Quote:
Originally Posted by Shimpy
EVERYONE is prejudice.....What if I said I hate serial killers, rapists, child and animal abusers. By your standards I show ignorance and insecurities????
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Meriam-Webster: "prej·u·dice noun \ˈpre-jə-dəs\
: an
unfair feeling of dislike for a person or group because of race, sex, religion, etc.
: a feeling of like or dislike for someone or something
especially when it is not reasonable or logical" (emphasis added)
"big·ot noun \ˈbi-gət\
: a person who
strongly and unfairly dislikes other people, ideas, etc. : a bigoted person; especially : a person who hates or refuses to accept the members of a particular group (such as a racial or religious group)" (emphasis added)
Disliking or even hating someone because they have harmed others willfully (serial killers, rapists, abusers, etc.) is an informed decision. Yes, we're all prejudiced but that doesn't mean we have the right to open our mouths and spew venom at someone because they have different viewpoints or don't look the way we think we should. Barring those with Alzheimer's or other mental illness, old age should not be used as an excuse to spew this venom.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm a total bigot when it comes to those who are prejudiced. You use racial or sexual slurs around me, I will speak out. You harm another because of their race, religion, sexual preference, I will act out. Bigots are not welcome to enter into my life in any way, shape or form. They and their ill-founded hatred are free to take a very long walk off a very short pier (hopefully into shark-infested waters).
The difference is that my prejudice is not uninformed. I have seen the harm bigotry does, both psychologically and physically. I have heard venom spewed for no other reason than a person was transgender. I have seen judgments made based on the color of a man's skin, not on his behavior. I can cite studies showing the misconceptions of racial/religious/sexual bigotry and the harm caused by these misconceptions. If you can show me the harm of being adamantly against serial killers, rapists, abusers and, yes, bigots, I'll even listen and, who knows, maybe get over some of my dislike of those types of people.