In recent years the word tolerance, like many words, has been redefined. While at the same time, bullying, which should never be tolerated, has been redirected instead of being condemned. The result is a society in which intolerance and bullying are encouraged towards anyone that doesn’t celebrate progressive doctrine. The keyword being “celebrate” since tolerating opposing views is no longer enough.
Josh McDowell had this to say about tolerance: “The traditional definition of tolerance means simply to recognize and respect others’ beliefs and practices without necessarily agreeing or sympathizing with them. This attitude, that everyone has a right to their own opinion, is what tolerance means to most people. But today’s definition is vastly different. This new tolerance considers every individual’s beliefs, values, lifestyle, and truth claims to be equally valid. Not only do people have an equal right to their beliefs, but all beliefs are equal. The new tolerance goes beyond respecting a person’s rights; It demands praise and endorsement of that person’s beliefs, values, and lifestyles. In the new cultural climate, any unpopular message can be labeled “intolerant” and therefore repressed.”
To put a face on what this new “tolerance” looks like and how bullying has been redirected instead of condemned, we need to look no further than Isabella Chow and the University of California at Berkeley. Facing an avalanche of hostility, Isabella Chow, a Christian student senator at the University of California, Berkeley, is refusing to back down from her beliefs about marriage and sexuality, even as she continues to weather intense backlash from her fellow students and others!
One of her fellow student senators went as far as to say that Chow’s Christian beliefs “were not beliefs at all, they were hateful prejudices that deserve nothing less than the strongest condemnation.” But when you read what Chow had to say in a phone interview with The College Fix, her love, support, and compassion for the LGBTQ students at Berkeley are obvious.
I can’t help but ask, why are so many quick to affirm progressive doctrine that changes daily with consequences unknown till some future date, while at the same time condemning Isabella for standing by her beliefs and values? Where are the tolerance, praise, and celebration for an Asian woman that stands by her convictions? Unfortunately, the radical “progressives” only praise, celebrate, and tolerate those that share their doctrine. There is no tolerance for unbelievers.
I must add that I am incredibly impressed with a student in her twenties, at Berkeley of all places, that had the courage to stand up to incredible peer and societal pressures, knowing that a tsunami of hatred and bigotry would be unleashed towards her for refusing to go along with the crowd. This kind of courage is uncommon in our society and she has my admiration and support.
While I share Isabella’s faith and her convictions based on Biblical truth, it is the compassion I share with her for those in the LGBTQ community that compels me not to be silent at a time when to speak is to be condemned by the radical left.
Where is the compassion for gay men when the incredible health risks associated with men having sex with men are ignored by those that openly seek to promote the gay lifestyle to children in public schools? How many gay men are aware that it is estimated that anal sex is 18 times better at transmitting HIV than vaginal sex?
Where is the compassion in trying to pass laws banning therapy and printed resources helping those who seek freedom from LGBTQ+ identities and lifestyles? Especially when many have been helped by those therapies and resources.
Since studies by psychologist Kenneth Zucker showed 80% to 98% of children with gender identity disorder revert to the identity of their sex at birth if allowed to go through puberty, and a study from Sweden revealed that transgender adults that progressed into adulthood with affirming therapies (medical and surgical) had a 20-fold increase in suicides compared to the general population. — I also have to question the compassion of those that advocate for an early transition of pre-pubescent children that self-identify as transgender.
Combine the studies mentioned above with a recent Brown University paper that seems to suggest that rapid-onset gender dysphoria could be due to peer pressure and online influences, and there should at least be a little wiggle room for the opinion that promoting total gender confusion under the guise of tolerance, may not be exercising compassion and doing what is in the best interest of our children and young adults.
With studies showing the extreme health risks of men having sex with men and others highly suggesting that promoting gender identity confusion is damaging to our children, it is alarming that some radical LGBTQ activists will do anything, including bullying, to stop challenges to promoting a radical LGBTQ doctrine.
I know many parents are afraid to stand up to these bullies, but your children and their friends are depending on you to protect them. The findings from a recent Gallup poll may suggest that promoting gender confusion has led to a 400% increase in those that identify as LGBTQ. While it would be easier to remain silent, this is no time for cowardice. True tolerance, compassion, and anti-bullying can be promoted without encouraging lifestyles that are often unhealthy. Children in public schools have enough problems without being taught total gender confusion. Public schools should not be treated like a petri dish for “progressive” social experiments.
“For me, to love another person does not mean that I silently concur, when at the bottom of my heart, I do not believe that your choices are right or the best for you as an individual” – Isabella Chow
- Kenneth J. Zucker is an American-Canadian psychologist and sexologist. He was Psychologist-in-Chief at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Head of the Gender Identity Service until December 2015.
**While Isabella Chow’s courage has been widely reported on by numerous news organizations, I chose to link to the piece done by “The College Fix,” not because they are conservative but because they are also courageous. Courage in this day is rare and needs to be acknowledged and admired.
***My compassion for those in the LGBTQ community compelled me to share some unpleasant facts in this article. Hopefully, they can be used to help you make informed decisions.
