Bigotry is defined as "intolerance towards those whose opinions differ from oneself".
Today, I was reading stories from the Huffington Post, one of which was about a small town in which a strip club and a church are having a conflict, because the church has been protesting the strip club for some months - and the strippers have launched a counter-protest on the church.
I decided (probably stupidly) to read a few of the comments on the story, and I was offended by what I saw: comment after comment labeling Christians as stupid, ignorant, gullible morons. I would expect such comments to be written on, say, Redstate.com in an entry about Islam. But the Huffington Post? From my fellow progressives?
This is not the first I've noticed of the trend, either - I see it on other similar sites whenever Christianity is part of a story. And yet, the same people who are willing to so shamelessly paint all Christians with a broad brush also vehemently defend against any such bigotry towards Muslims, or any other minority view for that matter.
What would the reaction have been if instead of being a church, it was a mosque? What if instead of Christians, it was Muslims? Would I have seen a flurry of comments referring to Islam as an evil religion and all Muslims as stupid and delusional? Would I have seen insult after vicious insult spouted about the prophet Mohammad? Somehow, I doubt it.
So why is it that many on the left can openly vilify Christians and Christianity without having any sense of hypocrisy? There's only one explanation I can come up with - because Christians are the majority, and Muslims are not.
In my mind, bigotry should be inherently opposed in all its forms by liberals. It is a central tenet of liberalism to avoid stereotypes and irrational bias - yet the only significant stereotyping I see of Christians comes from self-proclaimed liberals!
I attempted to engage a couple of the commenters - I received responses about how "You need to stop telling others how to live!" "You are a gay basher!" "You are an oppressor, that's why it's okay!"
Naturally, I thought about where people could get such ideas about Christians - and of course, there's only one possible explanation: from the Christian Right. The Christian Right is as evil an entity as exists in the body politic today, but is it really appropriate to equate them with all Christians?
The most radical forms of Islam we see are the Islamists who believe in using violence to destroy the non-believer. But we, as liberals, NEVER stand by and allow people to suggest that the radicals represent the entire religion. Yet many do just that to Christians - the Christian Right represents the most extreme form of Christianity we see in this country (more terror attacks come from Christian fundamentalists on abortion clinics than Muslim extremists).
I was disgusted and appalled to be told that I - as a Christian - believe and do all of the same things that Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council does. I have never, ever supported any bigotry towards the LGBT community perpetuated by such "Christians" - and I have fought just as hard against them as any atheist liberal I know. But I am pidgeon-holed into that box in the same way that the racist right pidgeon-holes Muslims into the terrorist box, and it's other supposed champions of tolerance that are doing it!
I love being a part of the political realm, and I love exchanging ideas and opinions with my fellow progressives. But there are times where I feel somewhat ostracized within progressive circles because of my religion - a religion that has come to be associated with homophobia (because of the vocal radicals) in the minds of hypocrites, who seem to become more numerous as time passes.
I can only hope this bigotry against the majority is not as prevalent here on DK - because it sure as hell is unavoidable on any other progressive blog I've visited.
I know this is not a very important topic, and that any sense of malice I get from those who spread their hate of Christianity on the sites I frequent (and even in person) pales in comparison to the horrid bigotry that is imposed upon religious minorities, especially Muslims. But the fact that it is far less severe does not justify it. The fact that I don't suffer anywhere near as much as Muslims in this country does not mean I should "just deal".
/endventing