Bigotry

From ArticleWorld

History, both ancient and modern, is littered with examples of how bigotry has dictated many of man’s actions. Refusal to consider any opinion but one’s own and the inability to accept that it may not be right even when shown otherwise is what defines bigotry. The term can be traced as far back as 1598 – though its practice dates much further back than that – when it was used to refer to a religious bigot but today it includes many different types of intolerance and is used to mean narrow mindedness.

Forms of bigotry

Most bigotry can be grouped according to a common ideology. Some of the more widespread are as follows:

• Racism is hostility towards anyone of different race and a belief of their inferiority. It is usually based on exploitation of some kind where one race benefits due to another’s suffering. Any form of racism nowadays is considered a violation of human rights.

• Sexism is the belief that one should be judged on the basis of sex and not as an individual, that one sex is superior to another. This is particularly evident in the workplace where a job goes to one sex in spite of the fact that the other may have better qualifications, but it also dictates what goes on in the home, in school and in society in general.

• Ageism is a bias against an age group and is usually, though not exclusively, applied to teenagers and the elderly.

Other types of bigotry include nationalism, classism, religiocentrism and fascism but the term can be applied to any situation where stereotypes and narrow minded thinking dominate over logical, intelligent thought.