Are you really openminded??

Question

Why are so many people who say that they are open minded & tolerant of others most often the least tolerant & most closed-minded?

Gay & lesbians know that straights can't be right. (open minded?)

Alcoholism and smoking is an personal problem. (open minded?)

I think that it is interesting that these are often on opposite (popular opinion) sides & medicine puts them both in the same category.

Does that mean that though they are both wired that way (a predisposition from birth) makes it a lifestyle choice, illness or whatever the individual chooses to call it?

Answer 1

Am I really open-minded? That depends on how you mean.

Do I accept that others views might differ from mine?

Sure.

Am I open to listening to what others have to say, and genuinely considering their arguments to see if they could have a valid point I might have missed, or that I might have drawn the wrong conclusion from the facts at hand?

You betcha.

Do I always accept that the point of view of others is valid enough to be forced on me or anyone else?

No. Hell no.

I see no reason to give anyone else's views quarter for being right when it's obvious to me they're wrong. If you want to believe, for instance, the sky is green, then you are more than welcome to do so, as far as I'm concerned.

I have absolutely no problem with you liking the nice green color you think the sky is, marveling at it, or being very happy it's not blue in your world like it is in everyone else's.

However, don't expect me to say "well, everyone has their own beliefs and if you want that alternate theory of sky coloring taught in schools, then I have to respect that" or to quietly allow you to pass laws against those who choose to believe the sky is blue while you insist you're not restricting the choice of others because you've left everyone with the same choice of deciding the sky is green like you want it to be.

The problems I have in life aren't because others simply believe differently. It's because they are unilaterally trying to force their beliefs on me and make sure "equality" means I'm welcome to only privately think what I believe and never say anything, or get to live my life by my beliefs, while they get to pass laws restricting the lives and ruining the happiness of others so all they have to deal with is what they like to believe.

As far as I'm concerned, everyone out there is entitled to believe whatever they want, be as utterly wrong as they care to be, and keep it to themselves and stop bugging everyone else with it.

Or, to put it more bluntly, I'm fine with anyone rolling around in whatever $#!+ they want to, as long as they don't start flinging it at me.

Answer 2

Openminded means respecting someone's right to hold a certain opinion. It does NOT mean A)Agreeing with it. B)Allowing them to act on that opinion in such a way that it impedes on someone else's rights.

I've heard very few people in the gay community say that straights can't be right. There are some, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't call them openminded. As for straights who THEN tell me that I'm not right, that potentially impedes (depending on how they act on that opinion) on my right to feel that there's nothing wrong with me or what I do.


I don't know what "medicine" you're talking about, but the APA and all other national organizations of professions having to do with anything regarding mental health specifically stated that there is nothing wrong with being gay or lesbian.
If a gay person is addicted to sex (which does happen), then it's a problem and comparable to the other things you've mentioned; addiction has a set of signs and symptoms that's pretty universal. However, the healthcare community has nothing ill to day of a casual drinker, yet most people opposed to gays and lesbians DO have a problem with someone who wants to date, marry, and THEN consider having sex. Some aspects of personality are all about wiring, doesn't make it right or wrong; it's the specifics that make it right or wrong.

Answer 3

Most gay and lesbians I know accept hetero's choices, too, there is no "right" or "wrong".
Alcoholism and smoking is more than a personal problem, it can be a society problem as well, eg violence fuelled by alcohol, passive smoking, etc.
Medicine does not put alcoholism and smoking in the "same category', they are different behaviours that have different results on the thuman body. It is possible to drink moderately, with no ill effects (and sometimes a positive effect). The same does not apply to smoking.
People can have personalities which will predispose them to addictions, but just saying that and not addressing them is a cop-out.

Answer 4

You can still be open minded and have an opinion. You can think that Christianity is crap, but still accept Christian people as a whole for who they are. You might think gays and lesbians are wrong for their lifestyle choices, but not press your opinions ON them. Or, you could be open minded and just have morals. You may not think any religions are wrong and gays and lesbians are just fine in your book, but oppose smoking and alcoholism. A lot of people are open minded, just in different ways.

Answer 5

Being open minded and pretending something isn't a sin is two different things.
I have family members that are gay. I don't give them a hard time or say anything too them. I am very close to one. I'm open minded even tho I don't understand him. I love him but it's a sin. No matter how open minded I am about things if they are wrong they are wrong. So open minded about the things you listed and someones beliefs are to different subjects.
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Answer 6

I'm not entirely sure what the question is, here. Is it that gays and lesbians are not open minded? I can't really decipher it. Straights can indeed, be open minded. I know several of them. I can't say much about smoking, because I do. Maybe you could clarify this a bit?

Answer 7

No. There's a right and a wrong answer to every question. And I suspect, without having read your diatribe, that you're WRONG. Popularity and Correctness have nothing to do with one another. Sad (for you) but TRUE. To be "openminded" means to be a follower of the morons gone before you, usually. You smell like a sheep. Not a bad thing, but far from correct. Phew!

Answer 8

To certain things yet but not all.
I might be open- mined at some issues but I cant tolerate even for majority people perceve as normal.
I guess we are all have the issues/not that open about something. It depends!

Answer 9

There is a difference between being open-minded and thinking you are always right. You should think before you speak... or type. And being a lesbian, bisexual, gay, straight, or trans is not a choice. Like everybody (in my opinion) we are all children of God. God is love. End of story.

Answer 10

hum. good thoughts. I have always considered myself openminded. But you never really know until things really hit home. Iike, I have always said "i don't care if your gay" and when my closest cousin told me that he was, I admit, I had to think "omg" for a minute, but its cool now. I don't care. I think that if your "wired that way" it doesn't mean its your lifestyle of choice, you just have to learn to live with it. People who are born with mental illnesses have to learn to live with it but everyone knows its not their lifestyle of choice. Well, same with gays and so forth. But anyway, good thinking....

Answer 11

I wish that everyone judged people as individuals and not as groups. I believe that is what a true open-minded person does.