First, let me say that the first half of the post will seem more like a research paper than a blog mainly because I think it is important to understand what bigotry is. So I will be adding a few definitions of a couple of words ("bigot" and "intolerant") that I think are incredibly pivotal in the discussion in this post because knowing the meaning of these words is crucial to using them correctly. I am including definitions of both words from several sources to get a good understanding of what these words mean…. which is the research paper part.
Bigotry
Google: a person who is obstinately or unreasonably attached to a belief, opinion, or faction, especially one who is prejudiced against or antagonistic toward a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group.
Websters: a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices especially: one who regards or treats the members of a group (such as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance.
Oxford: Obstinate or unreasonable attachment to a belief, opinion, or faction; in particular, prejudice against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group.
Urban dictionary: religious bigot
An individual who strongly and unfairly demonstrates hate and intolerance to religious (including other) viewpoints.
John has long been an atheist, but when invited to speak at a debate on religion in society, refused saying he had no interest in being in a forum with Christians as he is a religious bigot.
Unknown source: Definition of bigotry
Bigotry is a devotion to one's own beliefs, as well as an intolerance of those whose beliefs differ from one's own. A bigot is someone who behaves in this way and allows this intolerance to affect their opinions and actions toward others. Bigotry can commonly be found in politics — when one party is intolerant of the opposing party's beliefs. Bigotry is comparable to prejudice but ultimately believed to be stronger. It's known as a more severe form of prejudice that is normally accompanied by discriminatory actions.
Intolerance
dictionary.com: lack of tolerance; unwillingness or refusal to tolerate or respect opinions or beliefs contrary to one's own.
unwillingness or refusal to tolerate or respect persons of a different social group, especially members of a minority group.
Cambridge dictionary: disapproving of or refusing to accept ideas or ways of behaving that are different from your own:
Collins dictionary: [disapproval]
If you describe someone as intolerant, you mean that they do not accept behavior and opinions that are different from their own.
...intolerant attitudes towards people of other cultures and religious beliefs.
Thefreedictionary.com
a. Unwilling to tolerate differences in opinions, practices, or beliefs, especially religious beliefs.
b. Opposed to the inclusion or participation of those different from oneself, especially those of a different racial, ethnic, or social background.
c. Unable or unwilling to endure or support: intolerant of interruptions; a community intolerant of crime.
You may have noticed that each definition of both bigotry and intolerance is slightly different from one another, but for the most part, they all say almost the same thing. A few differences that I would like to point out in these definitions, though, I believe to be key.
The urban dictionary adds some key words that, in my opinion, change the meaning of bigotry. They add the phrase "unfairly demonstrates hate…" which we will discuss later in this post.
A couple of sources here add an aspect of behavior and actions toward the "bigotized" groups…. yeah…I made that word up just for this post.
Now, the few definitions I listed for intolerance all pretty much say almost the exact same thing, so I'm not even going to "nuanceify"…yep…. I did it again…made up another word… this word anymore.
Now we are going to get into what I really want to talk about and explain how YOU are a bigot, too, but let me be the first to tell you all that I AM A BIGOT AS WELL! You see, according to these definitions of bigotry and intolerance, anyone who doesn't like Christianity is a bigot and intolerant. Anyone who calls another person a bigot is in fact being a bigot and intolerant themselves because they are disapproving or don't accept the beliefs of the other person or change their behavior because of that person's belief structure BECAUSE the accuser is CLOSE MINDED IN THEIR OWN BELIEFS.
Now, to be fair, everybody is bigoted and intolerant of many things. Most people would agree that a 40-year-old man…well…doing adult things…with a ten-year-old is a most heinous act! I agree with you…but that makes me and you bigoted toward child molesters. If you think that a serial killer should go to prison or be executed…then…you are a bigot.
If you treat legalistic Christians differently than mainstream Christians…. according to these definitions…you are a bigot. If you disagree with an atheist, then you are a bigot because you are close-minded in YOUR beliefs. If you are LGBTQ+ and disagree with traditionalists in marriage…then you are a bigot.
SJW activists are bigots. All democrats are bigots. All republicans are bigots.
The SJW activists win the bigotry awards…they are so extremely bigoted about so many things. They even fit the definition that includes "hate". I would have to say very few people would disagree that the SJW activists do anything without hate. They hate people who act in movies that they deem to be "the wrong" color, gender, etc. They hate and are violent against people that disagree with them.
And then there are the Christians, we are all bigots for sure! We often don't agree with the lifestyle of many people. We can be bigoted about abortions because we believe that to be the same as killing a 5-year-old or a 50-year-old or anything in between. Some Christians are against non-traditional marriage and are bigoted about that. Many Christians are bigoted about active involvement in sexual activities before marriage. You get the point.
So, you see, there are so many things that we are all bigoted about. I am definitely a bigot toward racists, white supremacists, black supremacists, Hispanic supremacists…any group that thinks they are better than another. I am bigoted towards others of different faiths because I am close-minded about my faith. I believe Christianity to be the ONLY way to God, but then again, many others claim the same about their faiths. I wouldn't say that I treat anyone with hate, as one of the definitions suggests. In fact, though I disagree with a great many lifestyles, I do my best to treat even the people I don't think deserve love with love.
And that segues the post into a specific company that so many non-Christians tend to hate (which I must add here that they are bigoted against) because the franchise owners openly stated that they were "against" though I cannot verify if they used that exact word. We all know that the Chick-fil-a owners do not recognize any marriage but the traditional man and woman union, and so we have this hate toward them by those that don't truly understand or even care to actually research the franchise.
You see, nobody ever actually knows anything about the companies or people that they try to cancel. All they do is listen or watch a few likeminded people/channels/groups in their bubble and never actually fact check anything. That is what cancel culture is all about…. ignorance. We digress, though.
You see, a lot of non-Christians say that Chick-fil-a is a bigoted company, but they have no idea what this company actually stands for. They think Chick-fil-a doesn't hire homosexuals or the such. They think Chick-fil-a turns LGBTQ+ people away from their counters. This is the furthest from the truth.
I have a co-worker that I was discussing this very topic with, and she has a homosexual friend who works at a local Chick-fil-a. Well, I can only take her word for it, but she says that said co-worker loves working there and has never felt that they were treated differently at work because of their lifestyle.
Furthermore, it's not like Chick-fil-a asks everyone's gender or sexual preference before taking their order. You see, cancel culture just likes to stir things up with no factual evidence.
Now, let's go back to that definition that adds "hate" into bigotry. If one were to use that specific definition, then…I would say…many Christians, Christian businesses, and churches could NOT be labeled as bigoted. Now, we all know that there are those churches that claim the name of Christ and spread incredible hate and to which other Christians deny fellowship with these hateful groups. I will say, I doubt that a church that spreads hate will see God at the end of the age.
You see, hate doesn't have to be part of bigotry, though it can be included. Most bigotry has no hate involved in it. Let's take a Muslim and a Christian, for example. I am a Christian, and I know a few Muslims. Yes, I believe their religion to be a deception, and I am sure they might view Christianity as the deception. According to this close-minded view of "we have the right way" we are bigots, but can it be said that we hate each other? What if we go out for pool, or see a movie, or chill at a restaurant together? How can we hate each other if we enjoy hanging out? It just makes no sense.
I feel I must add real quick that Chick-fil-a being a Christian business does believe faith in Jesus to be THE ONLY WAY, but nobody has (to my knowledge) ever claimed that they hate other religious groups because they believe such closeminded religious beliefs and view other religions as "wrong".
Anywhoo, I think I covered my point. According to the definition of bigotry, if one disagrees, then one is a bigot. Humans are bigoted about a great many things, though we often don't manifest that bigotry in hate…well…. unless it is politics these days.
So, basically, we are all bigots in some form or fashion. The most vocal against bigotry are often the most bigoted. The most religious are often the most bigoted. The most political are often the most bigoted.
You are a bigot!
I am a bigot!
We are all bigots!
Until next month my fellow bigots!
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