The above title is inspired by a common spin on something said by Chairman Mao. It seems that inflation was rampant even in 1957.

What civilised people consider as a right is deemed by fundamentalists to be provocation- Fr Joe Borg

In fact, Mao spoke about the blossoming of only 100 flowers not 1,000! He added, for good measure, 100 schools of thought. His slogan was an invitation to the Chinese intelligentsia to criticise the Communist political system.

Unfortunately neither the flowers were not left to blossom nor the schools to flourish. The regime showed its intolerance to the dissidents who were considered to have been too bold. In a certain sense, the regime kept its promise about flowers only in so far as it let them blossom over the tombs of the executed critics.

Sadly, intolerance keeps marching steadily on. In the tailpiece of my commentary carried in last Sunday’s edition, I wrote about two Pakistani girls who are the victims of intolerance.

To add insult to their injury, they are now being accused of provocation. This is the favourite tactic of the intolerant. The 14-year-old Malala is accused of being provocative because she advocates education for women.

What civilised people consider as a right is deemed by fundamentalists to be provocation. Such men believe that thanks to their gender they have a divine given mission to be superior to women.

In the case of the 11-year-old Rimsha, the purported provocation does not lie in what she did but in what she is. Rimsha is a Christian in the midst of intolerant people who happen to be Muslim. A case was trumped up to get rid of her.

Being different can take on so many shades and aspects: sexual orientation, ethnicity and religion, skin colour, political beliefs, gender, and philosophical positions, to name just a few.

Throughout the history of humanity, all these instances were considered to be a kind of provocation. Millions suffered untold harm and anguish, even death, because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It is strange (or perhaps it is not) that groups or organisations react in a similar way to some persons who were abused when they were young.

Some studies show that a number of those who were abused or who lived in abusive environments when they were young become abusers later on in life. They do not succeed in breaking the circle of abuse.

Similarly, many organisations or groups that were the victims of persecution become intolerant when the tide turns and persecute others when they are in a strong position.

The members of different ethnic groups, political ideologies and diverse churches behaved in this manner and alternated between being intolerant and being the victim of intolerance. It seems that we hardly ever learn.

Intolerance is generally bred by ignorance and fear. At the grass root level, people are afraid that something dear to them will be lost and, therefore, they are filled with dread that the world as they know it, their whole universe would subsequently collapse. So they indulge in intolerance as a means of self-defence.

At the level of the leaders, the stoking of intolerance is just a means of perpetuating their power. Their hegemony can only be saved if no one steps beyond the boundaries they themselves had set. They feast on the fear of common people to hang on to their power and use the excuse of provocation as a convenient foil.

I write in this way because I sense a lot of intolerance in the air and this will probably continue to increase the more we move closer to a general election. Those who doubt and scoff at my statement only have to go on the social networks and check for themselves.

A people’s maturity is tested in times of tension not when everything is plain sailing. Tolerance is not tested when arguments are presented gently and calmly but when some step over the boundary of decency.

Two examples come to mind. Following the death of Dom Mintoff, the writing of some commentators was in bad taste. Then there was another incident, totally unconnected to politics but relevant just the same, when an Italian restaurateur spoke disparagingly about the Maltese. The reaction was, in both cases, in worse taste than the offence. We have been recently advised by the courts that in certain parts of Malta the appellative ‘gay’ is considered to be so provocative that it will reduce the guilt of whoever reacts violently at such a comment.

The above examples show that intolerance is not reserved to differing political opinions, but truth be told the latter happen to be the source of more hot-headedness. What will happen when we reach the thick of the political campaign? This is why in my commentary of September 16 I proposed the signing of a civility pledge by political parties and the media, particularly media owned by political parties.

This could provide the fertile ground on which 1,000 flowers will bloom, in a genuine way not in the Maoist contorted way.

• Throughout its history, the Catholic Church has been guilty of perpetuating several incidents of grave intolerance. But it is also true that many times the Church did not only learn from past mistakes but also made amends.

Currently the Catholic Church is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Vatican Council II. Pope John XXIII, called by all ‘il Papa buono’ guided the Church on the new path of openness to the world. A new attitude of tolerance and deep respect towards other religions replaced the attitude of suspicion and condemnation. A few examples suffice.

On July 18, 1959, John XXIII suppressed the following prayer that had been used by Catholics: “Be Thou King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or Islam.” He eliminated the description of the Jews as ‘perfidious’ in the Good Friday liturgy.

In a prayer penned a short while before his death, the ‘good Pope’ asked forgiveness for the unjustified condemnation of the Jews. “Forgive us that by crucifying them we have crucified You for the second time.”

John XIII really dedicated his life for the blossoming of 1,000 flowers!

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