Definition of BIGOT
: 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 (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance (taken from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)
So, am I a bigot? I was called one today, and it got me thinking about the word, it's meaning and is it used out of context. I'll present my case and let you decide.
There was an article in one of our local newspapers about a man who lived across the street from a business. Every day, according to the article, the man and his wife are subjected to an image that is offensive to them on an employee of that business vehicle: the silhouette of a naked woman in the rear window (like the mud flaps, just much bigger in size). The employee, a female, was approached by this man to move her vehicle. She didn't. So he went and asked the employer to tell this woman to move her vehicle. She did... for one day, but was back at it again the next day. So, this man called the cops, stating that this was akin to soft-porn and he wanted it removed. That's a brief summary of the article. I, maybe stupidly, read the comments and was stunned! Probably about 90% of the comments thought the man was in the wrong and needed to leave this woman alone and "turn his head away" if it offended him so bad. It's her right and freedom of speech, after all, to put whatever she wants on her vehicle. "get a life!" was a popular statement. I must admit, my blood was boiling a bit, so I posted a comment on there myself. My point was how if anything that is viewed as offensive, based on what I'd read, we could also apply that theory to religious symbols, too. Don't like it, turn your head, right? Well that's when I was called a bigot. (I wonder if we turned the story around and the woman had a cross in her rear window and the guy took offense, what that story would play out as). So, I go to church and the sermon was based from Jonah 4. Basically, how after Jonah went to Nineveh, he still wanted to see the Ninevites smite as he felt they didn't deserve God's compassion and forgiveness. The pastor went as far as to call Jonah a spiritual bigot. (how weird that this word would cross my path twice in one morning?!) I could identify a bit with Jonah and his attitudes. But my question was who is bigoted: Me or the people on the other side of the naked silhouette chick issue? They are just as stubborn and sure of their beliefs as I am. Or is bigot too strong a word for all parties involved. I tell myself these hoity-toity know-it-alls are seriously confused and lack simple understanding of respecting our fellow man. I will admit there are certain behaviors I won't do around certain people as it's a respect issue. I'm not so crass as to force my will on everyone! If this guy truly did ask this woman to move her vehicle and she didn't just to get a rise out of him, that's just plain bullying. Now, if I had a neighbor who did something similar, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't call the police on them. But I still think it's a respect issue. Anyway, I know as a Christian, we are to love people and show them the love of God, no matter what. But, we are also to be discerning of this world and follow God's will/laws. In doing that, am I a bigot? If I expect other people to understand that about me, am I a bigot? Why is it that when it comes to religion, the bigot is usually the person who holds the higher standard of morality. I was also compared to the Taliban, who last I checked murdered people for not agreeing with them. I really don't want to kill anybody ever, regardless of whether or not one agrees with me! But seriously, I know it's easy to condemn and hard to forgive, but if I condemn, I'm a bigot, if I forgive, maybe I'm becoming relaxed in my moral values. I struggled with the hypocrisy of it all; how a religious symbol can enrage the same group of people and a naked image of a woman won't. Are they the bigots? Is it my place to say if anyone of us is bigoted or not? In our society, it's seems more acceptable to just go along with whatever feels good. "If it doesn't bother me, who cares?" I am finding that I'm not apart of that group. I want to take a stand, a strong stand, against what I feel is wrong. If I do that, am I bigoted? If I believe homosexuality is wrong, am I a bigot. Or is that the word to throw at me to shut me up? If I believe a man standing up for what he thinks is wrong is okay, are we both bigots? Or is that word being thrown at us to make us feel ashamed of our opinions. When did it become to "let every person believe whatever they wanted" except when they're a Christian? I know that the Bible talks about how the world views the Cross as offensive, but as a nation who 80-some% claim belief in God, why is this even an issue? Honestly, if you couldn't tell, being called a bigot got under my skin. I kind of had thought, up until today, that I was pretty tolerant of other people's views, but maybe I'm not. Perhaps I'm a bigot. Maybe I should wear that label with pride; I've always liked the idea of being original, not like everyone else. Maybe this is it! What do you think?