Serious question: Are the Republicans you know personally bigoted?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

I emphasize PERSONALLY. I'm sure we all haven't had the same experiences, but tell me, are the Republicans that you know personally racist, homophobic, or otherwise intolerant?

[Hobarticus]

1. Out of all that I personally know, ONE isn't a bigot...

...and he said he was voting Kerry.

[Worst Username Ever]

2. They are scared of black people ("criminals") and are anti-gay.

Oh, and "Mexicans are lazy."

[ceile]

8. We live in TX which is heavily Mexican

They don't have one nice thing to say about them. Until I remind them that half my family is Mexican, that shuts them up...for the time being anyway.

[TwentyFive]

26. I knew some white repugs from TX - hated their neighbors for being Mexican

If you're not white, hetero, christian, from the right school & fraternity/sorority, then you are not worth spit. But if you wear kackis, button down shirts, and loafers and look squeaky clean....they might mistake you for one of their own....LOL!!

[RubyDuby in GA]

31. Bingo

The guy I've worked with for 6 years is totally homophobic and is moving way up into the North Georgia area to get away from black people.

The sad thing is this is a really nice guy who really tries to help people out and is generally fair about everything else.

Oh and he has 2 kids....hope they escape the narrowmindedness, but I doubt they will.

[cyr330]

3. Sad but true

I grew up in the South, and I'm not accusing all Southerners of being bigots, but I AM saying that the vast majority of Repukes I know down there are bigots. I just think my lucky stars I don't live there any more; I don't think I could stand it.

[rfranklin]

4. The Republican Party is based on bigotry...

toward uppity women, lazy blacks, greasy Hispanics, money-grubbing Jews, disease-ridden gays and man-hating lesbians--and amongst the core of the Republican Party (the haves and have-mores) against everyone else who is not a member of the country club.

[TwentyFive]

21. Yes - anybody not white, suburban, hetero, christian, uppermiddle class is

not somebody they want as a neighbor or friend. They can be polite to their gay hair stylist or the Latino gardner, and tip them a few bucks...but they expect them to crawl back into their holes at the end of the day.

Many upscale country clubs still won't admit blacks or jews...and I'm sure the fag, woman & Mexican jokes are rampant too.

[Dem Agog]

5. 2 out of 3 Republicans - Stupid Bigots

In my personal experience, 2 out of 3 Republicans are stupid bigots.

I don't know many. I only know three. One is my mother who is one of the dumbest, most selfish, ditziest humans alive. She hates blacks and yet works in a predominantly African-American school district so all she does when she's away from there is complain about them.

Number two is my brother, the fatheaded fool who showed his homophobic bigotry to my husband the very first time they met. Mr. Agog asked my brother if he was drinking a Diet Coke (brother had a HUUUGE soda cup from 7-11). My brother's response? "Fuck no, I stopped drinking Diet Coke once I found out they give health benefits to those fucking faggots."

Choking back the anger I gave my boyfriend (then) a tight-lipped smile and said, "That's my brother, changing the world one soda at a time."

Number three is my new brother-in-law, a relatively timid professional sort who seems very, very nice. I have no idea why he thinks Bush is a good President, but he does. I don't discuss politics with him. I think he's missing the chunk of his brain that detects fascism and stupidity.

[ogradda]

6. i only really know 2

and one is and one isn't not a very large sample i'm afraid:shrug:

[Cuban_Liberal]

7. Only one that I know is a bigot.

The rest I know aren't.

[sangh0]

9. IMO, the majority of both repukes and Dems are bigoted

and I'm referring to the ones I know personally. But on the other hand, I live in a place with a long, long, history of segregation and bigotry, a town that often comes near the top on the SPLC's hate crimes list - NYC.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

20. Just because they live in NYC doesn't necessarily make them a Dem.

Nor does letting an offensive word slip on rare occasion make one a bigot. Actions make the bigot. If your actions and philosophies are intolerant, yes, you are a bigot.

It's an important denotation to make because you can catch even the nicest, most tolerant person in the world in a moment of weakness saying a little something that can be offensive to SOMEONE out there. And it can be done by a man or woman of any color, class, or creed.

I somehow feel like your labelling of NYC as a bigoted city might be a tad touchy, especially considering the vast number of people who live there. I think your chances for a bigoted encounter are just greatly increased by the sheer size of the place.

[sangh0]

29. I said I was speaking about people I personally know

and I KNOW that they are Dems.

Nor does letting an offensive word slip on rare occasion make one a bigot. Actions make the bigot. If your actions and philosophies are intolerant, yes, you are a bigot.

Ok, how about seeing Dems take part in, not one, but TWO race riots?

How about seeing adult Dems calling an 11 year old child (me) a "nigger-lover" because I went to class while they wanted me to stay home to protest bussing?

How about the way I hear racial epithets EVERY weekend while shopping on the avenue on the weekends?

Would like to hear about some of the bumper stickers some of the Dems on my block have put on their cars?

How about the fact that the schools in NYC are as segregated as they were at the time of the Brown vs. Bd of Ed case?

How about the way the NYC Housing Authority (run by dems for most of it's existence) engaged in "racial steering" by placing people in housing according to their race?

Yes, I'm "a tad" touchy.

[Rjnerd]

10. Living up here in MA

I know very few repub's. The one I have had the most discussoins with is not at all bigoted. But a republican up here, would be considered a godless liberal in TX.

[hughee99]

32. I agree...

I'm actually from one of the smaller towns in central Mass where Kerry only won 52%. I know quite a few repubs and but only one that I would consider a bigot. I also know a few dems that I would consider bigoted (though I know a few more dems than repugs).

edited for clarity

[Cleita]

11. Yes. I don't know if they are aware of it.

Their bigotry stems from the fact that those "others" are taking their jobs, moving into their neighborhoods making them unsafe, speaking a strange language they don't understand etc.,etc..

[The Backlash Cometh]

12. Every blasted one of them.

At first things go smoothly, then, when they think they know you, they lapse into hate talk.

[GRLMGC]

13. Strangely enough, no

Well, to be honest, I don't really come into contact w/ that many Repubs and am only personally acquainted with maybe 2 (that I know of) and they really aren't bigots. Maybe if I got to know more, I'd meet some bigots.

[buckettgirl]

there are democrats I know that are bigots...

the sad thing is, at the top of that list are my grandparents... they aren't ready accept gay marriage or to defy the sanctity of marriage. But I am not certain that they support a constitutional ban or even a state amendment against gay marriage.
Its just one of those things - they are old and set in their ways. My grandpa still refers to almost anything Japanese with a bigoted slur, but I'm sure that's only because he was sent to Iwo Jima in WWII.
Some things never change, and I don't blame them. Never-the-less, my grandparents are true yellow-dog dems.

[donheld]

14. So many of us see bigotry as someone like Archie Bunker

Most of the ones i know are very nice but if you catch them just right you'll see it come out. Archie was loud and obvious about it. Many today are more subtle but it's still there.

[rurallib]

18. the ones I know

are pretty blatant about it but the way they talk it makes it sound like their bigotry is just common sense. Used to try to call them on it but gave up. like pushing a string uphill.

[CitySky]

15. The ones I know aren't.

They are just really clueless people.

Then again, there's my Uncle Rocky -- now, HE'S a bigot. Think Archie Bunker, but more guns.

[JaneDoughnut]

16. Frighteningly so

In fact, after a while I was able to tell who my relatives were voting for just by listening to how they talked about African-Americans or Arabs. (I live in a town that's almost 50/50 black/white and plagued by a lot of racial tension.)

There are a few Republicans whose political philosophies I genuinely respect, those that believe first and foremost in personal responsibility. I believe in personal responsibility, too! But this does not seem to be the key philosophy of the people they elect to represent them.

[JaneDoughnut]

28. Then again...

Of course, you have to think, I'm commenting on the deep south, where the appeal of the Republican party was largely based on a backlash to the Civil Rights movement. This could be a hangover from that, and maybe I wouldn't have such a negative view of the Republican party if I lived in a different part of the country.

[The Straight Story]

17. Funny, most the dems I know are bigots

And I mentioned this once on a thread I started and it was dead :)

I know several elected dems and many not who are bigots/racists in their thinking. The republicans I know are pretty open minded - one is gay, one is a new citizen though he has lived here a long time, two are african-american one of which is in reserves, and the others are just some white folks :)

Where do I see the difference? The dems (most in CA) don't make jokes about racial/gay/etc issues but they do talk in serious tones about the problems we have because of X race or people (and the one couple, the ones I know that are elected) have a gay son and it drives em nuts :)

I don't buy into stereotypes either based on physical or politics. I have been around about 40 years and have seen assholes on both sides. A side note of interest in all this, my mother-in-law won relection as a dem in a red county of CA. Weird sometimes how counties vote different on a national level than they do a local one.

[luaneryder]

19. Every Republican I know is a bigot

in some fashion. I know Democrats who are as well; they just try to be subtle about it. I think bigotry runs across all political parties, but the Republicans I know are overt in their display.

[kcwayne]

22. I know lots of Republicans

I work with lots of Repukes, have known a lot through the years, and I play golf at a club that is very heavily infested with them.

I cannot think of one that is not a bigot (out of about 200 people that I can think back on).

Even my father-in-law and mother-in-law, who are very, very nice Christian (not fundy but devout) and never say a bad thing about anybody have made comments about Jews and Blacks that are not virulently racist, but show that deep down they think they are superior.

Well I take that back. My wife is not a racist. She has always voted Republican until this last election, when I finally convinced her that it was an affront to her values to do so.

[rexcat]

23. Living in SW Ohio...

most of the repukes here are blatant racists. Lots of white supremacists around here. Ohio ranks 4 or 5 in population in this group.

[HughBeaumont]

24. "Yes on Issue 1" sign = bigot.

So, yes.

That would mean the gay marriage amendment.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

25. yes.

[arcane1]

27. most of the ones I know are liberal and just don't know it

though there are some bigots I've known, who are technically repube but politically inactive, so it works out

the rest just watch too much tv, but otherwise mean well

[Nestea]

30. No.

But I don't go around asking people their political affiliation. I'm not a nosy bastard.

[Selwynn]

33. None of the Republicans I know are bigots -- HOWEVER...

...wait.. let me rephrases that:

None of the Republicans I am willing to be associated with are bigots. Most of them actually enjoy my friendship because they enjoy serious discussion about serious issues, and believe it or not they listen as much as they talk, and they acknowledge good points when they are made.

However, there are a lot of republicans around here (in Idaho) that are ignorant bigoted assholes - but I will not associate or waste my time with such people unless they demonstrate to me they are willing to have an open, honest, rational, informed, civilized discussion.

[leesa]

34. Anyone who could support the Iraq war when they know the

100,000 Iraqi deaths occured as a result of them doing nothing to us, are bigots.

We would not for an instant accept this kind of slaughter of white people. For instance, Germany has a fair number of al-Qaeda cells (probably not as many as we have though, but far more that Iraq, who had none), would Americans accept us invading them and slaughtering 100,000 of her people without any shred of concern?

Americans don't care who we bomb and slaughter as long as they are brown enough, and most conservatives support this shit.