41. "You've got the right to believe what you want" In response to In response to 0
But you don't have the right to act on that belief if it encroaches on someone else's liberty
sadly, bigotry - like racism - will always be around. all humans have an underlying "us vs. them" mentality - to varying degrees - and a deep fear of what we don't understand.
in a famous study on chimpanzees (our closest ancestors), one chimp wandered off somewhere and caught a hugely debilitating disease. after contracting it his body started contorting weirdly and he walked in a menacing, herky-jerky manner. after returning to the group, he freaked out the other chimps so much that they set upon him and brutally killed him.
obviously we've moved beyond our chimp-like nature, but we'll always have that initial aversion to something we consider unusual - or "not like us."
i guess the best way to combat it is through education. though, like sowhat and joecorn said, just seek to minimise contact/interaction with them and throw disgust and scorn their way when you can.
If you're innocent, be cool. Only the guilty's catchin' offence.