What should we do about bigotry?

Education, education, education

Educating kids about it is about all we can do. You can't make a person change.

As much as I dislike it I doubt there is much we can do about it. It's been around so long that it's deeply ingrained in most societies and I see no quick fix in sight. Education might help, but it has to be the right kind of education as some kinds just reinforce bigotry.

Laugh! There's some degree of bigotry in all of us, what are you going to do but accept it?

?

We should concern ourselves with eliminating the bigotry within. We should not be afraid to confront the bigots when they speak. Our silence is their affirmation.

Stop being bigoted. Stop giving people a reason to be bigoted against us.

We?
I suppose the best thing "I" can do as a mother is to raise an open minded and loving child, without going to the extreme of political correctness.
I talk to her about the ugliness of bigotry and about the fact that every single human on the planet is predisposed to "discrimination" and that this is ok. We must discriminate, we cannot help it. This word has gotten a bad rap.
I try to stress to her that the best way to get past the natural urge to lump every person into a "group" and judge every person in that "group" by the stereotypes of the past or even her prejudices that she's established because of her own experience with people from that group, is to start fresh with everyone she meets. Then let each individual have the chance to show their true colors without her judgements in advance making things difficult for them.

There are bad eggs in every group. Unfortunately they stick out and seem to muddy the water for the people in the group who are good eggs.

Bigotry is a form of ignorance. I am prejudiced against bigots.

Parents and peers, I think, have the most influence on kids. Kds pick up a lot of things at an earlier age than people think. Also there needs to be a LOT more education in schools about toleration of human differences -- special classes to teach what people do and believe in other countries, so that kids don't automatically think their way is the ONLY way in world, nor the **best** way. Teachers and parents also need to monitor kids more than they have done in the past, so that weaker, disabled, or otherwise "different" kids don't get picked on or made fun of.

Need to ponder this question a little more........I'll be back.

More education.

Theres nothing you can do really. People just need to be exposed to things and they will understand it more. More T.V. shows,movies, and commercials depicting interacial relationships or homosexual relationships-the media has a huge impact on things. It mostly has to do with the way you or how you raise your child though, but not always. Education is the key though, educate yourself and others. And stand up against prejiduce when you see it.

Teach our children how wrong it is! Not just religious, or racial bigotry either. I mean, just because you wear a pair of Nike's and someone else wears Wal-Mart sneakers doesn't mean that you are better than they are!!

them gosh darn biggots should just quit it, already!

"Tolerate it".

Don't be a bigot yourself. If everyone did that, the problem would disappear.

Ignore it.
I don't mean pretend it isn't there - I mean ignore it completely, if people don't let it affect them, the bigots will stop.
Or we could just find everybody who has been a bigot and blow their head off with a shotgun. As an example to anybody in the future who considers it.

Challenge it where necessary.
And in my own situation just be yourself and let others deal with it.

The gay cause is never going to advance when people hide away in closets. I'm out at work. I'm out to friends and family. I'm glad that everyone I know will be able to say that they know at least one gay person. People are surprised to find out - I don't exactly wear a badge.
Sadly though - for good or ill - I hate to think that people who know me will judge all other gay people by the same standard. Fortunately I'm okay (I think) but it works in opposite directions for some.

Kill all the bigots. And then stand back and rejoice in the irony.

I fudgein' hate bigots!!!

You know what they are? They're all a bunch of jerks!

they're all mumu-wearing chainsmokers!!

With bad hair and buckteeth!

So, apparently my subscription just ran out. I suddenly have ads. And next to the question"what should we do about bigotry?" there is an advertisement for I don't even know what, which features a pair of big bewbs and a url. Somehow I think bigotry is part of a larger problem.

i like your comment better than the rest.

let people be bigots if they want, it's their opinion, not yours

HA! Talk about beggining the question. Or is that the right term... what's the term for assuming something that is actually debateable? I can't think of it right now.

In any event, you've taken as a premise that something needs to be done about 'bigotry', which, personally I tend to refer to as 'stubborn-ness' (because, as we all know, a bigot is merely someone who is unbending in their beliefs), and in any event, though, occasionally annoying as a personal trait, I find it to be largely a desirable trait for a male to posses (assuming he also knows how to be tactful and political), and I find it to be an absolute necessity for the female mother to be somewhat bigoted, lest she be controlled by her children when they have a better argument than she does. Occasionally it is in the best interest of all parties to continue to posses a belief even after overwhelming evidence indicates the belief is incorrect...

the possible situations are countless. Sometimes in order to be seen as a trustable, stable, unbending pilar it is important that we hang on to our beliefs even when they are looking less attractive... just like we stick with our spouse even through hard times. Also, there are certain time periods in life where constantly re-evaluating old beliefs would require too much thought and energy for too little benefit, and we are better off just making up our minds and sticking with them for the majority of our lives. Allowing them to be shaped on their own in due time and by a slow process... with the occasionally period of re-evaluation that certain life conditions may make possible/beneficial/easy/desirable.

If you mean bigotry as in 'prejudice', then, I'd say that generally it has some foundation in reality and that the only REAL way to stop people from holding negative stereotypes about a group is to get the members of that group to desist exhibiting the behaviors/traits that have lead to the stereotype. :) Sure, we can brainwash/badger a group into stopping expressing the beliefs publicly, but there really isnt' any hope for getting them to stop holding the beliefs, given the tendency of the brain to locate 'patterns' and 'consistencies' and to make assumptions and correlations.

For example, as long as cheerleaders as a group continue to exhibit shallow behaviors, there is nothing that can be done top prevent humanity as a body from assuming that cheerleaders are disproportionately shallow. And they are. I've known plenty.

(If you had trouble understanding the first part go look up 'bigot' in the dictionary and stop bastardizing the human language).

nothing.....it is not worth the fighting. There will always be ignorant people in the world and that is the cause of racists.

Uh, not contribute to it?

We need better education.

Stop it.