I guess this has as much to with religion as any other area on here, and no doubt it has been discussed already, but I'm new here and my inherent laziness is keeping me from reading back to see any past discussions of this subject. I'm on some other boards that aren't specifically political in nature, but which allow political discussion, and I have been accused of outright bigotry on more than one occasion because I am a Christian and a pretty strong social conservative, views that pretty much come out of my Christian faith.
So I've been having some interesting debates lately about what exactly is bigotry and why folks on the left seem so quick to apply it to people who share my views. I have a pretty narrow view of what constitutes a bigot, and that is someone who believes in the inherent superiority of his own ethnic group and that other groups are inferior based solely on whatever genetic traits run in their group. It would seem though, that the left has a broader definition of bigotry that includes disapproving of someone's behavior, or even thinking that there is an objective standard of what is right and wrong. If you oppose the homosexual lifestyle, you hate gays; you are a bigot. I defend myself by pointing out that I don't have anything against gays per se, but that I just don't agree with their behavior and I don't think the state should be recognizing two men as a married couple. They can't argue the point with me, but must resort to saying I'm a bigot or a homophobe.
It seems that the left is trying to make this out to be a civil rights issue and put gays on the same footing as ethnic minorities. I see a big distinction here. I black man is a black man and always will be a black man. There's not a darn thing he can do to change that. If I go around saying that black folk are somehow intrinsically inferior to me because I'm white, then we have a problem. I'm a bigot. But that narrow definition isn't enough. If I object to an affirmative action program on the grounds that I believe it doesn't put everyone on a level playing field, I'm accused of hating minorities. If I object to a behavior that is more prevalent in a certain group, I must hate that group. Am I a racist because I don't like hip hop, can't stand to see these young people with their pants hanging halfway down, and think that able bodied people on welfare should get jobs, regardless of color? Can I say that I don't agree with the chosen lifestyle of a homosexual without hating the homosexual? That is the rub though. I view it as a chosen lifestyle while the left, and an ever growing segment of society as a whole, sees it as an unchangeable trait no different than ethnicity.
It seems now that to object to anything a person does constitutes hatred toward that person. Remember that if you are a social conservative you are a bigot. An accusation of bigotry is much easier than actually trying to debate the issue at hand. It strikes me as not only wrong, but intellectually lazy, to resort to calling anyone you disagree with a bigot instead of trying to argue the merits of your position.