So, Is He A Bigot Or Not?

[Duncer]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/...and-politics-20175530

[boxtops]

He's following the tenets of his faith. Does that make him personally a bigot, or a believer of what he thinks is the correct way?

[Duncer]

That's why I posted it; to get a take on what people think on this one.

[Flyhalf]

I'd say Ruth Davidson got it about right.

[boxtops]

I'd say that if he's following blindly what his religion says, then it's the religion that's bigoted, not the individual, because they haven't made up their own minds ?

[DTCwordfan]

agree with boxtops - there are similarities between Catholicism and the Jehovahs with blind obedience and devotion to the faith......

[ludwig]

here you go, you decide...

a person who has strong, unreasonable beliefs and who thinks that anyone who does not have the same beliefs is wrong
- cambridge online

a person who is intolerant of any ideas other than his or her own, esp on religion, politics, or race
- dictionary.com

having or revealing an obstinate belief in the superiority of one’s own opinions and a prejudiced intolerance of the opinions of others:
- oxfordictionaries.com

a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices;
especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance
- merriam webster

..by a couple these definitions it's arguable that Stonewall could be bigots themselves.

[jackthehat]

I wholeheartedly disagree with his viewpoint and his stance.

Having said that, however, he is only toeing the line of his Church, which is to be expected.

I am not sure that Churchmen can truly be described as bigots because they are blinded by slavish adherence to their Bumper Books of Fairytales.

I wonder who the other nominees were?

[jno]

bigots have compared gays to bestialitists

to, er, what?

My vocabulary increases on a daily basis.

[Duncer]

I wonder who the other nominees were?


Quite a few from the religious community.

[ummmm]

No - just deluded by his faith.

[Duncer]

Five figures were shortlisted: Simon Lokodo, the Ugandan ethics and integrity minister, who disbanded meetings of gay equality groups and arrested activists; Maginnis, who described same-sex marriage as "unnatural and deviant behaviour"; O'Brien, who attacked same-sex relationships as "harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing" and compared them to slavery; Philip Tartaglia, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Glasgow, who said the late David Cairns MP may have died because he was gay and claimed the death was shrouded in a "conspiracy of silence"; and Alan Craig, the Christian campaigner and former leader of the Christian People's Alliance, who compared gay equality advocates to the invading forces of Nazi Germany, dubbing them the "Gaystapo".

[jno]

this is the offending article

http://www.telegraph....ge-this-madness.html#

He's probably less bigoted , and less dangerous, than your average gay-basher; but he's more influential, which may be the point of the award.

[joeluke]

....and those who win this prestigious award will be bothered how?

No-one has ever seen the trophy which accompanies this award but rumours are it looks like this:

http://delapruch.file...-on-your-shoulder.jpg

[NOX]

I do think he's bigoted, as I also think the Christian faith is generally and more specifically the Catholic faith ( which I was born into). I think anyone who uses their influence to denigrate, critisise and otherwise undermine the well-being of a whole section of society is of course bigoted, and that is what this man is doing simply because these people do not follow his belief path. 'Marriage' does not belong to the Christian church, it was around long before Christianity was ever dreamed up and will be long after it's extinct, therefore imho it's the right of everyone to marry if they so wish and not within the 'power' of the Christian ( or any other) Church to deny them that.

[Ellipsis]

> In a newspaper article earlier this year, the cardinal wrote that the proposal for same-sex marriage represented a "grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right". He also said same-sex partnerships were "harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of those involved".

I don't think you have to think that just because you're a Christian. Therefore, I think he's a bigot. However, I agree with Ruth Davidson that it's not helpful to have a prize for it.

[jackthehat]

I've given up asking the 'religious' just what they think will happen when gay marriages are *allowed*, and to expand on their doom-laden pronouncements....

I do not think Churchmen ought to get a 'free-pass' when it comes to prejudice and bigotry, I just think that as they are already labouring under a delusion of the mind, it is unfair to expect anything better of, or from, them.

[NOX]

It's very true that you don't have to be religious to be a bigot about same sex marriage, however ( and this is purely anecdotal on my part) I have never encountered anyone who is seriously opposed to same sex marriage who is not either a Christian, a Muslim or a Jew. I have never found a Sikh who is opposed ( possibly because their beliefs are that marriage should be a joining of the souls and therefore gender is irrelevent) but each of the Abrahamic religions have a doctrine of hate and intolerance towards being gay to the point where some advocate physical violence and even death. I hardly think on the balance of probability that that is a co-incidence.

[youngmafbog]

They can call him what they like, but in return they have to accept views of others about them. Except they wont will they.

When they do things like this I believe it actually reverses all the good others have put in, people dont really like name calling.

[NOX]

So someone who preaches hate and intolerance should just be ignored Ymb?
Bigot of the year is a great idea imho, it draws attention to someone who is a problem in a semi light hearted way or would you prefer people to launch into him the way he launches into everyone else? And you CAN'T discriminate against someone's sexual orientation because it's against the law, so that's why people ought to be careful about how they word opposition to gays and lesbians, and THAT is a good thing.

[LazyGun]

The principles of free speech should allow for disagreement. He should not be termed a bigot for disagreeing with gay marriage, nor for disapproving of homosexuality, for that matter.

I think the language and the manner by which he expresses himself mean that he could properly be termed a bigot though. Nor can he use the shield of his religion to deflect the charge. We are all responsible for our words and actions.