Andrew Sullivan doesn’t own a dictionary. That is the only explanation that I can think of for why he doesn’t know the definition of the word “bigot”.
Yesterday, he used the term a couple of times in reference to the Juan Williams affair . Today he clarifies his claim :
[Williams] is conflating the extreme with the general. This is what bigotry is . It is unfairly tarring the vast majority of innocent members of a group with the acts of a tiny few of 1.3 billion people. [emphasis in original]
No, Andrew, that is not what bigotry is . A bigot is “a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.”
Naturally, he wouldn’t like this definition since there are few journalists who are less tolerant of differing creeds, beliefs, and opinions than he is. Andrew Sullivan is indisputably one of the most prominent bigots in journalism.
(Note to his defenders: The fact that he links to other people who disagree with him doesn’t change that fact. It just means he’s a bigot who is willing to link to people who disagree with him.)
He goes on to add:
The truth is: we can all have bigoted thoughts and say bigoted things because we are human beings, but we should seek to suppress them in a multicultural society within ourselves, let alone lend them actual legitimacy on air.
Did Andrew Sullivan really write that we should seek to suppress bigoted thoughts? Yes, he did. Has he ever suppressed a bigoted thought he has had? No, from reading his blog, it doesn’t appear he ever has.
Consider an example from yesterday (one of hundreds we could choose from):
“I don’t think we came from monkeys. I think that’s ridiculous. I haven’t seen a half-monkey, half-person yet,” - Glenn Beck.Sigh. They don’t just deny the fact of climate change; they deny evolution as well. How can a sane conservative in any way support these nutcases?
Since the “they” he refers to includes Muslims, Sullivan is saying that many (most?) followers of Islam are “nutcases.”
As he asked yesterday in reference to Williams, “ . . . how does [NPR] retain a reputation for fairness and non-bigotry if it continues to employ him?” Perhaps we should ask The Atlantic the same question: “How do you retain your reputation for fairness and non-bigotry if you continue to employ Sullivan?”
