Controversial stuff! I love it. :-D
I want to be supportive of people who feel overlooked and misunderstood, but when they start drawing me into their personal hell, I have to draw the line. I don't need to share in their misery. I have misery enough of my own. They don't have the monopoly on suffering, although you would have to wonder sometimes.
The test for me is how much they want to find common ground. If I step towards them, they need to step towards me. If I have to walk all the way to them, then I'm simply opening myself to emotional manipulation and exploitation. Trust is the way forward. No minority has the rights to demand anything of me, but the opportunity to prove themselves worthy of my trust.
Sorry seablue, I really like most of your posts, but I'm gonna have to disagree a little here 😁.
The thing is, most people don't really need your support, they just want to be respected and have their feelings and opinions considered on an equal standing with everyone else.
The problem comes when a subset of the population is seen as lesser, or irrelevant, or that something they did that everyone else does is more sinister because of who they choose to be. Just because someone has different or the “wrong” sex organs, or different colour skin, or religion, or race, or culture, or belief, or species (Hi to any extra-terrestrials out there!) doesn't mean that they mean less as a person, or should be feared more.
Respect all people equally. They don't need your support. They don't need you to commiserate with them about their suffering. They need to stop suffering because of people who think they need to be treated differently. They need you to stand up with them when you see people trying to take away their rights to live as they need to.
Well said. We are all a minority in one way or another, depending on the observer. The irony is, if we all were able to accept this, there would be no minorities left, for we would have elevated ourselves above and beyond the labels that we continue to define ourselves by.
Good point! Thanks for the comment!