Treating People Equally: The Absence of Bigotry

by Michael J Badagliacco, "MJB"

I have always tried to treat every person the same way. Same respect. Same rules. Same chance. Yet when I do exactly that, I sometimes get called a bigot or a racist. It still catches me off guard. The very act of refusing to play favorites seems to trigger the harshest words from people who claim to care about fairness.

Bigotry, as it is usually defined, means clinging to strong but unreasonable beliefs while showing intolerance toward anyone who sees things differently. By that measure, treating people equally should be the clearest sign that bigotry is not present. I keep coming back to that simple truth.

The Sting of Being Labeled

What surprises me most is how often the people quickest to slap on the label of bigotry show little patience for opinions that differ from theirs. I have felt this in conversations, in public meetings, and in the wider back-and-forth that passes for debate these days. The word gets turned into a weapon instead of a description of real prejudice. That reversal bothers me. It cheapens the serious damage actual bigotry does to real people.

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to this when he dreamed of a nation where his children would be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. That standard still feels right to me. It asks us to see the person in front of us, not the group they belong to.

What I am seeing

I have heard reports of disparaging comments directed at the LGBTQ+ community on social media. I have friends and family members who are part of the LGBTQ+ community and these reports disturb me deeply. Not because I have friends and family members who are part of the LGBTQ+ community, but because it is happening to anyone in our community. Such conduct is wrong; it is rooted in hate and unacceptable.

Every citizen deserves to live their life as they see fit as a consenting adult without fear. There are those who hold personal convictions that lead them to disagree with a particular lifestyle. That is their right.

It is not however, acceptable to discriminate or disparage another citizen because of their lifestyle or identity. The same principle applies regardless of skin color, national origin, or sex. Discrimination has no place in our community.

What Keeps Me Steady

I measure my views against the Constitution and the laws that rest on it. Justice John Marshall Harlan put it plainly in his dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson: “our Constitution is color-blind and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens”. In civil rights, all citizens stand equal before the law.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 turned that principle into everyday protection. It said no one should face discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. More recently, the Supreme Court in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard reminded everyone that “equal protection means treating individuals as individuals…”

These are not distant texts to me. They shape how I try to carry myself in public life and in private decisions.

Values That Draw Fire

I hold core values the same way most people with integrity do. They come from family, from years of service, and from watching what happens when rules bend for some but not others. When those values run into ideas that sort citizens by group identity instead of individual conduct, the criticism arrives quickly. Sometimes it sets common sense aside entirely. I have learned that holding the line anyway is part of living with principle.

Why I Keep Standing Here

At the end of the day, I will not trade equal treatment for easier headlines or fewer accusations. The label hurts less than the thought of giving up on fairness that applies to everyone. True equality does not hand out different rules based on who someone is or what group claims them. It asks the same of all of us and gives the same chance to all of us. That is the standard I try to meet, even when it draws fire. It is also the standard worth keeping.