Bigotry, Bigots, Hatred, Racism - The Peace FAQ

Bigotry, Bigots

Frequently Asked Questions:

● Is bigotry the same as ignorance?

● Who is to blame for bigotry? Where does bigotry come from?
● Is bigotry the same as hatred?
● What role does bigotry play in the Arab-Israeli conflict?

Is bigotry the same as ignorance?

● Bigotry can be nourished by knowledge of the facts (in combination

with certain irrational psychobiological factors, including low self-
esteem and obsessive edenism), as well as blissful ignorance. Hitler
was more knowlegeable about Jews than the vast majority of Jews
then or now; the ignorant hick from Tennessee who thinks Jews have
horns and blacks make good slaves believes what he does because
he has been taught so by his friends and relatives, or may have even
read such in books (which never lie). The latter may or may not be
characterized by festering hatred, but is troublesome nonetheless.
The difference between the two is that the former may be helped
only by intensive counseling in combination with medicinal or
perhaps even surgical intervention. The latter group is not
necessarily psychologically dependant on those views and may be
influenced by education (yes, like this site... :).

Who is to blame for bigotry? Where does bigotry come from?

● The issue of culpability (blame) is tricky; ultimately, if we are

influenced by some combination of nature and nurture, both of which
are forces out of our control*, then where lies personal choice? In
order to avoid such philosophical discussions for the sake of
pragmatism we must pursue the issue of culpability as a constructive
environmental (nurture) influence on human behaviour, and not
simply a judgement. Therefore, the ignorant but rational bigot is still
a bigot (one hopes that the label will be a motivating factor), just as

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the drunk driver is still a murderer. Threfore, we at Yahoodi choose

not to spare feelings when we hear ignorant arguments that, if put
into policy, would perhaps lead to genocide. A bigot is a bigot. But
fear not, there is salvation through rational pursuit of the facts.

The irrational bigot is another matter entirely, although there is

certainly a range of beliefs. The causes for such bigotry are
complicated, but there are a few related and relevant concepts that
we discuss on this site: The Stockholm Syndrome, Galut or Dhimmi
Mentality, Universalism, and Ethical Relativism. These attitudes are
irrational, psychologically addictive, and usually have origins in
trauma. Except for the Stockholm Syndrome (and only when it's
origins are obvious), no attempt is generally made at treatment,
even if such symptoms are recognized, because they are seen as
"personal choice" or at least within the range of normal human
psychology. But to ignore the existential threats posed by such
psychology is to aid it's logical outcome.

Is bigotry the same as hatred?

● Bigotry targets groups that are not generally based on "choice" (let's
call them "biogroups"). Such biogroups include ethnic groups (the
term replacing the innacurate and obsolete term "race"), the two
genders, sexual orientation (the current scientific research suggests
this is biologically determined), and disability. Bigotry is NOT the
hatred of ideas, including the hatred of individuals that support
certain ideas, especially when those ideas are the basis (or
rationalization) of actual bigotry. Non-bigoted hatred is targeted at
philosophies like Marxism and Capitalism. Care must be taken to
differentiate between ideas, and the biogroups that in large part
support those ideas. Hatred of civil, gay or women's rights, laws to
protect children and the disabled, or safe-havens promoted by
Zionism, the Armenian and Kurdish national movements, are often
simply masquerades for the hatred of the biogroups for whom such
ideas are intended as protection from centuries or even millenia of
persecution (of which such masquerades are only the most recent
manifestation).

What role does bigotry play in the Arab-Israeli conflict?

● Al Da'wa (The Mission), a prominent Islamic publication, identifies

the status of Israel with the status of the individual Jew. Here, Israel
is merely the Jew in macrocosm:

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"The race is corrupt at the root, full of duplicity, and

the Muslims have everything to lose in seeking to deal
with them; they must be exterminated."

Following are some recent statements by senior PAofficials, all of

which are flagrantly anti-Jewishand several of which incorporate
sordid anti-Jewishstereotypes:

"Five Zionist Jews are running the policy of the United

States in the Middle East: Madeleine Albright, William
Cohen, Dennis Ross, Miller and Martin Indyk. It is not
possible that the American nation, which consists of
250 million people, can not find anyone other than five
Zionist Jews to conduct the peace process with the
Palestinians."

- PAJustice Minister Freih Abu Middein, Yediot Ahronot, April 13,

1997

"We are fighting and struggling with an enemy who is

Shylock. We must know that he is Shylock."

- Othman Abu Gharbiya, PAChairman Arafat's Adviser on National

Political Guidance, in a radio interview, Voice of Palestine, March 15,
1997

"The Jewish lobby is working very hard to jeopardize

the process."

- PAChairman Yasser Arafat, in an interview, Beirut Daily Star,

March 25, 1997, Agence France Presse, March 26, 1997

"Israeli authorities...infected by injection 300

Palestinian children with the HIV virus during the years
of the intifada."

- Palestinianrepresentative Nabil Ramlawiat a session of the United

NationsCommission on Human Rightsin Geneva, Jerusalem Post,
March 17 1997.

The theme of Palestine as the grave of Israel and of the Jews in

general is a persistent motif in Arab orientations toward Israel. Here
the following claim, made by Dr. Yahya al-Rakhawi in Al-Akhbar,
the organ of Egypt's Liberal Party, on July 19, 1982, is typical:

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"When the State of Israel was established and...was

recognized by many, in both East and West, one of the
reasons for this recognition was the desire of the
people in the East and West to get rid of as many as
possible of the representatives of that human error
known as the Jews. Behind this motive was another,
secret purpose: to concentrate them in one place, so
that it would be easier to strike at the right moment."

- Louis Rene Beres

Professor of International Law
Department of Political Science
Purdue University

● The Peel Commission Report stated in 1937 [Q: When was Israel
established? A: 1948] that the conflict between the Arabs' and the
Jews' aspirations is "irrepressible" and "irreconcilable" and that it is
"difficult to be an Arab patriot and not to hate the Jews."

● The hatred never subsides. It is developed and nurtured every hour,

every day through all possible means. It is encouraged in
kindergartens, schools and universities where the Arab children and
youngsters learn that the Jews are their enemies. It is preached in
mosques where the "Zionist entity" is presented as an eternal threat
to the Moslem world. It is flourishing in refugee camps where the
Jews are known as "the usurpers and barbarians that have expelled
the 'poor' Palestinian Arabs from their homes." It is pouring like
venom from newspaper pages in every Arab country.

New blood libels are created and the old ones are revived. The Arab
world has an enemy--Israel. Anything bad that is happening is
blamed on Israel. This is why, after the decision of the German
government to reconsider its ties with Iran, due to killings in
Germany of members of the Iranian opposition, a demonstration
several hundred thousand people strong was staged in Iran under a
slogan, "Death to Israel!"

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