Everyone's familiar with blatant forms of bigotry.  But sometimes it’s the subtle forms in which the damage is far worse.

The Florida Board of Education has set goals for public schools students to reach achievement levels in reading and math. 

They’ve set different achievement levels for different races and ethnicities. For example,
by 2018, 90 percent of Asians and 88 percent of whites are expected to be a reading at grade level. But it’s only 81 and 74 percent for Hispanics and
blacks, respectively.

This is the soft bigotry of low expectations. 

The bigoted point of view is blacks and Hispanics are less capable.  So we should expect less of them.  It’s deeply offensive.  And has serious repercussions.

The bigotry in Ohio is less subtle.  In the very tight U.S. Senate race incumbent Sherrod Brown has engaged in gutter politics. He’s been running an attack ad since August tying challenger Josh Mandel to pay day money-lenders.

Pay day money-lenders. That's a really obscure topic, isn't it?

Here's the deal.  Josh Mandel is Jewish.  Money-lenders is a stereotype associated with Jews.  It'€™s nasty.  It's disgusting. It'€™s meant to convey the ugliest of images.

Only Sherrod Brown knows if he is truly anti-Semitic.  But this we know.  He'€™s running a bigoted campaign.

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I'€™m Mark Hyman.