In the debate on tolerance and intolerance in the country a lot of words have been said in Facebook posts and Twitter timelines thanks to Aamir Khan.
But here’s a Facebook post by Vardhan Kondvikar that just hit the nail on the head:
Sure we’re a tolerant country. We’re tolerant of violence in the name of religion. We’re tolerant of casteism and reservations. We’re tolerant of violence towards women, children and animals. We’re tolerant of air that’s unfit to breathe. We tolerate our trees and our wildlife being destroyed. We’re tolerant of not having any safety, environmental or ethical standards to speak of. We’re tolerant of wealthy communities that won’t let you live in their buildings if you don’t eat the same food they do.
Source: Screengrab from Satyamev Jayate
We’re tolerant of builders who kill mangroves and set up apartment buildings. We’re tolerant of motorcyclists who drive on footpaths. We’re tolerant about not having parks or playgrounds or public spaces for our children. We’re tolerant of governments that are corrupt and governments that are led by fascists. We’re tolerant of people who use their community’s supposedly hurt sentiments to have books and films and opinions banned.
We’re tolerant of wife beaters and spitters who tell you to mind your own business when you intervene. We’re tolerant of having the largest number of malnourished children in the f*****g WORLD.
Oh yes, we’re very tolerant. The only thing we’re intolerant of is someone pointing out that we’re not as tolerant as we think we are, and who might therefore want to change his own life because of that. Not someone else’s, his own.
Greatest country in the world.
(This post has been republished with the permission of the author)
Featured image source: PTI