By Don Feder, Creators Syndicate, Inc.

November-December 1997 – Welcome to “The Psychology of Liberalism 101.” Today’s lecture: Why liberals are addicted to ad hominems, and what they mean by “bigot.”

This is inspired by a recent communication from a reader. After complimenting my mother (I did a column on her 85th birthday), he wonders how – with such a wonderful mom – I turned out to be “so narrow-minded and bigoted.”

Aside, why are liberals prone to insult-overkill to the point of redundancy? I’m not just “bigoted,” but “narrow-minded” too. Thus, I may be distinguished from all of the tolerant, progressive and cosmopolitan bigots.

This correspondent was put to shame by one Jane Grey, who did not provide a return address, probably for fear that I would show up with my hooded friends one evening and burn a Star of David on her lawn.

Does the “mean-spirited, pompous trash” I write “bolster” my “deplorable sense of self-esteem?” Lady Jane inquired. The letter was larded with references to my “rantings,” “kindergarten mentality,” “preachy morality,” “puritanical ravings,” “bad-tempered reviling” and “small-minded bitchiness.” Like her namesake, Jane has lost her head – but hardly notices its absence.

Liberals are frequently reduced to sputtering impotence. Their choleric rage is the product of arrogance (the conviction that opposing viewpoints are either evil, idiotic or a combination thereof) compounded by subconscious inferiority

Having for so long dominated the political debate, they are unaccustomed to dealing with ideas, constructing arguments and presenting evidence. Those who can’t contend ultimately fulminate

“Bigot” is their favorite invective, along with its variations: “hateful,” “intolerant,” “prejudiced” and “mean-spirited.”

Their point is that conservatives—really, anyone who refuses to prostrate himself before their idols – are a medley of David Duke, Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott, the late George Lincoln Rockwell and the early George Corley Wallace.

Since liberals refuse to define their terms, here’s a handy guide to what they mean by “bigot.”

A bigot is a white person (by definition, non-whites can never be bigots, regardless of how much they hate) who isn’t eager to confess his culpability for something others of his pigmentation did 50 or 150 years ago.

A bigot refuses to recognize the inherent justice of stealing a job or educational opportunity from one who deserves it (on the basis of merit) and presenting it to another, due solely to race or gender.

A bigot is a man, or a woman, who clings to the sexist delusion that biology impacts on behavior and has the nagging suspicion that the female of the species (whose nature inclines her to nuture) may not be as effective in combat as the more aggressive – not to mention larger and stronger – male.

A bigot is someone who believes the culture that produced Michelangelo, Mozart, Shakespeare and Edison is superior to those whose idea of a good time is female genital mutilation, tribal genocide and pleading for alms.

A bigot wonders why X should arise at 6 a.m. and work 10-hour days to support Y and her brood, when Y’s exclusive occupation is the production of fatherless children who will grow up to mug him.

A bigot asks why America must accept a majority of the world’s immigrants (including millions who break our laws each year to come here), when we currently have no shortage of poverty, disease, illiteracy and racial tension.

A bigot refuses to put a lifestyle whose chief contribution to civilization is the spread of venereal disease on par with heterosexual monogamy, which assures both the continuity of the human race and the socialization of succeeding generations.

In short, a bigot is one who clings to sinister superstition (religion), vile chauvinism (love of country), outmoded patriarchy (the family) and judgmental ethics (an objective moral code).

Pity, we can’t all be as tolerant as the left. Hollywood’s treatment of the Catholic Church and evangelicals, and the educational establishment’s regard for the traditional family are among the many manifestations of liberal benevolence.

This curious and dwindling breed lacks the remotest self-awareness. A lawyer friend told me that when she mentioned one of my columns to a colleague, he responded, “That Don Feder, he’s so intolerant I could just kill him.” So, when they call you a bigot, consider the source and wear it as a badge of honor.