Dear Shadow Minister,

Tried and true Abbott tactics my friend. When your side is absolutely dripping in unapologetic bigotry you decide the best form of defense is to confect some contorted drivel to label those you deem to be 'on the other side' as bigots.

All rather wearying.

SR,

Another erudite and cogent argument from the left? I should have seen it before, as a conservative I must be either lying or misinformed, should leave the interpretation of reality to the left whingers, and ignore the annoying facts that contradict them?

Tell me then that the left aren't dividing people into different race categories, that the nonsense about "cultural appropriation" isn't happening?

Just one eyed will do. The aboriginals said all of that before when some different culture that they did not understand arrived.

Says the entrenched bigotry of limited news. lol
Everyone knows murdochs rags are not even worthy of chip wrappings or budgie cages.
The bias and dishonesty just oozes out like slime from a cess pit with that lot of right wing crazies.

On the weekend over a couple of reds, I was trying to tease out what was commonly meant by the term 'bigot': I was toying with the hypothesis that it means a person who did not tolerate any views opposing his or her own, and couldn't stand to hear them without giving in to the base urge to insult, pillory, slag or otherwise hurt, and/or shut down, anybody with an opposing view. i.e. an adolescent in an adult's body.

And, of course, an anti-bigot was someone who was happy, more or less, with someone expressing a view opposing their own, and defending their right to it. Clearly, I'm an anti-bigot, therefore good.

A crude differentiation, you'll agree, but workable: for instance, if some moron like Mikk writes something like:

" .... the entrenched bigotry of limited news. lol
"Everyone knows murdochs rags are not even worthy of chip wrappings or budgie cages.
"The bias and dishonesty just oozes out like slime from a cess pit with that lot of right wing crazies.... "

we immediately know that we are reading the views of a bigot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing, to coin a phase, someone who would shut down discussion if it were possible, as it may well be in their chosen Utopia.

People like Mikk have a right to be bigots, don't get me wrong - I'll defend their right to express childish rubbish as much as they like, as long as it does not incite violence, and even if it clearly is intended to hurt and/or shut down discussion.

This one is pretty good too, if a bit self-referential:

"When your side is absolutely dripping in unapologetic bigotry you decide the best form of defense is to confect some contorted drivel to label those you deem to be 'on the other side' as bigots."

A mark of a bigot is that they will actually not say anything of substance, only insults. Rebuttal outrages them. I say 'let them speak and show us how empty they and their outraged stance really are'.

[TBC]

for the last 20 years the left has called for a plebiscite for ' gay' marriage. Now the bigots don't want the matter debated or for democracy to have its course. Left really means facist which shuts done free speech, pushes the sexualisation of kids and hates this nation. How did we ever let these people into power!