Gilda and frosstbyte: congrats on missing the point of my post.
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Originally Posted by filtherton
People who opppose gay rights are bigots because generally the particular line of reasoning that they employ isn't relevant to their position. They are bigots because the level of commitment they have with respect to any argument against homosexuality is directly related to their ability to convince others of that argument's veracity. Once a particular line of reasoning is discredited they move on to another one. Their preexisting disdain for homosexuality necessitates some sort of rationalization, the specifics of which aren't important.
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You describe an interesting hypothesis. A hypothesis that I don't hesitate to believe is sometimes - or even often - true.
You
don't describe the thought process that took you from "this is true for anti-gay marriage opponents I've met" to "this is true for all people who use these arguments". Care to?
But I've got to argue your conclusion for the scenario also. Try this: you grow up in an environment that isn't exactly intellectually diverse, and through the course of growing up, you're given six arguments in defense of a political position that sound like really good arguments to you. One day, you meet someone who thoroughly dismantles reason #1 in front of you. You switch to reason #2.
Preexisting disdain is the only explanation for the switch? Really? It must be hidden reason #7?
Call me crazy, but I suspect that a more cautious appraisal would reveal five other possible explanations: reasons #2-6. If you have multiple reasons for supporting an action, you don't just toss out your support when fault is found with a single reason. "But wait! What about this?" isn't a sign of underlying bigotry, it's a sign of intellectual caution.
People express multiple reasons for a belief does not necessarily signify a master, all-controlling hidden reason.
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I feel very comfortable labelling all who oppose homosexuality bigots, because the vast vast vast majority of them are. On the off chance that they are "just mistaken", well, they shouldn't feel so bad, i was "just mistaken" too.
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Oh. Well, if other people make mistakes, then that makes yours okay.