How to Spot a Bigot

As much as I love to rant about the dangers of extremist religion and religious bigotry as it affects our liberty and personal freedoms, the fact is that the vast majority of religious folks in America be they Christian, Muslim, Jew or otherwise, are not bigots.  Most of us genuinely respect the rights of all peaceful honest people to follow their hearts, choose their own culture and lifestyle.

My last post, “Bigot Dynasty,” called out Phil Robertson, head of the Duck Dynasty clan a bigot, not because he’s a self described Bible thumper and born again Christian who believes in the Bible teachings literally, but because he is unreasonably intolerant and outright disdainful of others who do not share his beliefs, most particularly his beliefs concerning human sexuality.

That’s the hallmark of a religious bigot. It’s how to spot them easily in a crowd. They seem to consciously possess and constantly express an abnormal fixation against mostly the biblical “sins” involving sex, especially homosexuality.

Reasonable people understand that there is a whole lot more involved in human heterosexuality than just sexual relations between a man and a woman. A successful marriage, for example, between heterosexuals is probably 75-80% personal compatibility factors and perhaps only 20% or less sexual.

Reasonable people today understand that it’s exactly the same with homosexuality. The sexual attraction is not only about sexual acts. Sexuality is a biological phenomenon and it is the biology – the chemistry -- which mostly determines personal attractions between human beings. At least 10% of the human population has been homosexual since long before the dawn of the human race. It’s not simply about a lifestyle choice. It’s a biological reality.

That’s the part of the human equation that religious bigots don’t seem to get and won’t ever accept about homosexuality. It’s Phil Robertson’s problem for instance. “It seems like, to me, a vagina — as a man — would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical… says Phil. “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there; bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men … they won’t inherit the kingdom of God.”

The religious bigot always focuses the attention of his intolerance on sex. Sexual sins are far more important to them than all other categories of sin taken together. But lust is just one of the so-called biblical seven capital vices; the deadly, mortal or cardinal sins. Homosexuality is not even on the list.

You rarely find a religious bigot going on and on about gluttony, for example, and how all fat people who eat too much food will be going to Hell. Yet gluttony is a grave and deadly cardinal sin of which at least half the adult population in America is guilty in spades. The average religious bigot is likely to be one of them. But you never hear a religious bigot spouting off about anger, greed, sloth, pride, envy or gluttony – no; it’s always about lust, and more particularly homosexual lust.

Religious bigots like Rick Santorum, Phil Robertson, Sarah Palin, and her daughter Bristol, insist that gay activists are “hypocritical” to take offense at bigoted anti-gay comments. “I think it’s so hypocritical how the LGBT community expects every single flippen [sic] person to agree with their life style,” says Bristol.

“Free speech is an endangered species. Those ‘intolerants’ hatin’ and taking on the ‘Duck Dynasty’ patriarch for voicing his personal opinion are taking on all of us.” declares mother bigot Sarah.

Yet it is obvious to reasonable people that one need not agree with the homosexual lifestyle to be tolerant and accepting of the homosexual’s right to follow his or her own chemical biological sexual orientation reality.

As far as the religious bigot is concerned, however, it’s those who call out their bigotry who are the real bigots and haters. They think that we should all respect and tolerate their bigoted speech without complaint. Phil Robertson is their hero.

Listen to Phil: That’s how to spot a bigot.