your tolerance of those assaults is an insult to all of us. If you want to be part of an adult dialogue, then wake up and grow up.  Come alive.
Stop tolerating things that are intolerable, stop rationalizing the irrational, and stop colluding with perpetrators.  Stop making excuses for their behavior.

“Normalizing” offensive behaviors is an act of passive atrocity.

You can do better than this.  You can make a positive difference.  If you can’t leave the swamp, then at least acknowledge that you are in it.  Better yet, wake up, stand up and climb out of there.  Come to higher ground.