I've been chatting with way too many people lately about what I would boil down to tolerance. The thing is, I think we can easily look to history, the microcosms of various businesses, and other countries, as examples, and they all seem to eventually point to the same insight Karl Popper tried to teach us way back in 1945:
If a society is too tolerant—even of intolerance—it eventually gets taken over by the intolerant. Tolerance only survives if we refuse to tolerate those who seek to destroy it.
This isn’t complicated:
- If someone’s “opinion” is that certain people shouldn’t exist? Not up for debate.
- If their “free speech” is just an excuse to spread hate? That’s not free speech—it’s a warning sign.
- If they demand tolerance while actively working to strip others of their rights? That’s just manipulation.
Tolerance doesn’t mean handing a megaphone to bigots. It means shutting down the ones trying to burn the house down before they succeed.
And no, Karl Popper didn’t invent this to “own the libs.” He wrote it as a warning about how fascism takes root. We need to take notes.
What to do?
Karl Popper’s Paradox of Tolerance isn’t a philosophical puzzle—it’s a call to action. If we tolerate the intolerant, they will take over, will strip away rights, and will destroy the very freedoms they hide behind.
So what do we do? We fight back.
At work:
- Call out discrimination and bigotry when you see it—silence is compliance.
- Push for real diversity, equity, and inclusion—not just the corporate PR version.
- Support unions, whistleblowers, and policies that protect workers from authoritarian control.
- Use anonymous feedback and survey systems to safely request change and call for accountability.
- Find new avenues to push for Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), DEI initiatives, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) measures. Find ways to report successes and failures publicly so people know where the responsible companies are.
- Call out misinformation and become even more data-driven and evidence-centric.
- Assure your direct reports that you will protect them, and then put your words into action.
- If you vocalized support for Elon Musk )or any other xenophobe, fascist, hate-monger, or spreader of misinformation) in a professional setting and are now wondering if you should admit you were wrong: do so. It will put many of your colleagues and employees at ease.
- Do not platform nazis and fascists. De-platform nazis and fascists.
In politics:
- Vote in every election—local, provincial/state, national. Fascism thrives when people check out.
- Fight voter suppression, disinformation, and political complacency.
- Support policies that strengthen democratic institutions, not dismantle them.
- Call it like you see it. Do not let people downplay or gloss over fascism.
In life:
- Cut off the “just playing devil’s advocate” nonsense—it’s not a game when people’s rights are at stake. Centrists are doing more harm than good. Push every centrist you know to grow a backbone.
- Speak up in your community—silence is an open invitation for extremism to grow.
- Put your money where your mouth is– Stop using Amazon, or supporting other oligarchs with ad revenue, like Facebook and Twitter, as they continue to back fascism and oligarchy.
- I repeat: stop using Twitter.
- Protect those most at risk—racialized folks, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, disabled people—because they’re the first to suffer under fascism. (Personally, I'm terrified, and I have the privilege of being non-visible in my areas of diversity).
- Find like-minded people, organize, and show up.
Tolerance isn’t about letting people spew hate unchecked. It’s about defending the world we want to live in.
This isn’t theoretical. This isn’t history class. This is happening now.
What are you doing to fight back?
