What is the difference between racism and bigotry?

One is a subset of the other.

one opinion, not an English major, just someone who wants to understand other’s language choices

Racism and bigotry overlap quite a bit. As used today I see the differences as

bigotry – tends to be individual, but can be any kind of prejudice against just about anyone. Bigotry is less specific (can include traits other than race) and smaller in scope (individual and groups, rather than society as a whole).

racism – Is bigotry based on race, so can describe individuals, but can also refer to the bigger picture prejudice against minorities in a culture. When you start talking about systemic issues those generally go beyond what people describe as bigotry.

Bigotry is something an individual holds onto. Racism is the bias of a culture.

@ragingloli So which is the subset?

@funkdaddy You lost me at the description of racism. What defines “race?” Is that the same thing a a culture?

@Pied_Pfeffer Culture and race are very different. We’re all part of multiple cultures, some we choose, some others perceive us to be a part of. Race is what you’re born with, and doesn’t change.

To put things bluntly, race is based on physical appearance. There has been so much mixing of populations that it is questionable as to the extent that superficial physical appearance correlates with genetic differences. Relevant

@Pied_Pfeffer Jumping into address one of your clarifying questions, though perhaps in an over-simplified way: race is a social construct largely born out of colonialism for “western” ruling countries (ie. Spain, England, France) to create a self-other dichotomy dehumanizing other people they came in contact with (ie. native Americans, Africans.) Racialization came, in part, from colonizing territories and bodies.

Today I often see this collapsed into a discussion of color. Black people are not black solely for their skin tone. Brown people are not brown solely for their skin tone. It’s how our bodies, and our culture by extension, have been used as a means of systemic control.

@funkdaddy‘s assessment of the difference of racism and bigotry seem on the nose to me. A lot of people may be adamant that they are not racist (to apply these conversations of race to a different categorical word) because they don’t see the connection of their words or actions to this systemic history of how bodies and cultures have been subjected to violence and erasure.

Racism is just one form of bigotry; one can also be bigoted towards groups based on things other than race such as sexual orientation, sex, etc.

Bigotry is an unreasonable bias against the opinions, attitudes or practices of designated groups. Dentists, Lithuanians, firemen, it doesn’t matter. Racism narrows the bigotry down to racial or ethnic groups. So while all racists are bigots, not all bigots are racists.

@Pied_Pfeffer
Racism is a subset of Bigotry.

Bigotry is when you don’t like someone with differing opinions. Racism is when you don’t like someone because of their skin color. Both show weak minds.

It’s like asking, “What is the difference between poop and crap?”

If it smells and looks like feces then you don’t have to be told what it is.

Racism-moral disapproval based on skin color phenotype.
Bigotry- holding to an idea even when in possession of the evidence which disproves it.