Prejudice!

The World's Greatest Cat is floored by how prejudiced people can be.

Prejudice is alive and well here in the good old US of A.

Just not in the way you think it is.

See, people show their intolerance all the time, like they did in the bad old days. Only now the targets are (usually) different. Kathy Griffin once told Jesus to "suck it." And those Christians she gave the figurative finger to by saying it? Griffin made it clear in a later interview to C.B.S. that she couldn't care less about them or their feelings.

Fair enough. But ask yourself this: would Kathy Griffin publicly tell the Prophet Muhammad to do the same thing she told Jesus to? You know full well what the answer is. Kathy Griffin, simply put, is a coward. Sure, she's funny, but she's a coward.

Then again, prejudiced people are cowards. That's why they're prejudiced. Archie Bunker was the most fearful person on earth. To go easy on people who are different than you is to lower your defenses, to leave yourself open to hurt. Better to always be on your guard, to always be on the attack...if, of course, you're a coward.

Still, the fear of prejudice can be taken too far, as well. Just turn on the TV if you don't believe me.

Chris Matthews of M.S.N.B.C., for instance,  is a smart and capable commentator. Or at least he used to be. These days, you see, he's as apt to accuse large swaths of people of racism as he is to give a nuanced opinion of beltway politics. It's too bad, really. Matthews has allowed his fear of prejudice to turn him into a comical reactionary.

Ultimately, it all comes down to this: try to be nice to people. Not just the the people your supposed to be nice to, either.

And not just when it's convenient to.

African Americans, for instance, have been ridiculously deemed infallible by many in the media. Yet I've seen African Americans deal with crap in places where it seemed no one was around to defend them. Again, prejudiced people are cowards.

So just be nice. Or I may have to sick Kathy Griffin on you.