I agree-- I live a wildly "alternative" lifestyle away from my day job-- but I
perform the "dance" with the general population in order to coexist peacefully.
Tolerance does _not_ mean acceptance-- and that's a good thing, for there
needs to be a middle ground between acceptance and hostility.
We should have the right to hate who we want to, for whatever reasons (however
immature or irrational). It is when we decide to act on this hatred that
society should reign us in-- brutally, if necessary.
Tolerance without understanding is a necessary function of any society that
gets to the size of our modern, industrialized nations. To seek to understand
so many wildly varying points of view would be counterproductive-- we can spend
forever trying to "understand" each other, or we can agree to work toward
collective goals and keep our differences to ourselves. Throwing an idea in
someone's face unsolicited usually results in that person taking a defensive
stance-- not a good way to win someone to your pov.
Mike Kirby
Wholesale Slaughter
http://slaughter.net