Bigotry

{{SJ}}
{{cquote|How you read [[scripture]] has everything to do with who you are. God does not make you a bigot; you're just a bigot.|||Reza Aslan<ref>{{cite web |url=http://youtu.be/ipfgfTtqq2c |title=The Daily Show - Reza Aslan |author=Comedy Central}}</ref>}}
'''Bigotry''' is colloquially held to mean the unjustified prejudice or bias against something — commonly against [[Racism|races]], [[Sexism|genders]], [[Homophobia|sexual orientations]], [[religion]]s, or [[politics]]. Technically, however, this differs from the dictionary definition of the term.<ref>https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bigotry</ref>

Bigotry in its various shades is often exploited by politicians, as in [[Richard Nixon]]'s "[[Southern Strategy]]", and [[Karl Rove]]'s strategic approach to forming a "permanent [[Republican Party|Republican]] majority".

In the past, the term "bigot" meant a religious [[hypocrite]], especially a woman.<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bigot Online Etymology Dictionary]</ref>

Prior to the Allied assault on the beaches of Normandy in [[WWII]], "bigot" was a "classification higher than Top Secret that was used for all Overlord material." The individuals who had been briefed on the details of the operation were said to have been "bigoted".<ref>[http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-14548.html ''when King George visited a command ship and asked what was beyond a curtained compartment, he was politely turned away because, as a sentinel officer later said, "Nobody told me he was a Bigot."'']</ref>

==Bigotry vs. prejudice==
{{cquote|You can safely assume you’ve created [[God]] [[Self projection as god|in your own image]] when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.|||Anne Lamott}}
The connotations of bigotry tends to be stronger (and uglier) than mere prejudice, since it usually involves behaviour resulting from such prejudices. 

Simply disliking some group or belief in and of itself is a free, private point of view, and even though it may be crippling to [[Rationality|clear]] and/or [[Morality|righteous]] thought, is an inalienable right. When a prejudice crosses over into actions, it denies the rights of others to participate in a free society.

===The paradox of tolerance===
{{main|Paradox of tolerance}}
Bigotry is commonly meant as an unjustified prejudice against a group of [[people]], commonly [[Racism|races]], [[Sexism|genders]], [[Homophobia|sexual orientations]], [[religion]]s, or [[politics]].

However, its dictionary definition is not about intolerance of identity, but intolerance of views and beliefs. Bigotry is defined as "intolerance towards those who hold different opinions from oneself."<ref>[https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/bigotry Oxford Dictionaries]</ref> Arguably, this definition technically (and [[Irony|ironically]]) makes it bigoted to say "stop being a bigot."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.debate.org/opinions/is-calling-someone-a-bigot-technically-an-action-of-bigotry |title=Is calling someone a bigot technically an action of bigotry? |author=Debate.org}}</ref> The Cambridge Dictionary avoids this [[irony]] by stating a bigot has unreasonable beliefs.<ref>[http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bigot Cambridge Dictionary]</ref> Although, it may then be bigoted to call someone else's beliefs "unreasonable", since a bigot would think their position is the only reasonable one.

Additionally, what is considered a reasonable belief is subjective (e.g. opposition to [[Drugs|drug use]], infant [[circumcision]], eating meat, [[animal testing]], [[polygamy]], [[prostitution]], and [[gun control]]). This creates a paradox of tolerance, where in order to be truly tolerant, one must also tolerate the intolerant.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance Paradox of tolerance]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSMcQqa0lvo|title=The Big Questions - Should We Tolerate The Intolerant|author=The Big Questions}}</ref>

Philosopher [[Karl Popper]] defined the paradox in his 1945 work {{wpl|The Open Society and Its Enemies|''The Open Society and Its Enemies''|,}} writing:<ref name="Popper">Popper, Karl, ''The Open Society and Its Enemies, volume 1, The Spell of Plato,'' 1945 (Routledge, United Kingdom); ISBN 0-415-29063-5978-0-691-15813-6 (1 volume 2013 Princeton ed.)</ref>
{{cquote|Less well known is the ''paradox of tolerance'': Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.}}

Popper concluded that we are warranted in refusing to tolerate intolerance:<ref name="Popper"/>

{{cquote|We should therefore claim, in the name of tolerance, the right not to tolerate the intolerant.}}

==See also==
*[[Islamophobia]]
*[[Discrimination]]
*[[Homophobia]]
*[[Xenophobia]]
*[[Racism]]
*[[Transphobia]]
*[[Sexism]]
*[[Misogyny]]
*[[Tolerance]]
*[[I'm not prejudiced, but...]]

==External links==
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20180216083258/http://www.springhole.net/other/how-it-feels-to-be-a-bigot.htm How It Feels To Be A Bigot (Archive)]
*{{wpa|Hate group}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{stub|politics}}

[[Category:Discrimination]]
[[Category:Political terms]]
[[Category:Social justice]]

Categories: Discrimination, Political terms, Social justice