Ham Fried Rice

Intolerance.

I know, there’s a bit of irony there. That I can’t tolerate intolerance. I’ve been thinking about this one for a while. As progressive as we Americans like to think we are, it’s unfortunate that all kinds of intolerance still exist in our society. I was severely disappointed during the Republican Caucus race by the number of people interviewed who said they “wouldn’t vote for a Mormon.” What ever happened to the Constitutional right to freedom of religion? It was rarely about Mitt Romney’s political platform (or superbly styled hair) but always about his religion. A few weeks ago I had another rude awakening. I was with a group of people and the following conversation took place

Person 1: “I would never vote for a Muslim.”

Person 2: “He’s not a Muslim.”

This exchange continued for a few minutes with Person 2 insisting, “He not a Muslim.” I had to open my big mouth, “What’s wrong with being Muslim?” And, of course, I received the ignorant answer about how Muslims are radical terrorists. (And I had to explain that not all Muslims are radical terrorists, just as not all white Americans are like the Unibomber.) While witnessing this bigotry firsthand, I couldn’t help but wonder is this person anti-Obama Barack because of religious beliefs, or because he’s black? (Once again, nothing stated about political platform.) And, of course, that leads to the question of how many still think the following:

I would never vote for a black person.

I would never vote for a woman.

I would never vote for a Mormon.

Call it what you will, but it’s bigotry:

1. the stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one’s own.

2. the actions, beliefs, prejudices, etc., of a bigot.

Many of these people I know are supposed Kum ba yah Christians who believe that we are all God’s children. But does that mean we are God’s children as long as we believe in the same God? Or as long as we are the same color or same ethnicity?

I am saddened and ashamed that our society is still so prejudiced, hateful, and biased. It’s hard to be around the dumb asses of the Earth.