Today marks the International Day for Tolerance. While on its face, this sounds like an excellent idea, the organization behind the annual commemoration is none other than the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, which is largely run by murderous dictatorships, like those found in Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, and China that consistently violate human rights. I would be highly interested to learn what the International Day for Tolerance looks like in Iran, for example.
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When the communist dictatorship in China continued to allow airplanes to fly all over the world at the same time as Wuhan was in lockdown and data that could have helped countries around the world prepare for the pandemic were meticulously concealed by the communist regime, the Chinese regime claimed all those accusing it of crimes were "intolerant to the Chinese."
UNESCO designates dictators that oppress their own people as representatives of those they oppress. On the other hand, opposition to the persecution of homosexuals or support for women's rights is repeatedly depicted as "intolerance" toward Islam or other cultures.
The International Day for Tolerance and the very term "tolerance" itself have been hijacked. Instead of focusing on women's and LGBTQ+ RIGHTS in countries where they are murdered and oppressed, it has been turned into a day of lashing out at – of all countries - free and democratic states. Instead of the day focusing on the dictatorial oppression of human rights, the oppressors are those that lead the events of the day, and they are presented as legitimate public representatives. Part of tolerance is opposition to those who suppress it. One cannot talk of tolerance where there is no possibility to protest, and when the free press cannot expose discrimination and injustice. In China, Russia, and Iran, there are no protesters demonstrating against the government's policies on the environment or human rights because demonstrators are imprisoned or worse. It is not a coincidence that these countries are the ones polluting all of our air at the highest rates. These are all the countries spreading the most amount of fake news to undermine countries that are free.
It is so easy to talk about discrimination against blacks in the US or discrimination in Israel because, in both places, there is a free press and freedom of speech. The data is simply out in the open. It is much harder to understand that genuine intolerance exists in the world's greatest dictatorships. If we were really concerned about tolerance, International Day for Tolerance would include a series of protests outside the embassies of dictator regimes, a call to boycott technologies and products that fund the oppression of people in those states, among other things.
This, however, is not going to happen because it demands courage to contend with real problems and it is easier to stick with the consensus. This is cowardice for cowardice's sake. It is harder to operate vis-à-vis bodies that blatantly oppress tolerance. It requires an effort, but this is where genuine change can be made.
Around the world, tolerance is under the most serious threat it has faced this century. Opponents of open communication, criticism, acceptance of the other, and exposure of centers of coercion present efforts against them as intolerance. The time has come to step out of our comfort zone and celebrate honesty and the courage to genuinely act in tolerance's name and not
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