Bigotry... Who is a bigot? A bigot is someone who is intolerant of opinions and views different from his, even when such views have nothing to do with him personally. A bigot is someone who believes that it should be his way or no way. He treats those with different opinions with disdain and disrespect. He could even go as long as hurting, maiming or even killing others as a result of differences in opinions and way of life. A bigot is an indoctrinated person. he doesnt use his common sense to reason issues and treat them according to their merits or otherwise. Rather he behaves as someone whose brain has been programmed and wired in a specific direction. He may have been programmed to see other people as lesser beings and he sticks to that without questions. In religion, a bigot has been brainwashed to see adherents of other faiths as infidels who are even worthy of death. Bigoted folks dont tolerate variance world views at all. In terms of nationality/tribe, bigotry does not condone other cultures and values. It spreads hatred and visits violence on peoples of other nationalities who do things differently because bigots always expect everybody to take their standards as yardstick. Bigots dont believe in cultural and ethical relativity. To them, ethics and moral values should be universal. However, it is very unfortunate that some people can not draw a line between nationalism and bigotry. By the conceptual definition of nation hood, a nation is a group of people occupying a definite geography with commonalities like language, culture, founding philosophy, etc. By the above definition, Nigeria is not a nation. Rather a conglomerate of nations which was formed into a state by the colonial powers. A state can contain many nations as well as otherwise. But the integral and fundamental elements of a nation should not be under stressed in order to achieve selfish gains. As a result of the multinational form of the Nigerian state, there is understandable mutual suspicion; sentiments run high. The fact that most of us always seek to protect our own is absolutely no indication that we hate or can not tolerate distant views and opinions. We believe that humanity is one and as humanists we will always protect humanity against forces that seek to wreck it. I believe that every people, every nation has the right to self determination without endangering the lives of other people. Nationalism and bigotry are not the same as nationalists like Mandela, Nyerere, Leophold Seder Sengho, Azikiwe, etc, were not bigots in anyway. Its always good to draw a line between those who love and want the progress and upliftment of their ethnic nation while respecting the views of other ethnic groups and those who would not live to see the progress of people of other convictions.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 10:35:34 +0000
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