Plenty of human behaviors and government policies can be reasonably argued about (for example, budgeting); however, what is not up for debate is our fundamental humanity. It’s not politics to understand that all humans deserve Dignity, Autonomy and Safety; we just do.
Anyone who seeks to create, maintain or control a lower class for any group of humans desires (consciously or subconsciously) power imbalance in their favor via institutional bigotry. This is not justifiable.
Transgender people (including trans-women of color) are human beings. It does not matter what your politics are, your sincerely held beliefs or religious doctrine. If you think that crossing traditional lines of gender makes them “wrong,” it is actually you who is wrong. LGBTQ+ folks do not have to hide their relationships nor who they are to avoid causing discomfort; we can be proud of who we are (as per the intent of Pride month celebrations).
People who have traversed the invisible lines that separate nations (with or without documents) are human beings equal to any other. Humans of different skin colors, ethnicity, levels of symmetry, levels of familial wealth or levels of ability are not better or worse than each other. Teaching the truth about history, including xenophobia, white supremacy, and other forms of racism is not only acceptable, but mandatory – we must know our origins and systems that led to the present circumstances.
Juneteenth (today, as I write this) is a celebration of the last enslaved people freed in the USA on June 19th, 1865, two months after the end of the US Civil War (and years after the Emancipation Proclamation).
Freedom Latency
Finally, Galveston Bay
Brought Autonomy
And yet the end of the abysmal practice of human chattel slavery only resulted in the creation of a federal holiday just last year, in 2021, almost 150 years later. This shows the need to better educate ourselves on our history and work hard to reach equality in the present.
Even those arrested for crimes or convicted of crimes are human beings and should not be subject to lifelong discrimination after being released (e.g., charges dropped, proven innocent or time served). We all make mistakes and are capable of change.
In conclusion, we should not care about any rationale for human subjugation; I reject any notion that basic humanity or our right to exist can be argued about (especially by those who consider themselves superior to a group they wish to malign). With more than 8,000,000,000 humans on Earth, the only reasonable expectation is extensive human diversity, and to take care to avoid pre-judging folks by any group membership.
References on History/Impact of American Racism:
- “Caste: The Origins of our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson (2020)
- “America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States” by Erica Lee (2019)
- The New Jim Crow: Colorblindness in the Age of Mass Incarceration” by Michelle Alexander (2010/2020 – 10th anniversary edition recommended)
- 65 Million “NEED NOT APPLY“: The Case for Reforming Criminal Background Checks for Employment” by National Employment Law Project (NELP – 2011)
