Intolerance is... The concept and manifestation of intolerance

Concept of intolerance

It is common for every individual to be hostile towards people whose way of life is radically different from what he is used to. The manifestation of intolerance is most often found in rejection of such human characteristics as:

• behavior;
• character traits;
• beliefs;
• manner of dressing;
• speech culture and others.

Sometimes intolerance towards someone can only cause us negative emotions, but some openly perceive with hostility the characteristics of other people, poisoning their lives. The most unpleasant thing here is that over time, people who are unpleasant to us are given not the most flattering labels. It turns out that intolerance is a universal human quality, which is expressed in denial and rejection of what is unusual for us. Intolerance can manifest itself not only in relation to an individual, but also in relation to entire nations. We often come across condemnation of such features as:

• culture;
• national characteristics;
• religious beliefs.

Causes

Xenophobia can be considered as a specific defensive reaction of the body such as aggression. The first reaction to the unknown and novelty is fear. This is fine. And the first reaction to fear is aggression, attack as defense. Thus, xenophobia is a person’s defensive reaction to something that he does not understand or know. Or on those whom a person puts above himself. In principle, any xenophobe is weak and unstable inside.

What else does xenophobia indicate, or what problems underlie it:

• narrow outlook and low level of intelligence;
• low self-esteem;
• psychological rigidity;
• diffidence;
• complexes;
• egoism and egocentrism;
• stereotypical thinking (“all women are stupid, and all dancers are homosexuals);
• fear of loss of social identity (every person is endowed with the need to belong to a group);
• personal negative experience, psychotrauma;
• education that promotes enmity and hatred, stereotypes about someone or something;
• Personal development in conditions of extremist propaganda.

Hatred arises towards those who do not act the way we want them to. Or not in the way we are used to. Some people understand that each person has a different temperament, character, experience, and developmental conditions; and societies differ in culture, traditions, and customs. Other people do not understand this, they are not ready to accept other views, a different way of life. They try to make everyone their own, and if this fails, they begin to hate the one who fought back.

Although we are accustomed to identifying xenophobia with national hostility, in fact the essence of the problem has nothing to do with nations. People from different parts of the world are prone to envy, selfishness, pride, arrogance. Universal human vices are the true cause of xenophobia.

Religious intolerance

Perhaps one of the most destructive manifestations of intolerance for humanity is the attitude towards someone else's religion. The basis of any religion should be faith in one God, but one should try to treat the rituals, prayers and holidays of each individual religious branch with respect and understanding. Intolerance towards other religions led to wars, persecution and oppression of those undesirable. Such phenomena were described in one of his articles by Ernest Radlov.

• When Christianity was considered a forbidden religion, its followers were persecuted and declared state criminals. All disasters and turmoil that occurred in the country were attributed to Christians. Although they were quite harmless for public policy, and also preached values ​​such as freedom of the church and freedom of conscience.
• When Christianity became the state religion in 312, pagans, Jews, and various sects began to be persecuted. Here, intolerance began to manifest itself on the part of Christians who believed that they were the ones who knew the truth.
• The merger of the state with the Christian church led to the Inquisition, which kept all believers in fear.

From this we can conclude that the attempt of one religious movement to declare its monopoly on the truth leads to intolerance towards other religions. It is therefore important that justice, understanding, and cooperation between representatives of different religious denominations prevail in such matters for the benefit of all believers.

What it is?

Xenophobia – what is it? Many people have only a superficial understanding of the specifics of this term. In medicine, this concept is interpreted as an extreme form of intolerance towards everything unknown, alien, and incomprehensible. Unfortunately, aversion to the new is embedded in many modern ideologies, religions, and moral teachings, so almost all people on the planet are infected to one degree or another with this disease, sometimes without even suspecting the meaning of the word xenophobia.

Intolerance and ideology

Intolerance is also one of the characteristics of any ideology. This is explained by the fact that the basis of any ideology, like religion, is its own dogmas, its own ideals. The psychology of any leader is superimposed on the policies he pursues, which, in turn, shapes the psychology of the masses. The people receive their idea, through which they are united and united with the political leader. But at the same time, often those who hold different views automatically become enemies. The dominant ideology can suppress the resistance of those who disagree with it. Although we must pay tribute to the fact that some political movements are characterized by bright, humane ideas. But there are also parties that are characterized by absolute extremes in their activities. These include:

• the ideology of fascism - the leader’s confidence that the state has the right to interfere in the lives of its citizens, control them, convince them of the superiority of their race over others, and fight dissent in every possible way;
• a policy of repression - a complete ban on the manifestation of freedom and openness when discussing various political decisions, the lack of freedom of speech in the state, the impossibility of holding fair elections, intolerance towards dissidents and their punishment.

Links[edit]

1. ^ a b c
   d BUDNER, S. (1962). Intolerance of ambiguity as a personality variable. Journal of Personality, 30(1), 29–50.
2. RENKELBRUNSWIK, E. (1949). Intolerance of ambiguity as an emotional and perceptual personality variable. Journal of Personality, 18(1), 108–143.
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   ↑ Adorno, T. W., Frenkel-Brunswik, E., Levinson, D. J., & Sanford, R. N. (1950). Authoritarian personality. NY.
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   ↑ Kenny, D. T., & Ginsberg, R. (1958). Specificity of intolerance of ambiguity measures. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 56(3), 300–304.
5. ^ab BOCHNER, S. (1965). Definition of intolerance of ambiguity. Psychological Records, 15(3), 393–400.
6. ↑
   LOCK, J., & BLOCK, J. (1951). Exploring the relationship between intolerance of ambiguity and ethnocentrism. Journal of Personality, 19(3), 303–311.
7. Evitt, E. E. (1953). Research into intolerance of ambiguity: I. A location test with elementary school students. Child Development, 24, 263–268.
8. Tatzel, M. (1980). Tolerance of ambiguity in adult college students. Psychological Reports, 47(2), 377–378
9. HARRINGTON, D., BLOCK, J., & BLOCK, J. (1978). Ambiguity intolerance in preschoolers—Psychometric considerations, behavioral manifestations, and parental correlates. Developmental Psychology, 14(3), 242–256.
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    ↑ Sanchez, D. T., Shih, M., & Garcia, J. A. (2009). Navigating multiple racial identities: Flexible racial identification and psychological well-being. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 15(3), 243–254.
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    ↑ Perez, J. (2002). Homophobia as a function of tolerance for ambiguity. (Order No. AAI3040658), International Dissertation Abstracts: Section B: Science and Technology, 590.
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    ↑ Orgel, L. C. (1999). Tolerance of ambiguity and marital satisfaction in Chinese-Euro-American interracial marriages. (Order No. AAM9918495), International Dissertation Abstracts: Section B: Science and Technology, 874.
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    ↑ Kuo, S. (2000). The contribution of preterm birth stressors and family resilience to pregnancy adjustment and preterm birth family adjustment. (Order No. AAI9952322), International Dissertation Abstracts: Section B: Science and Technology, 5435
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    ↑ Andersen, S. M., & Schwartz, A. H. (1992). Intolerance of ambiguity and depression: A cognitive vulnerability factor associated with hopelessness. Social Cognition, 10(3), 271–298.

Intolerance in interethnic relations

One of the most negative manifestations of intolerance is its interethnic form. The concept of “interethnic intolerance” implies a negative attitude of representatives of one nationality towards some others. The forms of its manifestation include:

• xenophobia – the belief that representatives of other countries and other cultures can only bring harm;
• ethnocentrism – manifestation of discrimination towards individuals or groups due to rejection of their cultural and linguistic values;
• Nationalism is the deep belief that one nation is superior to others.

The difficulties of interethnic relations include racial intolerance. The extreme degree of this manifestation is racism, which manifests itself in discrimination against people based on race.

Origins of xenophobia

All people of the 21st century, advanced users of the World Wide Web and all sorts of nano-techno-gadgets, have preserved built-in biological mechanisms - a kind of software from the Stone Age.

At the dawn of human history, everything incomprehensible , different from the usual, caused fear, drawing in the imagination the image of Babayka. And much was incomprehensible to the caveman, so fears and hostility multiplied and were deposited at the level of instincts.

The appearance of strangers was especially frightening. It threatened the established way of life and meant a battle for territory or resources, similar to the one that took place on the Nostromo ship in the film Alien.

Even peace-loving strangers could bring with them microorganisms that were detrimental to the health of the natives (due to the lack of antibodies to them). They had to share sources of food with them - already meager. By introducing themselves into society, uninvited guests brought changes with them and knocked them out of their comfort zone.

There is an opinion among scientists that xenophobia is a form of archaic defense of the people, a manifestation of the instinct of self-preservation.

One of the modern causes of xenophobia is globalization (the process of universal unification and integration). It gives rise to the fear of losing national and cultural identity and forces people to build a wall between their own and others.

Other manifestations of intolerance

There are several types of intolerance that every person encounters in everyday life.

• Gender intolerance is a prejudiced attitude towards the opposite sex. Most often it manifests itself in discrimination against women fighting for their rights to work and take part in public life on an equal basis with men.
• Age intolerance is a prejudiced attitude towards certain so-called shortcomings of a person that are attributed to them because of their age (for example, it is believed that old people cannot understand young people, and young people lack knowledge and experience).
• Educational intolerance is the disdainful attitude of highly educated people towards people with a lower level of education.
• Interclass intolerance is expressed in hostile relations between representatives of different property strata.
• Geographical intolerance is a prejudiced and mocking attitude on the part of residents of the capital and other large cities towards those who live in provincial cities, remote regions, as well as towards rural residents.

Self-medication

Only strong individuals who are ready to overcome a huge number of difficulties on the path to recovery can independently eradicate manifestations of xenophobia. The main condition for successful therapy is awareness of the harmfulness of the disease and continuous work on oneself. The patient can simulate various situations that involve communication with the object of irritation, and this can happen both virtually and in real life. It would not be a bad idea to seek help from loved ones, share the problem with them, and listen to their advice. When you cannot cope with the disease on your own, be sure to consult a specialist.

How to fight intolerance?

The problems of intolerance are that it is very difficult to move away from your beliefs and try to understand other people and become more tolerant. To do this, just follow some recommendations:

• be philosophical about the fact that in your environment there may be people who have their own opinion on this or that issue, different from yours;
• do not try to control everything around you, to subordinate everyone to your order, your desires, because each person is individual, and by imposing your rules on someone, you will only push these people away from you;
• understand that intolerance entails only negative emotions, so do not try to adapt those around you to yourself and do not allow yourself to be remade for the sake of others.

Teaching a child to be more tolerant

6-year-old Borya is the main “victim”, whom he constantly teases, does nasty things over little things, and pointedly does not take part in his games. The initiator of the “jokes” is always Borya, and his “retinue” supports the fun, some because “everyone is doing it, and I’m doing it,” some out of interest or boredom, and some because they are afraid of being in the place of the “victim”. Of course, the teacher struggles with this situation as best he can, but it only becomes temporarily more hidden, and the ridicule continues.

Children who are intolerant of others are one of two types: "cheerleader." The ringleaders are active, sometimes aggressive children who want to be the center of attention, and not just, but in a leadership position. They are accustomed to treating others condescendingly (which their parents may have “helped” them with, for example, by demonstrating such an attitude towards other people in front of the child or speaking derogatorily about his peers), and do not know how to take into account the interests of others. It is they who become the initiators of the “war” against someone who for some reason they did not like. Parents often justify the behavior of such children by saying that their child is only “defending themselves” and refuse to admit that it is their child who is the culprit in this situation.

If you understand that your child is the initiator of an intolerant attitude towards one of the children, first you need to believe in this fact. Only then can you take action. As long as you justify his behavior, he will continue to behave this way. A child with leadership potential needs to be shown how he can demonstrate it without affecting the interests of other children, how to gain real authority. They also need to be taught that every person has his own value, no matter what distinctive characteristics he has.

“Members of the support group” behave this way “for the leader.” These children are not confident in themselves, driven, their parents often take a suppressive position and use physical punishment. Such children are not inclined to think about personal responsibility; they make excuses by saying that the other person “started it himself.” The tactics of working with this category of children are different. It is necessary to increase their own value, responsibility, self-confidence, ability to resist bad example and also talk about the value and interests of other children.

General recommendations for overcoming intolerance are:

• Parents should watch what they say in front of their children
  , even if they are supposed to “not hear” or “not understand.” Most types of intolerance and ways to show it to children are “suggested” by parents. And it is useless to instill something in your child if your behavior remains unchanged. Do not “prompt” these teasers to your child yourself. Often adults provoke children into undesirable behavior by discussing “how fat Masha is from their group” or wondering “whether the children tease Maxim with glasses.”
• The obvious is not the most important thing
  . Parents must show their child that appearance, gender, nationality, and even behavioral characteristics are not that important. The instructive game “Candy” will help with this. Take a delicious candy and wrap it in an inconspicuous wrapper (you can make it yourself from plain paper). Let the child make sure that the candy is tasty. Talk to him about how it happens among people: the appearance is not very attractive, but inside the person is very kind and good.
• The main helpers are games and fairy tales
  . Russian fairy tales are a storehouse of folk wisdom. Especially those where the heroes act together, solving some problem. For example, in the fairy tale “Teremok”, where at the end all the animals built a house together, or in the fairy tale “Turnip”, where all the characters were united by a common goal. When reading a fairy tale to your child, discuss the characteristics of each of the characters. Please note that they are all different, but each of them is good in its own way. Also play with your child, and let the plot of the game be based on a real situation when the child was intolerant of the shortcomings of others. During the game, consult with your child about what feelings the characters are experiencing and what is best for them to do. Through play and fairy tales, this “lesson” will be learned much more successfully than through moralizing and punishment.
• Intolerance is replaced either by interest or sympathy
  . Intolerance is a strong feeling, and one must understand that either it will be replaced by other, more noble feelings, or it will not go away. Therefore, when eradicating intolerance, it is necessary to determine what will “grow” in this place later. Intolerance can be replaced by interest (“I wonder why he behaves this way?”) or sympathy (“It must be difficult to live if you limp”). Interest can be generated by encouraging the child to think about what is happening, rather than simply stating or judging. Of course, this is a later stage of development, and very few preschoolers are capable of this. But the “seeds” of an interested view of the world can be planted now. In some cases, when the characteristics (in appearance or state of health) of another person are such that they cannot be changed, it is necessary to teach the child to show compassion and empathy so that he grows up to be a caring person.