http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ This is America, and we aren't supposed to hate anyone because they are a minority, are we? Actually, we have been getting better lately with regard to many minorities - but not all. Electing... Copyright by BloggersBase 2010 editor@bloggersbase.com webmaster@bloggersbase.com Sun, 21 Mar 2010 22:08:31 GMT Politics & Opinions http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ I confirm the prejudice exist although not very obvious. Was told it's so in almost all countries although not always spoken about as often as in the States. Expats, natives and settlers get compared all the time. For jobs, status, invitations, etc Fri, 20 Mar 2009 05:18:02 GMT http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ Perhaps some of this prejudice against "non-believers" comes from their use of the term "freethinkers" to distinguish themselves from "believers". Implicit in such a distinguishment is the suggestion that believers do not think freely, which is insulting and condescending. It's antagonistic, and does nothing to alleviate the prejudice against those who do not believe in God or a higher power, or whatever term you would like to use. I would defend to the death anyone's right to believe that there is no God, but I don't want those people, even subtly, criticizing my intellect or individuality because I choose to believe differently. As long as each side of the issue maintains that anyone on the other side is somehow intellectually inferior, this prejudice will never die---and denying that "non-believers" exhibit such prejudice against "believers" as readily as the reverse is true is just unrealistic. I was not raised in a religious household, nor do I belong to any particular church. I've studied Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, agnosticism, and atheism and drew my own conclusions about the concept of a higher power. To me, that makes me just as "freethinking" as anyone who has concluded differently than I that there is no intelligent force behind our creation. Fri, 20 Mar 2009 08:10:48 GMT http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ To anonymous, Your experience in comparing religions is admirable, but not typical. In a Gallup poll on why Americans attend church, 25% responded that the primary reason they attended was because they were brought up that way, or because their family or friends did, as opposed to because of religious conviction. One wonders how many of those who reported religious conviction at their primary reason were merely saying what they believe is expected of them. Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:30:40 GMT http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ I am a "non believer" in that I don't believe in the personification of God, though it's pretty clear to me there is a higher power than us in the Universe. However, I'm not sure comparing the free thinkers' plight with that of African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and Gays is entirely fair. I come from a long line of atheists and agnostics and maybe once or twice in our collective lives had we had to deal with anything negative above simple snobbery. Sure, there was a time when non believers were persecuted, but there was a time when Christians were too, as well as Jews, Muslims, Buddists, Hindus, Taoists. Every belief (or lack thereof) group has been persecuted at one point or another and I'd hardly go so far as to say the free thinkers had it worse. I don't remember a time in history when were led, en masse, to our deaths in gas chambers, or slaughtered in great numbers at the hands of a communist government.<br /><br />This post is irresponsible and insensitive and quite frankly, demonstrates the attitude that keeps believers from really respecting us. Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:22:45 GMT http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ It is interesting to me that you complain about the existence or prejudices in society while you are the one classifying these people according to race. Having grown up in West Virginia I do know that it exists and like you I despise it but the difference is that I do not care what color my Congressperson is. I do not care what color my friends are or what their sexual orientation us. Why is it okay to have a Hispanic Caucus or a Black Caucus and not a Caucasian Caucus in Congress? Wouldn't this be further glorifying (and thus widening) the divide between races rather than simply have Congressional Representatives of all ilk? <br /><br />Political parties serve a purpose (Or at least used to when there was actually political differences and not just partisan-non-political ideology) and are used to provide a system of checks and balances. Dividing people according to race or any other criteria is still a division of the people and serves no useful purpose. Wouldn't it be a truly wonderful world if we could live in Martin Luther King's world where we were judged by the content of our character and not by the color of our skin? <br /><br />Sorry, had to continue in part two :"> Sun, 19 Apr 2009 03:36:55 GMT http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ http://www.bloggersbase.com/politics-and-opinions/the-most-despised-minority-in-america/ Part Two - The rest of the story<br /><br />As long as people continue to divide and separate people, we will never have the opportunity to become a blind society. If I saw a cross, a crescent and a menorah in a park along side of a christmas tree even, I consider it a celebration of diversity and not oppression. <br /><br />"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" If someone's faith is so lacking as to be threatened by the mere presence of something symbolic of a religion that is not the basis for restricting the rights to freely express their faith. What is happening is an active oppression of the rights of people because of a lack of belief by others. <br /><br />I have a legal right pray as my faith compels me. You have a right to ignore me or to be offended by my actions but no right to force me not to pray simply because you do not agree. The partisan bickering that is taking place seeks to grant special rights to people based on faith, color and even creed in some instances ... often at the expense of the freedom and liberty of those who do not agree with them. <br /><br />As for the supposed wall of separation, please show me where that appears in the Constitution and I will come all the way from my third-world country expatriate home (where I am a minority in more ways than one ... and gasp ... do volunteer work to help people who want to improve their lives despite their differences and not revel and remain in the poverty that their situation has brought them up in) to the American city of your choice, give you time to draw a crowd and bow down before you to beg your forgiveness. (I will give you a hint. It is NOT in the Constitution and only appears in a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptist convention) As such, how does this letter to a group of believers somehow over-rule the Constitution of these independent but united States of America which is legally speaking, Sun, 19 Apr 2009 03:41:57 GMT