Over the past generation, I’ve heard “racists” called “evil” far more than I’ve heard that word applied to anyone who exhibits lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, or pride. In fact, except for greed and certain types of wrath, most of what were known as the seven deadly sins have now been turned into virtues. The dehumanizing language hurled at racists—they are “scum” and “subhuman pieces of shit” that either need to suffer, repent, or even “burn in hell”—is precisely the sort of invective that was once flung at sinners.
