No, I'm not in favor of bigotry itself. That attitude, wherever it is found, is a cancer on the American body politic. But I am in favor of the recapture of the word ''bigotry'' from those who hold it hostage, and its frequent and vigorous application wherever it is earned. Ask most people what bigotry means, and the dominant answer will be that it is ''discrimination against blacks (and other people of color) by whites.'' A few will give a broader and better answer, that it is ''discrimination against people of different races or religions than yours.'' That's better, but...