{"id":6758,"date":"2002-06-01T14:41:34","date_gmt":"2012-02-01T11:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.nenasilje.net\/?p=6758"},"modified":"2012-02-01T12:29:20","modified_gmt":"2012-02-01T11:29:20","slug":"about-tolerance-and-hate-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/about-tolerance-and-hate-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"About tolerance and “hate” speech"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Let the neighbour’s cow be safe and sound” * \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Helena Rill<\/p>\n

The changes that have happened after the October 5 of 2000 when the new
\ngovernment was established, after Slobodan Milo\u0161evi\u00e6 and the old regime had been
\noverthrown, haven’t had much effect on hate speech. It remains present in everyday
\nlife, and often is a part of public communication.
\nChauvinistic graffiti, attacks on religious and ethnic communities, insults based on
\nnational, religious, and sexual orientation, doesn’t make the hate speech any weaker,
\nbut quite the opposite, even stronger and more harsh, as a result of rage, feelings of
\ndanger and impotence, as a reaction to the appeal made to the citizens of
\nSerbia\/Yugoslavia to deal with their own responsibility for the\u00a0 crimes committed in
\ntheir own name.
\nAs an example of this practice, in just one week, following panel discussions were
\neither cancelled or delayed, because threats and anonymous tips were made:
\na)\u00a0 The threat was made that the Technical Faculty building in \u00c8a\u00e8ak, Serbia, would
\nbe “stoned” if the panel discussion \u201cTruth and Responsibility\u201d was held there.
\nb) A bomb scare took place at the building of Dom omladine (Youth Home) in
\nBelgrade, where the discussion of the Postpesimists\u00a0 “Threathening Phenomenons
\nTolerance” was supposed to be held.
\nThe first time I heard of “Threathening Phenomenons\u00a0 Tolerance\u201d, I wondered why\u00a0 anyone would consider tolerance to be something threatening. This is especially because
\nI come from Vojvodina where this word is often used, particularly in political speeches,
\nfor strengthening one’s political positions etc. I’m under the impression, especially when
\nI’m feeling apathetic, that this word is such a clich\u00e9, therefore it cannot be perceived as
\nthreatening and that its real meaning is forgotten. However, I was wrong. Tolerance
\nbecomes dangerous for some people, and has been proved with this anonymous tip about
\nthe bomb. In my opinion, it means that resistance is being set up against hate speech,
\nand those who use this kind of speech are frightened and feel in danger.
\nWhy is tolerance becoming dangerous? I presume that is because finally it is
\nbecoming important in it’s own right. It goes back to its basics, it makes us reconsider
\nand deal with our own responsibility and ourselves.\u00a0 Unfortunately, I often hear that
\n“tolerance means leniency towards opinions, convictions and behaviour we disagree
\nwith”; that it is some kind of sufferance so we can all live in happiness and harmony.
\nFurthermore, I hear it most often in the context of national and religious tolerance, but
\nwhat about tolerance when it comes to ones with different opinions, different origin or
\nsexual orientation?
\nWhat is the essence of tolerance, for me? I perceive it as something much more
\ndemanding than sufferance, which is, in my opinion, very dangerous, because it reminds me of sweeping the whole thing under the carpet, which is the cause of many problems
\nin this region, and in general, too. To be more exact, tolerance is not sufferance.
\nTolerance is an active attitude towards differences, respect for them and it requires an
\nindividual engagement: reconsideration, cognition of one’s own responsibilities, needs,
\nvalues, ideas, getting to know the others and learning about them and their differences.
\nIt is easy \u201cto be tolerant” when we think the same and share the same values, but what
\nhappens when this is not the case?
\nHowever strange it may sound, I’m under the impression that’s where the circle of
\ncause and effect begins. As a response to hate speech, there’s a \u201cTolerance\u201d campaign by
\nthe Federal Ministry for National and Ethnic Communities. A reaction to this campaign is
\nmore hate, which starts another circle. However, this time it seems to me that the circle
\nis getting smaller because for the first time in 12 years, the government has made a
\nstrong statement: we don’t want hate, we want tolerance.
\nThe Federal Ministry for National and Ethnic Communities launched the campaign
\ncalled \u201cTolerance\u201d on the panel discussion “Threathening Phenomenons\u00a0 Tolerance”. It
\ngives hope that things change in Yugoslavia, because the official stand is against hate,
\nand in favour of a culture of differences. This long-term campaign has started with TV
\nads in the form of cartoons, easily acceptable, and with the message that one picks up
\nvery quickly. The leading character in one of these ads is a little cow, and the message of
\nthe ad is to \u201dlet the neighbour’s cow be safe and sound\u201d as opposed to the very popular
\nsaying that goes \u201dlet the neighbour’s cow drop dead\u201d. The other message is: “Tolerance.
\nIt costs nothing, but it’s worth a lot “. These messages are placed on billboards in
\nBelgrade. According to Jelena Markovi\u00e6, a federal assistant minister for national and
\nethnic communities, the plan is to develop this campaign over the next 2 years, and to
\nmake it a part of some school programmes.
\nWhat are the effects of this campaign? Here’s a story to illustrate it: A man asks a saleswoman for a certain kind of tea, at the market. Since she doesn’t have it, she sends
\nhim over to another counter. The man is surprised and he asks her if she is sending him off
\nto the competition. The woman replies: ” It costs nothing, but it’s worth a lot “.
\nThis panel discussion “Threathening Phenomenons\u00a0 Tolerance” has showed me how
\nstrong the hate still is, how much strength it requires to fight against it, how important
\nthis step is toward tolerance that the state has taken, and that there are young people in
\nthe ministry\/Ministry who believe in the things they do and fight for it.
\nLet’s be honest. Nothing’s will happen quickly. It takes years, even decades for the final
\nresults to come. But, the problem should be addressed with an active approach.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 As opposed to an old saying \u201dLet the neighbour’s cow drop dead\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Let the neighbour’s cow be safe and sound” * \u00a0 by Helena Rill The changes that have happened after the October 5 of 2000 when the new government was established, after Slobodan Milo\u0161evi\u00e6 and the old regime had been overthrown, haven’t had much effect on hate speech. It remains present in everyday life, and often […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[295],"class_list":["post-6758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-en","tag-tolerance"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6758\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}