You Might Be A Bigot And Not Even Know It

Christian-BigotWhen you see how this big bear of a man responded to the ugly words of this stranger, I sure hope it makes you mad, or at least offends your sensibilities. Even in his written response, you can tell what kind of guy this biker is. We should all be so lucky to have people like him in our lives, but sometimes, we can’t see the gifts that are right in front of us. I don’t know your name, biker guy, but as a member of the human species, you ROCK!

biker1Most people who judge someone by their outward appearance would be offended if you called them a bigot. But, bigotry is exactly what ?judging a book by its cover? is. It means nothing more than intolerance for those who are different.?Instead of basing our decisions about people on actual evidence, we decide based on our own prejudices, which ? by definition? are unfounded. (Prejudice is when you form a ?preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.?)

Psychology Today, actually published an article about judging a book by its cover, written by a Buddhist physician named?Alex Lickerman.?Dr. Lickerman says ?We all do it. We can’t help it. We’re all predominantly visual creatures.??What? We don’t ALL do it. We CAN help it! Yes, we’re visual creatures, but that’s like saying we must rape because we’re all Neanderthals. I’ve thought long and hard about how good, honest, intelligent people become good, honest, intelligent bigots. After an interesting discussion with my mom and dad (good, honest, intelligent, wonderful people) shortly after I married someone outside my race, I’ve come to the conclusion that a lot of us simply don’t understand what bigotry, prejudice, and racism are. There are different shades and levels of bigotry. We often fail to recognize the subtleties inherent in some types of prejudice. We confuse racism with opinion. Kind of shocking, huh, since we ALL throw the terms around like we know what we’re talking about.

It turns out Dr. Lickerman, quoting Daniel Kahneman, says we don’t understand because ?We’re all cognitively lazy.? We don’t want to take the time to dive into the true meaning of bigotry, racism, and prejudice or how our behavior manifests them. It’s easier to resort to that over-used disclaimer, ?I’m not a bigot, but???To be sure, not everyone wants to understand their fellow human beings. The lady who humiliated the biker simply thought, ?Sorry, dude.?All I really have time to do is warn my daughter about you. Allowing my daughter to be courteous to a biker just takes up WAY too much time. This is quicker and you’re probably a loser anyway. Now, outta my way! We’re late for bible school.?

But, we all lose when we treat people unfairly or when we allow others to do it. Had I overheard that woman, I would have let her have it. Cognitive laziness is not one of my shortcomings!?As patriots, it’s our civic duty to kick up the cognitive juices until we learn to recognize bigotry for what it is and put an end to it. Here’s a short quiz to get you thinking:

  • Did you call Richard Sherman a thug after that celebratory interview?
  • Did you immediately side with George Zimmerman against a dead kid before you had any real evidence?
  • Do you call?all Hispanics?Mexican and when called on it, shrug and say “whatever?”
  • Do you really, truly, honestly think President Obama is a Muslim?
  • Do you ignore people with obvious disabilities?
  • Do you think being gay is only about the sex or that people are either heterosexual or homosexual?
  • Do you have even the teensiest doubt that a woman could fly a fighter jet?
  • Do you make assumptions about people based on their appearance, accent, the car they drive, where they work or whether they work?
  • Did you enjoy seeing Julia Robert’s character in Pretty Woman being disrespected by the snobby Rodeo Drive sales clerks?

If you answered yes to any of these, your cognitive laziness is interfering with your ability to think straight.?You need to dome some research or you might need help or just do what Dr. Lickerman says, ?If we really want to understand our fellow human beings accurately, we must allow them to surprise us, to contradict what we think we know about them?we should cling to our theories about people only loosely and always be willing to revise them ???In other words, don’t judge a book by its cover.

Edited/Published by: WG

 

I love America and embrace diversity in all things. I like to challenge people to look beyond the end of their nose. We should all try on different shoes. Expanding our scope makes us better human beings. I don't dig in my heels on everything -- I want to learn and understand other perspectives. However, I won't tolerate racism and don't suffer fools. If you want to change my mind about something, show me bipartisan facts.