Hurrah! The voice of rationality!

Thanks to Richard Dawkins' website, I have just now read a rather interesting column from British newspaper The Independent.

Interesting because it spells out, clearly and lucidly and in a way that I challenge people to misinterpret and start hollering about, why it is that sometimes religions desperately need to be discriminated against. Unfortunately it doesn't cover "stupidity", "deception", "confidence tricks", "emotional or spiritual blackmail", "preventing progress in medicine and other sciences" or other perfectly legitimate complaints against large religious organisations or movements.

But, from the point of view of a society, it does finally point out where tolerance becomes stupidity because the world just stops working. My Aikido master once told us that although he tries to practice harmony with all people, he can be extremely intolerant because sometimes that's necessary. Well, yes.

My favourite example of this sort of excessive tolerance so far is the Islamic medical students in Britain who refused to have contact with naked women. Someone actually tried to discuss alternative methods of examination so that they could keep their beliefs but still pass the course. And then practice as doctors, but only on half the population.

Say it with me: "The stupid, it hurts!"

Link to the article posted on richarddawkins.net
Link to the article's original home with The Independent