I had a liberal ex who was convinced her MAGA friend was a good person who was just fiscally conservative. She took him to a dinner party where he got drunk and called her black best friend, the homeowner, the n-word. She hated my :shocked-pikachu: response because it was intolerant toward people with different beliefs.
Bigotry is like cancer. Sometimes it presents as a horrific external presence. Other times it just turns your blood to slime and strangles you from within.
I've known plenty of bigots in my life, both as friends and family members. A lot of them really are just poisoned in the head. You don't even realize what they're thinking until some off-handed remark or off-putting reaction rings your bell. And by then... its not easy to just cut ties with someone to whom you've built an emotional bond. You want to rationalize it, tolerate it, or rectify it. You don't want to turn your back on someone you like or love, because they're suddenly spitting bile, any more than you'd want to just toss a friend in a casket the day after they tell you they've got leukemia.
Dealing with this shit is painful in a way that's hard to describe to anyone who hasn't been there. Watching someone you care about act like a bigot can feel like watching them die.
I had a liberal ex who was convinced her MAGA friend was a good person who was just fiscally conservative. She took him to a dinner party where he got drunk and called her black best friend, the homeowner, the n-word. She hated my :shocked-pikachu: response because it was intolerant toward people with different beliefs.
Bigotry is like cancer. Sometimes it presents as a horrific external presence. Other times it just turns your blood to slime and strangles you from within.
I've known plenty of bigots in my life, both as friends and family members. A lot of them really are just poisoned in the head. You don't even realize what they're thinking until some off-handed remark or off-putting reaction rings your bell. And by then... its not easy to just cut ties with someone to whom you've built an emotional bond. You want to rationalize it, tolerate it, or rectify it. You don't want to turn your back on someone you like or love, because they're suddenly spitting bile, any more than you'd want to just toss a friend in a casket the day after they tell you they've got leukemia.
Dealing with this shit is painful in a way that's hard to describe to anyone who hasn't been there. Watching someone you care about act like a bigot can feel like watching them die.
The death may be metaphorical but the mourning is real