Monday 23 February 2009

"Bigoted" ??

by johnofgwent

As I said in my previous post, first two stops of the morning are the GA Blog and UK Debate. And it is from that latter site that I must thank the local anti-BNP faction for a truly fascinating nugget of information.

The resident "left whingers" (ooh sorry that should be "left wingers" but I'll leave the spelling mistake in place for i think the phrase it creates is far more descriptive) over there regularly have competitions in the forums to see who can best rearrange the dribblings of the likes of Weyman Bennett into something that might look like it's a new angle. Sadly they have little success.

But this morning I was taken by the contribution to one ukdebate thread from a chap who has admitted on that forum one of his relatives was a member of Meibion Glyndwr (the Provisional Wing Of Plaid Cymru,whose actions are best summed up by the phrase "Come Home To A Real Fire Buy A Cottage In Wales"

In a loaded forum post "Why Are The BNP Bigots" he pulled a most interesting dictionary definition of "bigot" from Merriam-Webster. Here you can read their spin on the word, which they define as
"a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices ; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance"
So that set me googling. And look what I found here
big·ot
n.
One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ.

[French, from Old French.]
Word History: Bigots may have more in common with God than one might think. Legend has it that Rollo, the first duke of Normandy, refused to kiss the foot of the French king Charles III, uttering the phrase bi got, his borrowing of the assumed Old English equivalent of our expression by God. Although this story is almost surely apocryphal, it is true that bigot was used by the French as a term of abuse for the Normans ....
Well, King Rollo's descendants can verbally abuse my Norse ancestors all he likes. It was Rollo, after all, who handed those same Norse ancestors what we now know as the coastal areas of France in order that he could set an example for French Military Conduct the World Over, ever since, which is to retreat home and have fun, preferabley before a single shot is fired.

But I have to say that if a love of one's own group, religion, race or politics is what it means to be bigoted, then please pass an extra large cap adorned with that label over here, as I find it a most snug, and comfortable, fit.

In fact the left whingers on ukdebate have missed the point, of course.

For there is a far better label for those who like this land the way it was until fairly recently and are intolerant of those who wish it to be different. And you can find that definition in the same place I found the definition of 'bigot'.

And the wierd thing is, both words are rooted in the same language .... Here you go ....
pa·tri·ot
n.
One who loves, supports, and defends one's country.

[French patriote, from Old French, compatriot, from Late Latin patriota, from Greek patriotes, from patrios, of one's fathers ...

1 comment:

Man Of The Woods said...

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/70464/Asian-terror-gangs-target-UK-with-killer-heroin/