Intransigence: When you can not give in.

What do we mean when we talk about intransigence? What are the consequences of this position and why is it so difficult to make it more flexible?

Intransigence essentially implies a strict, uncompromising attitude towards the opinions and interventions of others. An intransigent person generally does not give in, he establishes a barrier where everything that is considered different from his own position is left out.

The word itself suggests a message of this type: «You cannot pass» and a wall is truly built that prevents exchange with the environment.

Intransigence is usually linked to fanaticism, precisely because in the latter the position taken is so inflexible and brave that it does not admit any doubt or discussion, it is also a barrier against others and their ways of thinking.

In general, we can say, intransigence stands as a defense. Through this attitude, everything that can generate uncertainty or contradiction is avoided and expelled. It is a way of looking for certainties where there are none and obeys the desire for control. The intransigent person configures fixed ways of doing and thinking, where there are no other possible options, or at least they are not allowed to explore them. With fewer options, there is less uncertainty and the person convinces himself that this is the only "true" or adequate option.

The question of intransigence has a lot to do with the notion of Truth. What is the truth? And according to whom? Inflexible positions hold absolute truths, which do not admit different contexts or cultures, they are established in a fixed and inflexible way. This, in turn, enhances discrimination, segregation, and lack of empathy, because, if we expel the opposite of everything that is different and do not admit differences or diverse opinions, at some point it is a way of denying diversity, and of pretending that things are or should be exclusive as the person in question maintains.

Politics and religion are areas where fanaticism and, therefore, intransigence are very present. These bids for power prevent an adequate exchange with others and can transform everyday life into a war. The attitude of permanent war is established if the sides, to a greater extent, are reluctant to give in, cling tooth and nail to their convictions, proclaiming them as true universals.

Intransigence is thus essentially a mode of protection. Pushing away and nullifying what is different defensively stops the possibility of questioning ourselves. An attempt is made to have an accurate terrain, where no one stains or overshadows the discourse that has been achieved. This posture allows the evils of the world to be projected on the outside, on "the others", on those who think differently, preventing them from reflecting or questioning their own actions.

It stands as an inflexible armor, which aims to protect but never fully achieves it, because the unexpected, the unknown, and the uncertain are constantly filtered and pushed to harden that armor a little more. Armor that, at the same time, isolates and leaves the person in a strict bond with "his own" losing diversity and authentic exchange.

The difference and the unknown generate fear, it is perceived as threatening, because it can disarm what we have built. However, it is inevitable, and the best way to live with it is to be flexible and accept the difference. Although, of course, this is often not so simple. In cases of great intransigence, therapeutic work must be done on the unconscious aspects at stake in each particular case.

 

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