Cunk on Britain TV - Guardian online - G K Chesterton - Rabindranath Tagore - Lord Byron - George Eliot - Peter Ackroyd - Christopher Hitchens - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - William Cowper - Rise Up: The Movement that Changed America TV - Morgan Freeman TV - Crazy, Not Insane TV - Star Trek TV - Ingrid Newkirk - Lyndon Baines Johnson -
Today, racist bigotry has no place in contemporary Britain, except Kent. Cunk on Britain s1e4, Britain 2018
I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump. I ran over and said: ‘Stop. Don’t do it.’
‘Why shouldn’t I?’ he asked.
‘Well, there’s so much to live for!’
‘Like what?’
‘Are you religious?’
He said: ‘Yes.’
I said: ‘Me too. Are you Christian or Buddhist?’
‘Christian.’
‘Me too. Are you Catholic or Protestant?’
‘Protestant.’
‘Me too. Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?’
‘Baptist.’
‘Wow. Me too. Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?’
‘Baptist Church of God.’
‘Me too. Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?’
‘Reformed Baptist Church of God.’
‘Me too. Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?’
He said: ‘Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915.’
I said: ‘Die, heretic scum,’ and pushed him off. Guardian online 26th September 2005 article, ‘Bigot on a bridge wins poll for funniest religious joke’
Bigotry may be roughly defined as the anger of men who have no opinions. G K Chesterton, Heretics, 1905
65,273. Bigotry tried to keep truth safe in its hand
With a grip that kills it. Rabindranath Tagore, Fireflies, 1928
Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves. Lord Byron
Can anything be more disgusting than to hear people called ‘educated’ making small jokes about eating ham, and showing themselves empty of any real knowledge as to the relation of their own social and religious life to the history of the people they think themselves witty in insulting? ... The best thing that can be said of it is, that it is a sign of the intellectual narrowness – in plain English, the stupidity which is still the average mark of our culture. George Eliot
Bigotry does not consort easily with free trade. Peter Ackroyd, Venice: Pure City
People who think with their epidermis or their genitalia or their clan are the problem to begin with. One does not banish this spectre by invoking it. If I would not vote against someone on the grounds of ‘race’ or ‘gender’ alone, then by the exact same token I would not cast a vote in his or her favour for the identical reason. Yet see how this obvious question makes fairly intelligent people say the most alarmingly stupid things. Christopher Hitchens
National hatred is something peculiar. You will always find it strongest and most violent where there is the lowest degree of culture. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Ceremony leads her bigots forth, prepared to fight for shadows of no worth. While truths, on which eternal things depend, can hardly find a single friend. William Cowper
‘This was a vicious violent system; you could die trying to register to vote.’ Rise Up: The Movement that Changed America, History 2018
‘What we saw as a problem, they saw as a solution.’ ibid.
‘Their courage, their love, transformed the history of this country by affecting the hearts of people thousands of miles away.’ ibid.
Nearly a century after slavery, racial segregation was the law across the South. ibid.
The strategy begins with a single act of defiance. ibid.
The movement also chooses its leader: 26 year old minister who is determined to keep the protests going. ibid.
The Civil Rights Act is the most sweeping change in social policy since the Civil War. ibid.
‘We must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome.’ ibid. Johnson
Equality is still elusive. ibid.
If you think you see everyone as equal you’re kidding yourself: we all have biases. No matter how open-minded we think we are, stereotypes colour our judgment of us and can lead us badly astray. Morgan Freeman’s Through the Wormhole s6e5: Are We All Bigots? Science 2015
We divide ourselves into rival tribes … Are we all born to discriminate against our fellow humans? Are we all bigots? ibid.
Bigotry and insanity are different. At least my mother thought so. Alex Gibney, ‘Crazy, Not Insane’, Dr Dorothy Otnow Lewis, psychiatrist, Sky Documentaries 2021
Leave any bigotry in your quarters; there is no room for it on the bridge. Star Trek s1e14: Balance of Terror, Kirk to Ensign
I too felt a brief surge of racial bigotry. Most distasteful. Star Trek s3e7: Day of the Dove, Spock
All tyranny, bigotry, aggression, and cruelty are wrong, and whenever we see it, we must never be silent. Ingrid Newkirk
It is the effort of American Negroes to secure for themselves the full blessings of American life. Their cause must be our cause too. Because it’s not just Negroes, but really it’s all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice.
And we shall overcome. Lyndon Baines Johnson: We Shall Overcome, Congress 15th March 1965