I dislike how many liberally minded people whom I have seen, claim to proudly carry the banner of tolerance but have a hypocritically sanctimonious attitude. As though their self-righteousness is somehow superior to the opposing self-righteousness that they rail against. It’s bigoted on both sides, but I feel the banner of “tolerance” some carry to be disingenuous and it’s bothered me more and more lately. Speaking for myself, of course.
In fact, I’m feeling more and more like people just in general are often bigoted. People who disagree with each other, on moral, philosophical or even political views are often extremely bigoted and closed-minded, thinking themselves somehow superior because they hold their views to be correct. And it’s compounded by the echo chambers we allow ourselves to live in with the availablity of social media that allows more like-minded bigoted people to congregate and validate each other.
This is a very true statement, and one I have long pushed for greater awareness. Everyone is bigoted to some degree, but relatively few are willing to admit it to themselves. Just like racists don’t think they are racist, ideological bigots tend not to believe they too are bigoted. I believe the best way to fight bigotry is to acknowledge that you already harbor prejudiced opinions.