Tolerance is the dominant group, which has the right and power to persecute, withholding that power as a matter of grace and self restraint. The English Toleration Act, enacted during the 1690s, allowed free worship by non-Anglican Protestant sects that had previously been illegal, but Catholic worship remained illegal, and only Anglicans enjoyed political rights, for more than 100 years afterwards. To tolerate gays is to pat oneself on the back for kindness and self-restraint while proclaiming that they are, and always will be, your inferior.

As to the heartland, Alaska is the fantasy heartland because it is the closest you can get in this country to the way 19th century frontier America was, or is imagined to have been. White people and natives but no uppity colored folk, a very high ratio of space to people, a general equality of manners. It's where you move when even Idaho begins to feel too constrained.

i can tolerate gays, i will not embrace nor agree with their lifestyle, i can tolerate barry obama, i will not embrace his racist views, i can tolerate people who think they know why others think because i simply dont care...

Uppity colored folks? Or no colored folks?

As it stands, Anchorage has about 30,000 of colored folks. Not sure if they were uppity (I vacationed there a couple of weeks ago), but they were definitely there.

and the king trumps the cerf..