We need to drop the idea that denying basic human rights to certain groups of people is simply due to a difference in opinion. When you say that someone doesn’t get to enjoy the same rights as you simply because they are of a different sex, race, religion, class, gender, or sexual orientation, you are saying that they are somehow less worthy of those rights than you are. When you give politicians power to refuse rights to these people, you are telling them that it’s alright to step on the rights of others simply because they are different from you.
Yes, it’s an opinion to say that these people are less worthy. But you’re acknowledging in your opinion that you don’t consider them your equals. We’re big on “agreeing to disagree,” or respecting the opinions of others even when they don’t respect us, and we’re told to walk away from certain arguments. But when the opinions of others are rooted in the oppression and denial of the rights of groups of people to exist, they’re not worthy of respect. And it is worth arguing and deconstructing these opinions.
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I know some will be reading this and feeling uncomfortable now, but stay with me. I was with you. I have enjoyed a number of privileges in my life that I was unwilling to acknowledge because I wanted to believe in a just world and a just legal system. It’s so much easier to feel comfortable in your daily life when you believe that politicians are working for you and those less privileged than you. But, in the words of a professor of mine, “there’s no free lunch.” They meant this in an economic sense, of course. That nothing is going to be handed to you for free; you have to work for it. And a just political and legal system is not going to be handed to us for free – we have to work for it. And once we acknowledge that the system we have is broken, we can begin to discuss how to fix it.
My professor gave me another nugget of helpful information: “You can have an opinion, but that doesn’t make it valid – that doesn’t mean I have to validate it.” Now, in the context they gave this to me in, it hurt. It hurt to be cut down by a professional with whom I work on a daily basis, and on whom I rely for a grade. Academia is about challenging opinions different from your own, and learning to argue them. But, they were right. They don’t have to respect or validate my opinions. That’s not their job. Just like I don’t have to respect or validate the opinions that would see me and my groups of friends disenfranchised, hurt, or killed.
Let me make this very clear: Removing basic human rights is not an act of respect. Denying the humanity of women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community is also not an act of respect. So why is it that we have to bend over backwards and respect the people who would take our rights away from us? The funny thing about being part of a disadvantaged group is that everyone wants you to put your pain in a palatable form. We're expected to police our own emotions and only conduct ourselves in a way that will garner us the attention and respect of white people and those in power. When people continually shit on your rights to exist, when your friends are getting hurt, injured, and killed, and their perpetrators are going unpunished -- why are we still expected to pretend everything is alright? Why are we not entitled to emotions, pain and mourning? Those with deplorable opinions get to spew their rhetoric, and we're expected to sit back and come up with a palatable argument for why we and our friends should be able to walk down the street no matter the color of our skin, wearing whatever we like, and not get shot or sexually assaulted.
We need to cut off these “opinions” at their source. We need to call them out for what they are. Racist. Classist. Sexist. Elitist. Ableist. Homophobic. We need to be comfortable with having uncomfortable conversations. We might not get upset while calling someone out, but others will, and they will accuse us of being the emotional one. Nobody wants to get called out on their behavior. Most people see themselves as being quite tolerant, despite their conservative points of view. But we need to be brave.
Obviously, we can’t fight it everywhere. It’s alright to walk away from calling someone out or arguing with them, especially if it’s your boss, or your uncle, or your dad. But we need to know that allowing opinions like this to sit is what gets groups of people disenfranchised and killed. If we let opportunity after opportunity to challenge these points of view by, we’re doing ourselves a disservice. Speak out in every way you can. Organize. Donate money to groups that protect our rights. Protest. But above all, be safe. I’m still afraid of what Trump’s America is going to bring. We have to be ready to fight.
