20/20 Vision | Tolerance or Echo Chamber

Tolerance

• The power or capacity of enduring; or the act of enduring. [Webster 1828]
• A fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, beliefs, practices, racial or ethnic origins, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry. [dictonary.com]

Tolerance is an interesting concept. Sometimes it is difficult to discover the truth of whether it is actually observed, simply misunderstood, or merely ignored. Quite possibly, even more so, by those who claim to possess it the most. Perhaps you or I, likewise believe we are quite tolerant of other ideas or people, but are actually more tuned in to an echo chamber of our own making.

We will use the example of Facebook, but we could consider any location (digital or physical) where persons of differing views could congregate. 

We start with an open forum, claiming to desire honest and open dialogue between persons who may hold varying views on whatever topic is presented (by the admin, owner or members).

Quite often such places attract Trolls: those who usually only wish to disrupt rather than actually engage in productive dialogue. They are considered a nuisance by the majority and are soon blocked; especially if they continue after being warned. We don't want them here.

Heated debates arise between active participants, as each is triggered by different topics. Stronger personalities and harsher criticisms swell, as people feel more comfortable addressing their opponents from the safety found behind their screen. We lose some of the "weaker" persons who dislike the contentious atmosphere the forum now has. We admit there are more personal attacks at present, but we justify it because we feel the same way about the constant disapproval, badgering, and arguing from those we disagree with. They are driving us mad. We shouldn't be stressed in our own place. So we delete comments or block certain persons from content we prefer they not see or comment on. We don't want them here.

Still remain those who contend against our view or ideals. We cannot understand how they continue to refuse to see the world the way we do. They are not abrasive but they still judge us as wrong, our ideals as inferior. Even when other members rail against them and belittle their thoughts, they keep coming back, sharing more of why they disagree. We don't care what they say or why they believe it. Just stop bothering me by commenting on my thoughts. We don't want them here.

Soon we find our happy place. We can discuss things in unison with likeminded souls, while making fun of those who disagree with us. They are so arrogant, so stupid, so intolerant.... while we sit in our cozy echo chamber we ourselves have created by distancing ourselves from those who would disagree. Sure, we talk about them, by bringing in their ignorant audio, video, writings, etc. into our discussion. We just don't want to talk to them. We don't want them here.