WHAT IS A BIGOT?

I recently saw an article in the Washington Post Online talking about that little pizza place in Indiana whose owners said (in a nutshell): “We will happily serve people of all different sexual orientations. The only event we cannot cater for is a gay wedding because it will go against our conscience to do so. Let us be clear that we will serve people of all sexual orientations anytime in our restaurant - we have got nothing against homosexuals at all. The only thing we can't do is cater for a wedding because of our religious convictions on the subject of marriage.”

The backlash against this Mom and Pop Restaurant for that statement was so huge that they had to close down.

So a Christian organisation set up a fund to support them following their forced closure. And within 48 hours of the fund being set up, over US$800000.00 had been raised.

The Washington Post reported on this fact, and out of interest, I looked at all the comments on the article:

“Seems Bigotry pays”

“Bigots paying Bigots”

“Congrats for being a Bigot. Here is a million US dollars”

“Lots of proudly Bigoted people out there”

The word “bigot” appeared so many times in the comment section, that I decided to look up the definition.

According to Google, the definition of bigot is “A PERSON WHO IS INTOLERANT TOWARDS THOSE HOLDING DIFFERENT OPINIONS.”

I found that interesting. So with that definition in mind, let’s look at two scenarios and decide which of these two is a bigot.

1. A restaurant owner that says “You are free to hold any beliefs you want and I respect your right to hold your own beliefs, but my belief is that marriage should be between a man and a woman. As such, I can’t in good conscience be a part of a wedding that is not between a man and a woman. But I will serve you any other time and for any other occasion because you are entitled to your beliefs as much as I am entitled to mine.”  Bigot?

2. Someone who says “Anyone who is of the opinion that marriage should be between a man and a woman is not entitled to that opinion and should definitely not be allowed the freedom of expression to express that opinion.” Bigot?

I will leave that for you to decide.

Given the definition of "bigot" what would a "non-bigot" be? A non-bigot is a person who knows how to hold and express their own belief very strongly while still fully supporting someone else's right to hold and express a very different belief. Non-bigots don't let go of what they believe - they simply recognise that other people have the right to believe the exact opposite of what they believe and that right should not be taken away.

In a Constitutional Democracy there is freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, freedom of the press and freedom of speech. These precious freedoms allow us the right to disagree, to hold our own views, to EXPRESS our own views, and to believe whatever we want to believe, no matter how ridiculous.

Do I agree with everyone’s opinion on the internet? No! Do I know that people are sometimes going to be mean-spirited, irrational and full of hate when expressing their opinion? Yes, I know that well. BUT do I value the fact that people are free to believe whatever they want, and also to express what they believe (obviously provided it does not amount to an incitement to violence)? Yes! I will make space for what I believe are the most illogical of opinions because I value freedom of conscience and freedom of expression.... I accept that I am going to see people who are "intolerant of people with different opinions to themselves" calling other people “Bigots” without seeing the irony in their statements. I accept that those people that don’t want Group X to "stereotype or criticise the actions other groups" of people are the same people who "stereotype and criticise the actions of Group X". And I accept that those that preach “TOLERANCE” are usually the ones that are the least tolerant of a view that is not their own! The irony is blatant, but I accept it and embrace everybody's right to right to say what they believe whatever they want because it means that freedom of speech is alive and well, and people are still allowed to express their opinions and act in accordance with their conscience, no matter how irrational and “not-based-on-fact” those beliefs are.That is freedom, friends! It can be messy, but it's much better than the alternative of living under state-control.

The bottom line is that if you value the freedoms enshrined in our Constitution (like conscience, expression, speech and religion) you’re going to have to tolerate someone shouting absolute nonsense at the top of their voice and embrace their right to hold that view. You’ll have to tolerate people believing and saying things that you think are ludicrous. We ALL have to go through that - But it is worth the pain our ears suffer because the freedoms are preserved! So one day, when we need them, they will be there.

We mustn't be quick to wield an axe on any constitutional freedom. A Constitutional freedom should be able to take fire, and stand - it must ALWAYS be spared from the altar of public opinion because public opinion is a forever-shifting thing, and constitutional freedoms should not be.

So from now on, when you’re reading the hate comments on social media and the personal insults are flying (usually without any attachment to any real arguments), ask yourself - Is this person “intolerant towards those holding a different opinion?” And if the answer is yes, remember there is a word for that...... (although to be honest, it is not a word I like to use because it plays the person and not the ball. When I debate, I like to stick to the topic instead of name-calling.)