Sunday, November 2, 2008

Moving the Ox to Wrath, or the Curious Toxicity of Bigotry

An aphorism about "bigotry," which has been repeated so often that it's become a cliche, asserts that bigotry hurts the bigot as much as, maybe more than, the object of bigotry. Cliche though it be, it speaks true and truly speaks what I haven't seen explored except as a cliche. My working definition of bigotry is the belief that one is superior to others generally and is above the faults of others in particular. It's a sickness that cuts straight to the heart and isolates the bigot from the fount of love that's theoretically available to all.

For some reason, this reminds me of Blake's words:

He who shall hurt the little wren
Shall never be belov'd by men.
He who the ox to wrath has mov'd
Shall never be by woman lov'd.

Tit for tat and hatred for hatred. Resentment against others makes everyone your enemy. I don't know exactly what I'm writing.

1 comment:

Elena said...

Me encanta este ensayo! :) Muy bien dicho! :)