Tolerance

In this article we are exploring the concept of tolerance. Tolerance can be defined as the capacity to endure pain or hardship; sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own.

The 5^th Way team is in an audience of people at the Grand Canyon watching a Native American team of dancers on stage.

Wendell: This is great!

Naruto: Yes, it is always good to see noble people creatively expressing themselves.

[From the other end of the audience is heard] “We sure gave them injuns a good whoopin!” “Yeah…ai yai yai yai…” [Some members of the audience shush the noisy ruffians]

Waneta: It makes my heart heavy whenever I see my people being treated like that. Haven’t we been through enough?

Catharsis: Addison I think we need to do something to shut these ruffians up.

Addison: Alright let’s have a quick huddle here, I have a plan. [Everyone gathers around Addison to listen] Okay, Wendell you stay here and observe, as for the rest of us…let’s do it.

[Addison and Catharsis make their way to the stage director, while Waneta, Naruto, Kailoken, and Zhi make their way individually to the other side of the audience to engage the ruffians]

Waneta: I could not help but overhear you guys making comments about the dancers. I came here to ask you to please be respectful and quiet to let the dancers continue without interruption.

Ruffian #1: Old woman if I wanted your opinion I would have asked for it. Now get out of my face!

“Yeah get out of here, you old squaw.” “Get back to your own seat Pocahontas.” [Chimed in some of the others]

Catharsis: [Catharsis is now on stage with the microphone] Please give those fine dancers a healthy round of applause. Now we are going to give away a prize to the person sitting in seat number…

Waneta: Okay, I have tried to be nice about this, now we will have to do it another way.

Ruffian #2: Was that a threat old woman? Why I will show you…. [He starts to grab for Waneta when all of a sudden Naruto knocks him back into his seat while pretending to be an accident as he tries to get by] What the….

Naruto: Oh, so sorry. Please forgive, me very clumsy.

[The ruffians now worked up begin to get up from their seats when Kailoken nearby starts jumping up and down excitedly next to them]

Kailoken: You won, you won… you won the prize!!! He just called your seat number! [Pointing at ruffian #1]

Ruffian #1: Huh… what?

Catharsis: [Pointing over to ruffian #1] Yes, that gentleman right there… you have won our prize. Come on up here to claim it… go ahead and bring all your friends with you!

Ruffian #3: Wow, Henry, that is so cool! Let’s get up there and see what you have won.

Ruffian #2: Yeah, it could be some money or something.

[The three ruffians make their way up to the stage to claim the prize]

Catharsis: Gentlemen come up these steps here… don’t trip on them… we would not want you to hurt yourselves; right over here next to me please. [They gather next to Catharsis near the microphone] Well, congratulations on winning our prize giveaway, what is your name?

Ruffian #1: My name is Henry, what did I win?

Catharsis: Why you have won our grand prize of the day but before we get to that please introduce your two friends here.

Henry: These are my buddies Virgil and Hank. [Virgil and Hank smile and wave to the crowd]

Catharsis: That’s great, welcome to the Grand Canyon. I know you guys are anxious to know what Henry here has won today. Henry are you a single man, and when I say single Henry I mean not currently married or otherwise permanently cohabitating with one or more people within an intimate physical sensual kind of relationship?

Henry: Uh, er… [Fidgeting with his shirt while answering] not that I can say at this time. [Virgil and Hank look at each other wryly]

Catharsis: That’s perfect because your prize just happens to be a dinner date with one hot lady! She is so hot, she can sizzle your steak without a grill! Waneta come on out here and introduce yourself to Henry. [Waneta now looks like Henry’s vision of the perfect woman]

Waneta: Hi, Henry, I am looking so forward to going out to dinner with you and your friends tonight. [She blows Henry a kiss while Henry and his friends drop their jaws in astonishment at seeing her dazzling beauty. Unbeknownst to them, each of them sees her as his perfect vision of a woman. As a matter of fact Virgil and Hank are starting to get jealous.]

Catharsis: I told you she was one hot woman. Are you ready for that date Henry?!

Henry: You are darn tootin I am man!

Catharsis: Alright, that is great; however, there is one catch Henry.

Henry: What, what is it man? [Starting to freak out a bit over there being a catch involved]

Catharsis: The catch is that you and your friends join us in some role playing.

Henry: Some what?

Catharsis: In order to go out with Waneta for dinner we want you gentlemen to act some parts in a stage play here. We want you three to play the part of Native American Indians and we will find some other actors to play the parts of Anglo-Saxon pioneers and such. Are you fellas game?

Henry: [Looking at his buddies] Yeah, okay… I guess we can do that, as long as we don’t have to wear them tight thingys. [Hank and Virgil just look at each other and shrug their shoulders]

Catharsis: Okay, now we need our other actors. Do I have any volunteers out there? [He looks around and selects Kailoken, Naruto, and Zhi] You three come on up here and join us. [The ruffians just smirk and look at the three new arrivals and Catharsis has them introduce themselves] Alright, have you gentlemen ever played cowboys and Indians when you were younger?

Virgil: Are you kidding man, we were raised in Texas, we know what real cowboys are!

Hank: Yeah, there aint nothing to it at all.

Catharsis: Excellent, and you three [motioning to Kailoken, Zhi, and Naruto] have played cowboys and Indians before?

Zhi: I came from China as a young boy and never had the opportunity to play this before. It sounds very interesting.

Naruto: I come from Japan as a boy and I was never taught how to play this game.

Kailoken: Oh sure… I have played this game before but due to my skin color [He is of middle eastern descent] I was always picked to be the Indian. I always wanted to be the cowboy and here I am! [The audience laughs]

Catharsis: Very well, the first act of this role playing will consist of you three Native Americans {Motioning to the ruffians] sitting down and enjoying a freshly cooked meal. You other three are going to play the role of Puritans just arriving in the land and looking for food to survive due to ignorantly arriving in the winter without proper foodstuffs. Zhi you are going to be the leader of your party and you come across the Indians eating... go ahead and act out what you will do next. Okay Henry, start eating… and here come the white men… action!

[Henry and his buddies stand up as the “puritans” arrive]

Henry: How… ugh…

Catharsis: Wait a minute, wait a minute, stop the action! Henry, do you really think the Native Americans said those words? [Audience chuckles and Henry turns red] Okay… just to make it easy we will pretend that both parties speak the same language. Let’s start at the beginning… and action!

Henry: Hello, we have not seen you around here before. What is it you seek?

Zhi: We have just arrived from a far-away land and are hungry. Can you share some food with us?

Catharsis: [Catharsis interrupts again] Hold on… Zhi why don’t you just come in with muskets blazing, kill the Indians and just take the food from them? [The ruffians look at each other with disbelief]

Zhi: Well, being a peaceful man, I prefer to ask nicely and share with others.

Catharsis: Well, that is all good and fine, but you are puritans… historically, you stole from the Indians when you arrived. The Puritans and Indians were hostile towards each other afterwards, give or take.

Zhi: If I remember right, the Puritans left their own country for America because their own country was intolerant of their religion. Being a tolerant man myself I prefer to live peacefully with the Indians.

Henry: Yeah, why can’t they live peacefully with us? We weren’t hurtin’ nobody. [Hank and Virgil chime in agreement]

Catharsis: I see where this is going. You guys are rewriting history here. Alright, let’s try something else. This time you three [Motioning to Zhi, Kailoken, and Naruto] are traders looking to trade with these North American plains Indians. Naruto you lead this time.

Naruto: Hello, we are traders and would like to trade with you, are you interested?

Henry: What do you have to trade and what are you after?

Naruto: [asking Catharsis] What do we have to trade?

Catharsis: You have these cheap beads, flashy mirrors, and blankets to trade and you want gold, silver, gems and food.

Naruto: We have these cheap beads, flashy mirrors, and blankets to trade with you.

Henry: Now why in the world would we want those cheap beads? The mirrors and blankets could be useful.

Naruto: Okay, we would like to trade for gold, silver and food.

Henry: Those mirrors and blankets are not worth as much as gold and silver. Are you kidding me?

Catharsis: Wait a minute, hold on here. Henry you are not supposed to know that. These white men are here to rip you off and make you feel good about it.

Henry: I am not going to let any white man take advantage of my people. Let’s scalp these traders!

[Henry, Virgil and Hank menacingly approach Naruto and his party. While Kailoken confuses the ruffians, Naruto and Zhi quickly take them down with their martial art skills and put the hurt on them. The audience laughs while the three ruffians struggle to free themselves.]

Catharsis: What are you guys doing here? First of all, these white men would not have had those martial art skills at that time in history here in America. No, no, no, this will not do… perhaps if you run away, then take the horse blankets and contaminate them with Smallpox… yeah that’s it. Then you can just set the blankets out in the open, these magnificent people get wiped out, and you just take what you want. Now let Henry and his buddies up.

Henry: [Looking at Catharsis] You know you are one crazy man. We didn’t do a thing to these people and you want them to just wipe us out? I think I have had enough of this role playing. I just do not agree with what you are trying to make us do here. These white people should be able to live in peace with us Indians. [The audience claps in agreement with Henry]

Catharsis: Henry, you are absolutely correct. I have to agree with you. It is much better to be tolerant and live in peace. Audience, please give all of our actors a round of applause. [Audience claps] Henry we have a table reserved for you and your friends at that restaurant. Waneta join Henry here as his date and let’s go eat!

“Woo hoo, I’m starved.” “Let’s get some grub.”

[On their way to the restaurant Hank and Virgil discuss how they should have been the ones that got the date instead of Henry. They are starting to get angry about it.]

Hank: Virgil, you know Henry does not like that kind of woman…why she is so perfect for me!

Virgil: Yep, I have to agree with you. I think we need to rescue her from that womanizing horse’s patoot! After the dinner let’s make sure she is with all three of us.

Hank: That sounds like a real good plan there Virgil. [They start snickering.]

[Everyone starts sitting around a large table.]

Catharsis: Henry since you are our prize winner, you and Waneta sit next to each other right there. The rest of you just gather around the table here. Let’s order some food!

[Everyone places their order and they have a wonderful conversation on what it was like to reverse the roles of being white men and Native Americans.]

Henry: I never really thought about what happened to them Indians. I guess I should put myself in someone else’s shoes before I spout off like I did in the crowd. Waneta sure is one good looking Indian woman! [He grabs her hand and she just smiles at him.]

Virgil: What are you talkin about Henry? She don’t look anything like an Indian. She has golden hair and white skin! [Henry and Virgil look at each other like they are plumb loco.]

Hank: Hang on there you two, do you need to check your eyeballs? She has red hair and a nice tan! [The ruffians continue to debate what Waneta looks like, while Hank and Virgil say they should have won the date instead.]

Waneta: Boys, boys… settle down! There really is no need to fight over me…there is enough of me to go around! [All three ruffians develop a large smile on their faces. Waneta then stands up and turns back into the old woman.]

“What the… [Hank and Virgil start choking on their food while Henry falls backwards in his chair.]

Catharsis: Naruto and Zhi please help Hank and Virgil keep from choking to death there. Kailoken please help Henry up off the ground. [Naruto and Zhi start slapping the two on the back while Kailoken grabs Henry and pulls him to his feet.]

Henry: Let’s get the heck out of here boys! [All three ruffians trip and stumble trying to get out the door to safety as if their lives depended upon it.]

Catharsis: Ah, do you fellas have to cut it short? It was real nice of you to stop by. We hope to see you again real soon!

[The 5^th Way team laughs as Addison and Wendell join the table from their observation points.]

Wendell: You guys were absolutely great! I think you sure taught them a lesson on tolerance.

Addison: Yes, it was quite interesting, now let’s get to eating here… we can’t let this good food go to waste!