So fuck anyone thinking I need to be tolerant of either.

Some people on both sides of the aisle want to silence the opposing viewpoint. I am willing to engage in open dialogue with those who disagree with me but the trouble is finding people that will engage in a reasonable and rational manner. I do think we can work on our approach as sometimes we are perceived as condescending or superior. Although I am not so sure that is from the liberal message or an inferiority complex of the other side. Maybe there is a sense of threat from intellectual discourse.

...fact that there is ground to cover on both sides of the line of scrimmage, to the exclusion of the fact that the ball is on the five yard line.

To formalize the logic, sets A and B may both include element C, but it does not therefore follow that A equals B.

But that's how he treats it, as do many other mainstream commentators and pundits, quite consistently over what has become decades.

This reflexive "both sides" framing is in part a deeply-ingrained defense against accusations of "liberal media bias" (which conservatives toss out in half an eyeblink), and partly a centrist complacency or laziness: "the left is yelling at us, the right is yelling at us, we must be doing something right".

Don't shortchange how this skews coverage. It's the centrist version of "not a dime's worth of difference" and is part of the reason there's a howler monkey in the White House instead of a nice Methodist lady.

Larger point, smaller point, finer point, there are always various points of view. And that not only includes liberals and conservatives but variations on either side. Obviously that includes the liberals that posted about the specifics on Fareed Zakaria's comments. We all filter and perceive the world through our own experiences and our opinions and beliefs reflect that.

As far as the coverage is concerned, that is how the both sides argument has been presented for quite some time. Even though there might be a need to change it because of the paradigm shift brought about by the current administration, I don't see that happening anytime soon. And there are biases liberal and conservative, that's the reality.

That's his style, he focuses on both sides. He gives them careful consideration because that is how he thinks. I understand about the A and B as well as C but this administration certainly doesn't follow that equation.

I agree that coverage is skewed. Look at the variations on CNN, MSNBC and ABC, CBS and NBC and so on. There are variations between television and online equivalents. And there will continue to be. As far as the howler monkey, there are multiple reasons for that. I am quite aware that media wants to make a profit and gain ratings, they skew for their market as well.

people to whom I seldom give much thought but who assume that I spend a lot of time thinking ill of them and sneering at them. And their erroneous assumption that I spend a lot of time sneering at them caused them to vote for Trump.

At the same time, I have become aware that people in those selfsame regions DO actually spend a lot of time thinking ill of people from my region. Difference is that I STILL don't see the need to give a rat's ass about their opinions of me.

Seems like there are a lot of people who need to grow the fuck up, quit looking at who is being "elitist" (in their minds) and start looking at who is screwing them and their families every time they turn around.

And I do want to silence them in certain venues.

There is no dialog with creationists, racists, global warming deniers and other anti-intellectual morons. Their minds are closed.

Evolution is real, the earth is billions of years old, racists are dangerous and disgusting, and mankind is causing severe damage to the earth's natural environment. My opinions ARE superior. If that makes some ignorant twit feel bad, well then, maybe they'll shut the fuck up. Maybe they'l feel so ashamed of their ignorance they'll be afraid to vote. Maybe they'll stop trying to ooze like slugs into our public schools to slime our children.

That's not the same thing as throwing people in prison to shut them up, or punching them in the face.

Social scientists say that extremism is growing on BOTH sides. Yes, it grew and exploded on the right first, and is still, and probably always will be, far stronger on the right, but they're finding the current response from the left very alarming.

We're seeing extreme, extreme intolerance from many right here on DU, to the point that I'm starting to wonder how badly mud-slinging mobbery might damage DU as others stay away.

That said, find people these days who refuse to join in what is no less than rampant political bigotry and you will find genuine liberals and to a lesser number moderate conservatives.

But, I have a really difficult time not letting my emotions get the better of me. Stereotyping and and demonizing people someone disagrees with seems to be present on both sides and I think it's generally unhealthy. It's possible to attack policies without attacking poeple. But, I think it also takes a lot of work.

That's crux of the problem. The Republicans have given up on reality, and most have flat out turned traitor. Too many issues where they've given the middle (or positions of fundamental reality) to us, while painting themselves into extreme positions through propaganda and manipulation.

Their viewpoints deserve to be ridiculed and silenced, anything else just validates their lies and damages our democracy.

It's just tough listening to flat earth, Birther, racist, hateful, greedy, war mongering, white wing conservatism.

I won't give an audience to someone who says one thing and does another.

I applaud and stand beside those who left. Their actions say words and deeds matter and need support one another.

Principles matter.

Being "nice" also includes determining ones actions merit a hard stand.

This excerpt from Zakaria's op-ed sums things up nicely:

"It's an attitude of self-righteousness that says we are so pure, we're so morally superior, we cannot bear to hear an idea with which we disagree," he said. "Liberals think they are tolerant but often they aren't."

It's one thing to state firm opposition and make powerful counter-arguments, but to attempt to drown out or completely suppress ideology that don't square with your own is harmful to free speech.

I don't have an issue listening to a genuinely held belief which is contrary to my own beliefs and which is presented with proof and reasoned argumentation.

But I shouldn't have to listen to someone who lies or catapults propaganda shamelessly or claims to know things with absolute certainty that they can't possibly know.

We live in an age of propaganda and the defense against propaganda is not to listen to it and not to give a microphone to people spreading it. Giving a forum to flat-earthers just gives them an air of legitimacy which they do not deserve.

I don't think there is anything wrong with being intolerant of bigotry or disrespect or calls to harm other people.

People who support racism or pedophilia or homophobia or sexism or who deny climate change or a woman's right to choose should be drowned out and completely suppressed because it is 20-frickin-17 and these people have been just wrong for 75+ years. Their fallacious arguments have been revealed and countered and shown to be incorrect. And people who continue to pursue them at this point are time-wasters and liars, preying on the naive and ill-informed.

There isn't an event at which Pence and DeVos are told they must sit down and listen to whatever the students want to say. Walking out on Pence's speech is not 'suppressing' it. And DeVos had a microphone and loudspeakers, so the boos didn't prevent her being heard - the firm opposition to what she says and stands for was clear, though.

http://edition.cnn.com/videos/us/2017/05/11/devos-bcu-speech-protes.cnn

The trouble with commencement speeches is that they're imposed on the students. They want a ceremony for their degree (often because their families want it), and as part of it they are made to sit through someone giving a speech (they were threatened with having their degrees mailed to them if they didn't shut up). If it goes on for an hour (as DeVos's was scheduled to, though she cut it to half an hour), it's got to be an excellent speaker who will benefit those forced to attend, rather than some ignoramus who has been put in charge of public education, with the intention of degrading it, by a psychopath. I wouldn't expect a graduating police academy to have to sit for an hour listening to an anarchist. The excuses given by the university afterwards ("we need ways of finding new people to give us money&quot are pretty shameful.

If these speeches were events that people just attended by choice to hear what the speakers wanted to say, then that would be free speech. But when it's "this is the culmination of your 4 years of work; you'll probably never have an event like this again", if there is a symbolic speaker, the symbol has to be something the students can sign up to.

Yes - they are inferior to me.

On every single metric, they are inferior. I don't grab people's junk, I don't make fun of the disabled, I don't cheat people, my husband knows I'm faithful, I'm not a bigot -

If that's offensive to those Trump Types so be it. Yes, I look down on them.

They can say and think whatever they want but if they knock on my door I'm slamming it in their face.

Truth be told - they are probably coming with a noose so it's self preservation to do so.

They won Bigly. It's incumbent upon them to do the outreach. They have everything they wanted, so they have to be the bigger person.

I've tried to listen, I've tried to persuade. Now, It appears a large percentage of white men are racist and sexist, and that's no surprise. What I wasn't prepared for was the majority of white women voters voting for a pervert, and, yes, I look down on them too.. they're stupid, lazy, and dangerous.

But they didn't win "bigly." They didn't win at all, and now, we all lose.

"Here, let me conservative-splain to you how you, a so-called liberal, should act as a proper liberal."

The Conservatives think that being liberal and tolerant is just a means unto itself. Just a doctrine and dogma to live by.

They do not understand that there is a reason why Liberals demand tolerance: Not to further some abstract political agenda, but to enact real-life change.

that regardless of whether there exists intolerance on the left, walking out on commencement speakers is poor example of intolerance.

The giving of a commencement speech is not an educational, or for that matter, even an informational, exercise. It is an HONOR bestowed on the speaker. As such, it reflects a school administration's decision to HONOR, not merely allow, the presence of, the person and/or their viewpoint on campus.

When students walk out on a commencement speech, it is a statement against the bestowing of that honor.

intolerant because I said intolerance is unacceptable.

It's not the alternate views that are being protested.
It's the destruction of our country that is being protested.

progressives such as Jill Stein are as bad as the extreme right wing

Paul Ryan? That phony right-wing smear about liberals being intolerant is decades old. Refusing to take a photo or shake hands with an asshole, walk out of a speech, booing: so what. Some people have common sense.

Because if it is, I'm all for it!

My husband just asked if I'd heard that America was going 'politically tribal' and, since I was reading this thread, I combined the themes. I think our new liberal moxy has gotten more attention than we realize. When it was just conservatives who were ganging up on us until they turned from bullies into actual opponents of democracy, it was politics as usual. But as soon as liberals started showing some spine, like kids walking out on speeches, Native Americans protesting the oil pipeline, The Resistance, and people showing up at town hall meetings to protest healthcare changes, all of a sudden politics have gone TRIBAL!

When a bully hits you, you have to hit them back, so to speak. Do anything less extreme and they'll keep on hitting you and take your stuff. Conservatives, in general, are bullies, and they are in the process of gutting our social safety nets! So, while I won't actually hit anybody, I turn on my heel and walk away from anyone spouting rightwing nonsense these days. I don't tolerate them anymore, because that bullcrap is hurting people.