A huge part of being able to grow as a person is being able to admit it when you are wrong. It seems like simple concept to most people, and by all means it should be. But, in reality, it is very difficult for people to admit that they may have been living their life in a way that was both detrimental to themselves and society. And this is why it is so difficult for many people to overcome bigotry, because it means setting aside one’s own pride and admitting that you were, in fact, a bigot to some extent.
A huge part of being able to grow as a person is being able to admit it when you are wrong. It seems like simple concept to most people, and by all means it should be. But, in reality, it is very difficult for people to admit that they may have been living their life in a way that was both detrimental to themselves and society. And this is why it is so difficult for many people to overcome bigotry, because it means setting aside one’s own pride and admitting that you were, in fact, a bigot to some extent.
Whether or not it is racism, homophobia, or sexism, few people, if any, can actually boast that they are innocent of any of these offenses, myself included. Yet many people, still to this day, deny that there is actually any real bigotry taking place in the world today. And rather than accepting that there is an equality problem, people deny the existence of a problem in order to avoid taking any responsibility on their part.
For many years, almost my entire life, I was one of these people. I used racial slurs as a regular part of my vocabulary, I made offensive jokes, I judged people based on race, gender, and sexuality, and I also felt that there was nothing wrong with any of it. And it was not until long after becoming a target of bigotry myself and being good friends with social justice fighters that I finally admitted that the problem was not the rest of the world—it was me.
Religion can often times play a large role in how people address bigotry. It can be even more difficult to accept that your way of thinking is wrong if it has been perpetuated by your religious ways. It can also be difficult to admit fault if you were raised in a family that perpetuates this type of thinking as well. But regardless, it is so very important that we do our best to overcome our own brand of bigotry despite these aspects of our lives, because it is extremely damaging to our society’s way of thinking.
The fact that people can still to this day justify atrocities such as the gender wage gap, gay marriage bans, and the shooting of unarmed citizens of color, is utterly terrifying. It is frightening because many Americans are content to believe that things such as women’s suffrage, civil partnerships, and the Civil Rights Movement were a magical remedy for American Society’s systematic and internalized bigotry. But it stands true that Americans have used these excuses to refute the existence of a large and powerful amount of bigotry in our society.
It is one thing to realize that you are wrong, but it takes a lot of courage and strength to openly admit that you were wrong and to begin to take steps to make amends and take responsibility for the hurt you have caused. But that is so important for the progress of our world that we be able to humble ourselves and work towards progress rather than letting our pride hold us back from bettering ourselves, and the world around us.
