Final answer:
Arguing with racists and bigots is often fruitless because they tend to reject factual information that challenges their existing beliefs and stereotypes. Effective change against racism requires action, not passive discussion, and tackling prejudice is a task that calls for resilience against frequent defensiveness.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is often fruitless to argue with racists, bigots, and others of a similar mindset. These groups typically reject accurate knowledge and facts about non-power races or different groups of people, allowing racism and intolerance to persist. When individuals or groups hold onto an internal sense of superiority and disregard historical facts and statistical truths in favor of personal feelings and opinions, meaningful dialogue becomes challenging.
The reluctance to accept change is compounded by the promotion of stereotypes and biases, whether speaking of teens as rebellious, the elderly as hearing-impaired, or any other generalized and unfounded assumptions. Affective arguments often dominate over factual discussions in these scenarios, and it contributes to the difficulty faced by educators and those aiming to counteract prejudice and bigotry.
Moreover, apathy towards addressing racism perpetuates the issue. Action, not just discussion, is required to make substantive changes. In the context of faith, Christians, in particular, are called to break through passivity and actively engage in combating racism, according to scriptural teachings.