Not everyone you meet in life will agree with the way you choose to live you’re own life – as if your actions directly effect their lives, when it doesn’t. I believe in agreeing to disagree but I also believe that who you choose to surround yourself with, speaks volumes about who you are as a person.
When it comes to me, I choose to live an open mind, however I do our labels on myself that I truly identify as. I’m a straight, white, woman. I consider myself a devote Christian. I realize that I am privileged, just by simply being white. This does not mean I don’t struggle in life, it means that the color of my skin will never be a struggle of mine.
I may be all of those things, but I choose to think that everyone has a right to live their life the way that they want too and be who they want to be.
I am a strong LGBTQ+ supporter, I believe that love is love. Couples in love are beautiful whether they are the same sex or not. They should have the right to love and be with whoever they want to. They are people and people deserve to have rights.
I back up Black Lives Matter movement, I stand up for minorities. I recognize that they will struggle more in life simply because of their skin color. They should have the right to feel safe and protected. They are people and people deserve to have rights.
I’m a feminist. This does not mean that I don’t like men, it means that I believe that both sexes should be equal. Women and Men should be paid the same rate/salary and should be treated the same instead of one being superior over the other. Girls can be tough, boys can be sensitive – there shouldn’t be gender roles. They are people and people deserve to have rights.
It’s okay to have a difference in opinion with someone, what’s not okay, is to have a difference morals in your inner circle. Liking vanilla Ice cream and being prejudice are two different things, one is acceptable, the other is not.
Another thing about me, I’m not quiet about my opinions. Why should I be? After all, I’m entitled to my own opinion. If that offends you, don’t come around me or better yet – I won’t come around you. I will not tolerate disrespect, racism, prejudice, or Trump supporters.
Being up front about my morals, causes people to make their own sly comments, as a coward behind social media, behind my back under mumbled breath, and even straight to my face. I will never stay quiet about it.
Within the month of June, I have lost a total of seven family members, and three friends just due to the fact that I support the Black Lives Matter protest. Just as I did, years ago, but years ago no one said anything to be about it. Trump give these prejudice, racist, and uneducated people a voice in this country to “build the wall”, “make America great again”, and take away the rights of women to their own bodies.
Do I care? No. Why would I want to surround myself with people so close minded that they want everyone in the world to be straight, white, and republican?
People should be who they want to be, however they want to be it. Because, after all, it’s their life, not yours. What they choose to do, who they choose to be, and how they choose to go about it -get this – doesn’t effect you.
If your neighbor is black, does that mean it makes you black? No. Your sister is gay, does that make you gay? No. Your best friend came out as Transgender, does that make you transgender as well? No. If your mom is a feminist, does that mean you’re one too? No.
So again, I ask, why does it matter?
The answer: it doesn’t. And here’s why:
Your daily life should not differ simply because you choose to be who you are. You should be treated as a human, with rights, and be treated with respect.
You shouldn’t look at a gay person and treat them less because of their sexuality. You shouldn’t look at a Transgender and treat them less because they identify differently. Even if your religious. Love thy neighbor.
You shouldn’t look at a minority and look down on them because their skin color is of a different variety of yours. After all, melanin is only one of the few differences between you.
You shouldn’t look at a women and automatically believe that she is weak or belongs in the kitchen. She carries life within her body and pushes it out, then proceeds to care for the child. A women can do any job a man can, and sometimes, better.
You shouldn’t look at someone with a different religion and call their god a fraud. You cannot comprehend the miracles that have taken place in their life because of their form of worship.
Not everyone thinks this way, and honestly, it baffles me. What’s so offensive about people living the way they want to live? What’s offensive about them demanding rights, rights that they deserve?
Because we are all just people. Whether you are black, white, Hispanic, religious, non religious, a man, a women, identify as another pronoun, feminist, and at the end of the day – we are just skin and bones. Looking at our skeletons, you can’t tell who we were or what we believed.
Nobody is perfect, so why spend your time judging everyone else when it’s just a poor reflection of your self?
I will choose to continue to live an open-minded life because it bring me peace. I feel peaceful believing that, no matter what, we are all equal and we all deserve rights. Despite my close minded relatives and ex friends, I will thrive knowing that I go out of my way to use my white privilege for good because that says a lot about me – and less about you.
I will support you all, no matter the circumstance and I will always lend a hand or an ear to anyone who needs it. For that, I am blessed.