--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The sad truth about bigotry is that most…" description: "\"The sad truth about bigotry is that most bigots either don't realize that they are bigots, or they convince themselves that their bigotry is perfectly ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/wayne-gerard-trotman-3291_bigotry_the-sad-truth-about-bigotry-is-that-most_653122.png" --- # The sad truth about bigotry is that most bigots either… ![“The sad truth about bigotry is that most bigots either don't realize that they are bigots, or they convince themselves that their bigotry is perfectly justified.” quote by Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/wayne-gerard-trotman-3291_bigotry_the-sad-truth-about-bigotry-is-that-most_653122.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/wayne-gerard-trotman-3291_bigotry_the-sad-truth-about-bigotry-is-that-most_653122.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/wayne-gerard-trotman-3291_bigotry_the-sad-truth-about-bigotry-is-that-most_653122.png) > “The sad truth about bigotry is that most bigots either don't realize that they are bigots, or they convince themselves that their bigotry is perfectly justified.” [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Bigotry persists because many perpetrators lack self‑awareness or rationalize their prejudice as justified. **In simple terms:** People often don’t see or justify their own bias. Key Takeaway Question your assumptions and seek self‑knowledge. Themes prejudice self‑awareness justification social psychology Mood reflective critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - workplace - education - political discourse - personal relationships Key Concepts cognitive bias identity moral reasoning Questions to Reflect On - How can you recognize hidden prejudice in yourself? - What evidence challenges your justifications? A Different Perspective Self‑deception can mask bias, making change difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bigotry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigotry/) [Bigots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigots/) [Homophobia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homophobia/) [Sad truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad-truth/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [I found from working on the film that I am a bigot, at times. And that I am also a coward, at times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-howard/i-found-from-working-on-the-film-that-i-am-a-bigot-at-times-and-that/) [Terrence Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-howard/) > [“There will always be another war, Gillia.” He allowed his cynicism to seep through. “Do you know why? Because there will always be bigots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-carnes/there-will-always-be-another-war-gillia-he-allowed-his-cynicism-to/) [V.S. Carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-carnes/) > [“No travel can broaden a bigoted mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/no-travel-can-broaden-a-bigoted-mind/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“First, they came for the bigots, and I said nothing, because I didn’t believe I was a bigot, then…it was really nice, it turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-ince/first-they-came-for-the-bigots-and-i-said-nothing-because-i-didn-t/) [Robin Ince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-ince/) > [Being no bigot myself, I am disposed to indulge the professors of Christianity in the church that road to heaven which to them shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/being-no-bigot-myself-i-am-disposed-to-indulge-the-professors-of/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [“• They travel in tight circles of likeminded people. • Their thinking is more likely based on what authorities have told them rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-dean/they-travel-in-tight-circles-of-likeminded-people-their-thinking-is/) [John W. Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-dean/) > [What concerns me most is the horrible degradation our notions of truth, civility, and decency have undergone. Also the way that language has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-concerns-me-most-is-the-horrible-degradation-our-notions-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We should not allow the fundamentalists and the bigots to take over and speak for the great faiths any more than we should let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/we-should-not-allow-the-fundamentalists-and-the-bigots-to-take-over/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [“Bigots often like to say they're the ones being hurt as they oppress and hurt others. Never fall for the 'pity the privileged' routine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashanne-stokes/bigots-often-like-to-say-they-re-the-ones-being-hurt-as-they-oppress/) [DaShanne Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashanne-stokes/) > [“Apes throw tantrum when they are insecure, pursuit of delusion soothes the vegetated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/apes-throw-tantrum-when-they-are-insecure-pursuit-of-delusion-soothes/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Don’t become bigoted about bigots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-ross/don-t-become-bigoted-about-bigots/) Scott Ross > [“But the bigots always see those whom they hate as morally corrupt, as if they confuse their own aesthetics of disgust and fear with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/but-the-bigots-always-see-those-whom-they-hate-as-morally-corrupt-as/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [Religion doesn't make people bigots. People are bigots and they use religion to justify their ideology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/religion-doesn-t-make-people-bigots-people-are-bigots-and-they-use/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [These days I am a teetotal, mean-spirited, right-wing, narrow-minded, conservative Christian bigot, but not a racist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-russell/these-days-i-am-a-teetotal-mean-spirited-right-wing-narrow-minded/) [Jane Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-russell/) > [I never sensed really bad blood between Microsoft and Apple. A lot of Macintosh users feel badly about PCs and do have some bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-wozniak/i-never-sensed-really-bad-blood-between-microsoft-and-apple-a-lot-of/) [Steve Wozniak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-wozniak/) ## More by Wayne Gerard Trotman > [“And the blind man said to the deaf man, "Do you see what I hear?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/and-the-blind-man-said-to-the-deaf-man-do-you-see-what-i-hear/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“Opportunity knocks but some people are too busy watching TV.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/opportunity-knocks-but-some-people-are-too-busy-watching-tv/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“Fashion is one of the greatest forms of manipulation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/fashion-is-one-of-the-greatest-forms-of-manipulation/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“When you repay evil with evil, you become evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/when-you-repay-evil-with-evil-you-become-evil/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“So many things seem impossible until you try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/so-many-things-seem-impossible-until-you-try/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [Today, I attended a friend's birthday party dressed as a ninja. I soon discovered that ninjas are very misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/today-i-attended-a-friend-s-birthday-party-dressed-as-a-ninja-i-soon/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“To try is to accept the possibility of failure. Simply do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/to-try-is-to-accept-the-possibility-of-failure-simply-do/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“Always dress well, you’ll feel great and get better treatment from strangers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/always-dress-well-you-ll-feel-great-and-get-better-treatment-from/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [Armon stared into the wild darkness of his opponent and saw a reflection of his own fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/armon-stared-into-the-wild-darkness-of-his-opponent-and-saw-a/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [Change. Adapt. Bend so as not to be broken. Let opportunity guide your actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/change-adapt-bend-so-as-not-to-be-broken-let-opportunity-guide-your/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“One of the most devastating symptoms of pride is the unwillingness to forgive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/one-of-the-most-devastating-symptoms-of-pride-is-the-unwillingness-to/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“Laughter is much better than anger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/laughter-is-much-better-than-anger/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“Perfect understanding of the infinite requires limitless intellectual capacity; our undivided attention is better suited for humbler aspirations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/perfect-understanding-of-the-infinite-requires-limitless-intellectual/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“We should respect those able to choose love after enduring a lifetime of hate. It is the least we could do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/we-should-respect-those-able-to-choose-love-after-enduring-a-lifetime/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“May the scribes record it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/may-the-scribes-record-it/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) [Explore all 134 Wayne Gerard Trotman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) ## More Bigotry quotes > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [To take up half on trust, and half to try, Name it not faith but bungling bigotry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/to-take-up-half-on-trust-and-half-to-try-name-it-not-faith-but/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [ What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that white brothers and sisters did not vote for \[Donald\] Trump, and do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-consoling-that-white-brothers/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [Bigoted people are just scholars who lack any sort of legitimate credentials to answer why they're bigoted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doctavius/bigoted-people-are-just-scholars-who-lack-any-sort-of-legitimate/) Doctavius > [Sadly, we can't eliminate bigotry. But that doesn't mean we have to tolerate it, much less give it a platform on which to thrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-viner/sadly-we-can-t-eliminate-bigotry-but-that-doesn-t-mean-we-have-to/) [Katharine Viner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-viner/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“People talk about history and things like slavery, genocide, and religious persecution as horrors that happened in the past because we were ignorant. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-matthew-nespoli/people-talk-about-history-and-things-like-slavery-genocide-and/) [J. Matthew Nespoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-matthew-nespoli/) > [“Remember who you are. This creature wants to take it from you. Do not let him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/remember-who-you-are-this-creature-wants-to-take-it-from-you-do-not/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“Oh Beautiful For A Land That's Free Where All Can Congregate Together Live With No Degree Of Bigotry And Hate”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bee/oh-beautiful-for-a-land-that-s-free-where-all-can-congregate-together/) Kathy Bee > [“That’s the problem with indoctrination—the whole point of the First Order’s kind of education is to stop someone from thinking and instead kick their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delilah-s-dawson/that-s-the-problem-with-indoctrination-the-whole-point-of-the-first/) [Delilah S. Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delilah-s-dawson/) > [Too small is our world to allow discrimination, bigotry and intolerance to thrive in any corner of it, let alone in the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-engel/too-small-is-our-world-to-allow-discrimination-bigotry-and/) [Eliot Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-engel/) > [... happily the Government of the United States... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/happily-the-government-of-the-united-states-gives-to-bigotry-no/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [“This book would be a great addition to a classroom library, especially considering its emphases on timeless and critical topics like discrimination and prejudice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-lovejoy/this-book-would-be-a-great-addition-to-a-classroom-library-especially/) [Sharon Lovejoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-lovejoy/) > [Pat Buchanan... was fired by MSNBC for doing nothing more than voicing his rock-solid conservative thoughts on the otherwise failing network... The real message…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/pat-buchanan-was-fired-by-msnbc-for-doing-nothing-more-than-voicing/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [Fear and Bigotry are bred fom isolation and ignorance. -Shekinah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-and-bigotry-are-bred-fom-isolation-and-ignorance-shekinah/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 661 Bigotry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigotry/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The sad truth about bigotry is that most bigots either don't realize that they are bigots, or they convince themselves that their bigotry is perfectly justified.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wayne Gerard Trotman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/the-sad-truth-about-bigotry-is-that-most-bigots-either-don-t-realize/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bigotry" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/the-sad-truth-about-bigotry-is-that-most-bigots-either-don-t-realize/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/wayne-gerard-trotman-3291_bigotry_the-sad-truth-about-bigotry-is-that-most_653122.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/wayne-gerard-trotman-3291_bigotry_the-sad-truth-about-bigotry-is-that-most_653122.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/wayne-gerard-trotman-3291_bigotry_the-sad-truth-about-bigotry-is-that-most_653122.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The sad truth about bigotry is that most bigots either don't realize that they are bigots, or they convince…” — Wayne Gerard Trotman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Wayne Gerard Trotman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The sad truth about bigotry is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/the-sad-truth-about-bigotry-is-that-most-bigots-either-don-t-realize/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/the-sad-truth-about-bigotry-is-that-most-bigots-either-don-t-realize/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```