A friend sent me a link to an article in the Bloomington pentagraph about GLBT student struggles with things such as bullying. On several different occasions now I have seen people advocate bullying and violence in an attempt to force people of valiance into social compliance. One was regarding the 8 year old boy who had been diagnosed and would be attending school as a girl in Colorado. One comment that had been posted in that article advocating the teasing this child until they had to conform.
The comments in this article aren’t much different and offer a look at the kind of bigotry that exists in the world today. You can read it here.
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/04/23/news/doc480ec85f8a631418463241.txt
It is easy to be able to put your two feet on the floor each morning never questioning your sexual or gender identity. Sadly because you do not have to do that you turn a blind eye to the reality of it and call it a choice or a lifestyle. People do not "choose" a path that leads to a harder life of suppression and discrimination. These issues are a matter of survival for most and not that of choice.
We look at people with birth defects and disease everyday and yet we don’t judge them and we have no idea what it is like to walk in their shoes. Unless we have a first hand account of what these things feel like we can’t possibly judge them or we surely don’t call it a choice.
Not agreeing with something doesn’t make you a bigot. Propagating things like bullying, suppression and discrimination in the name of disliking this issue is what make you a bigot. This country was founded on the notion of equal rights for all and yet when it comes to social issues that are uncomfortable or deemed outside the box of society they are met with unequaled rights for a minority.
I’m a trans-woman who has raised a family, contributed to society, never been arrested, paid my taxes and believe that we all deserve to be treated fairly. Yet the bias of some individuals would overlook all the positive aspects of my life and reduce me to the simple phrase "Pervert" "Deviant" "Sick" "Abnormal"
We as human beings all deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. It shouldn’t matter the class of person, the difference in appearance, the race or gender. Advocating any kind of bullying, harassment or abuse against ANY human being is wrong regardless of the circumstance that made them a target. People who choose to be disrespectful or take away another persons dignity do so out of their own insecurities in life and should be dealt with accordingly.
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