Kathlyn Gay - Bigotry and Intolerance. The Ultimate Teen Guide

It Happened to Me

Series Editor: Arlene Hirschfelder

Books in the It Happened to Me series are designed for inquisitive teens digging for answers about certain illnesses, social issues, or lifestyle interests. Whether you are deep into your teen years or just entering them, these books are gold mines of up-to-date information, riveting teen views, and great visuals to help you figure out stuff. Besides special boxes highlighting singular facts, each book is enhanced with the latest reading lists, websites, and an index. Perfect for browsing, there are loads of expert information by acclaimed writers to help parents, guardians, and librarians understand teen illness, tough situations, and lifestyle choices.

1. Epilepsy: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Kathlyn Gay and Sean McGarrahan, 2002.
2. Stress Relief: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Mark Powell, 2002.
3. Learning Disabilities: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Penny Hutchins Paquette and Cheryl Gerson Tuttle, 2003.
4. Making Sexual Decisions: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by L. Kris Gowen, 2003.
5. Asthma: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Penny Hutchins Paquette, 2003.
6. Cultural Diversity-Conflicts and Challenges: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Kathlyn Gay, 2003.
7. Diabetes: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Katherine J. Moran, 2004.
8. When Will I Stop Hurting? Teens, Loss, and Grief: The Ultimate Teen Guide to Dealing with Grief, by Ed Myers, 2004.
9. Volunteering: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Kathlyn Gay, 2004.
10. Organ TransplantsA Survival Guide for the Entire Family: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Tina P. Schwartz, 2005.
11. Medications: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Cheryl Gerson Tuttle, 2005.
12. Image and IdentityBecoming the Person You Are: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by L. Kris Gowen and Molly C. McKenna, 2005.
13. Apprenticeship: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Penny Hutchins Paquette, 2005.
14. Cystic Fibrosis: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Melanie Ann Apel, 2006.
15. Religion and Spirituality in America: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Kathlyn Gay, 2006.
16. Gender Identity: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Cynthia L. Winfield, 2007.
17. Physical Disabilities: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Denise Thornton, 2007.
18. MoneyGetting It, Using It, and Avoiding the Traps: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Robin F. Brancato, 2007.
19. Self-Advocacy: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Cheryl Gerson Tuttle and JoAnn Augeri Silva, 2007.
20. Adopted: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Suzanne Buckingham Slade, 2007.
21. The Military and Teens: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Kathlyn Gay, 2008.
22. Animals and Teens: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Gail Green, 2009.
23. Reaching Your Goals: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Anne Courtright, 2009.
24. Juvenile Arthritis: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Kelly Rouba, 2009.
25. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Natalie Rompella, 2009.
26. Body Image and Appearance: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Kathlyn Gay, 2009.
27. Writing and Publishing: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Tina P. Schwartz, 2010.
28. Food Choices: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Robin F. Brancato, 2010.
29. Immigration: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Tatyana Kleyn, 2011.
30. Living with Cancer : The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Denise Thornton, 2011.
31. Living Green: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Kathlyn Gay, 2012.
32. Social Networking: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Jenna Obee, 2012.
33. Sports: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Gail Fay, 2013.
34. Adopted: The Ultimate Teen Guide, Revised Edition, by Suzanne Buckingham Slade, 2013.
35. Bigotry and Intolerance: The Ultimate Teen Guide, by Kathlyn Gay, 2013.

Bigotry and Intolerance

The Ultimate Teen Guide

Kathlyn Gay

It Happened to Me, No. 35

THE SCARECROW PRESS, INC.

Lanham Toronto Plymouth, UK

2013

Published by Scarecrow Press, Inc.

A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706

www.rowman.com

10 Thornbury Road, Plymouth PL6 7PP, United Kingdom

Copyright 2013 by Scarecrow Press, Inc.

All rights reserved . No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gay, Kathlyn.

Bigotry and intolerance : the ultimate teen guide / Kathlyn Gay.

pages cm. (It happened to me ; no. 35)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8108-8360-4 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-8108-8361-1 (ebook) 1. TolerationJuvenile literature. 2. TolerationUnited StatesJuvenile literature. 3. DiscriminationJuvenile literature. 4. DiscriminationUnited StatesJuvenile literature. I. Title.

HM1271.G387 2013

305.800973dc23 2012043200

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America.

Contents

Whats a Bigot?

Bigotry involves verbal abuse that targets people with disabilities and specific sexual orientations, purposely and sometimes inadvertently.Seventeen-year-old Sabrina writing in Teen Ink

If you pose that question to a dozen people, you are likely to get a dozen different responses. And over the past decade, bigot has become a hot word and a label directed at politicians, radio and TV talk show hosts, religious leaders, and many others. During the 2012 presidential election campaigns, for example, candidates frequently were called bigots by their opponents. So what is a bigot? Dictionaries say a bigot is a person with fixed ideas, one who is devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices and someone who is strongly partial to his or her own group, religion, race, or politics and intolerant of those who differ. In the early 1800s, Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, wrote, Bigotry is the disease of ignorance, or morbid minds.... Education and free discussion are the antidotes of both. For example a bigot might argue, The world is flatmy Bible says angels held up four corners of the earth and thats what I believe. Period. Read the Bible. You could pull out maps and globes and call attention to geographic explanations about the shape of the earth. But scientific information would not convince someone attached to a flat-earth theory to change her or his mind.

Seventeen-year-old Sabrina responded to the question Whats a bigot? by writing in Teen Ink , Bigotry is a term that most teens cannot define, yet take part in daily. She points out that teenagers often use the phrases Thats gay and Thats retarded when things dont go their way. She adds, Bigotry involves verbal abuse that targets people with disabilities and specific sexual orientations, purposely and sometimes inadvertently.... Though teens may not realize what they are saying, its [ sic ] time to stop and analyze the discriminatory things they are saying.

Josh, an eighteen-year-old with Down syndrome, knows about disparaging and bigoted remarks. He was featured in 2012 on a Facebook page created by his older sister. Photographs show Josh with a series of printed signs, one pointing out that some say I have a disability, which prompts people to sometimes use really mean words to talk about him. But he holds another sign that says, These mean words hurt but dont describe me at all. Other single-word signs say he is funny, loving, helpful, smart and ends with two final statements: I have feelings just like you and your friends. Ill give you a chance if you give me one, too.