Narrow-Mindedness is Bigotry

If I do a simple search for the definition of bigotry, this is what I get: “Bigotry is the obstinate, unreasonable attachment to one’s own beliefs, resulting in deep prejudice and intolerance toward those who hold different views.” Gee, I didn’t really expect that. I would have thought the definition would have mentioned something about racism, or hatred, or something else along those lines. This definition could apply to quite a bit, don’t you think?

This very definition is exactly what inspired me to write this article. And I came up with the idea before I read this definition. Maybe I am just not the sharpest tool in the shed, and most everyone else reading this is now saying, “so, I always thought that was the definition.” Not me. Duh. So, this is what I was thinking.

I was having one of those ubiquitous conversations with a proverbial “sheep-type” and couldn’t get a foothold at all. The same ol’ story ensued: no matter what I said, there was zero flexibility. It reminded me of racial bigotry: how anyone I mentioned “on this side of the fence,” any doctor, any alt news journalist, any economist, any historian, any other shrew who agreed with me, anyone who did not fit neatly in the mainstream narrative (the “sheep-view”), was immediately shunned, degraded, and clearly not even considered. In fact, a lot of really hateful things were said about them and their views.