Different is Scary

If you haven't heard of it by now, North Carolina's bathroom bill was one that was seen as extremely discriminatory. It was a bill that originally required transgender people to use the bathrooms that corresponded with their birth certificate and forbade local areas to have protection for those in the LGBT community. But when it was repealed, the law got rid of requiring the birth certificate requirement but still kept schools and other government institutions from being able to let transgender people use the bathrooms of their choice.
 When this bill originally came out everyone supporting it wanted to say it was all for the safety of their children. These people were saying that if trans females and males were allowed to be in the bathroom that corresponded to their identity, what's to stop molesters from dressing as a man or women to go into a bathroom to try and abuse a child, or anyone else? Now, while I'm not saying that this has never happened, I am saying that it isn't as common as people want to think it is in order to make this law seem fair.

When I was first hearing about this bill I knew from the beginning it was only passed because people are uncomfortable with transgender people. It's as simple as that. I know plenty of trans people who are just like you and me--going to college, living their lives, trying to be happy. They are no different from us. They were just born in the wrong skin. Now, it's okay for you to disagree with that statement, what's not okay is to treat them as if they're something other than human. People need to use the bathroom, it's just a bodily function we've had since the day we were born. It's a natural phenomenon. So why can't trans men and women do something as natural as that? It's because people are scared of different things. We're a species of routines and rituals--we don't like change. Different scares us. But I always liked to ask myself a question when this law was being passed. If trans men and women were going to be forced into the bathroom that went along with their birth certificate, what about the ones who have gone through physical transitions? I always found the answer to be funny because the supporters of the bill would be just as uncomfortable as before--a women standing next to a trans man with muscles and a beard or a man standing next to a trans woman with a feminine body and make up on. In every angle of these bills the supporters will end up uncomfortable, so why even try to pass them in the first place?  If the bill requires trans men and women can't go to the bathroom or their choosing and places aren't allowed to have all gender bathrooms, then what is their option? Basically, their options are to suck it up and hold it, which depending on how long they have to hold it can cause harm to their bodies.

We need to stop having such a perverse view of transgender men and women. They are no different than any of us. They want to be happy, they bleed red, they have the same emotions as the rest of the people in this world. They are human just like the rest of us. Instead of fearing the unknown and refusing to understand one another we should be trying to do something in order to educate people. There is nothing wrong with being different. We were all born to be unique. We should rejoice in our differences because without our differences we wouldn't have the things we're exposed to today. We have to be able to see different people as human. It's a shame to look around and see human beings treated unjustly by other human beings for being who they are or for things they can't control. We have to fight discrimination. We have to find compromises that aren't being unfair to others. We have to be willing to work together for things we agree on while respecting things we don't agree on. If we don't our entire existence will never be a positive one.

Left vs. Right. Or Meet in the Middle?

On the tenth of March, 2017 Mark Duplass writes an article aimed at both the left(liberal) and right (conservative) sides of America for them to try and find common ground. He talks about the generalizations of both sides and agrees that some of them are not always wrong, while talking about there being a grey area between the two sides. Now, Duplass admits to his ideals not being researched and mentions how his being an actor may not be the most credible thing for some of the people of American. But in him admitting these things it almost makes him more credible; he’s not trying to make it sound like he’s always right. When he gets past this moment, he begins with his argument.

In his argument, he claims that the left and right should be trying to work together instead of just arguing about our differences. In finding common concerns or interests we could all do things for the better of our country and this world. While contemplating throwing a party for his 40^th birthday, Duplass decides instead to have a small get together of his friends which are a mix of liberals and conservatives. When he gets them together they have a conversation about the causes each of them believe in to try and find some common ground that they can try and work together to fix, hypothetically. When they talk about this they all agree that “children, hunger, and clean water were causes that [almost] everyone” could agree on. Once this was discovered they all donated to a fundraiser started by Duplass and his wife to donate money to a children’s charity. Conservatives and liberals got together and made a little money to help an organization that advocates for children.

Duplass concludes his argument with a pull to action. He mentions how despite most things disagreed upon, if we can all come together and support topics we can all agree need to be fixed, then that will keep growing and growing and lead to more good than bad. He wants both sides to step back away from all the disagreeing and focus on working together because more positivity can be made than all the negativity that stems from always having to be on opposite ends of the spectrum. As someone who deeply believes in things that are never “this or that” this logic makes a lot of sense. In a time like this we all need to come together, respect our differences, and try to find compromise for each side to be happy. It may be too good to be true, but I believe it can happen if we try hard enough.