The political climate did not affect me yesterday. As a privileged white person, I was able to complete all of my tasks and recreation activities without incident. I am not a minority in my skin color, nation of origin, sexual preference or gender identity. Someone in my position could find it very easy to believe that what is happening in our country has nothing to do with me, and therefore ignore it.
I'm just here to say, I really wish you wouldn't.
I was skimming some information about the Republican Party's desire to dismantle and "replace" the Affordable Care Act, and I read some comments that struck me as quite selfish. It seems that many Americans who have access to health insurance through their job, or their spouses job, believe that they should not have to pay taxes into a system that pays to subsidize insurance for others. We don't live in a socialist society, they argued. It's not our responsibility to pay for other people! But then I saw an excellent point that needs to be expanded on.
If you live a mile from work and drive the same road everyday, do you not pay municipal taxes that cover the cost of maintaining roads for others to use? Just because you never cross a bridge in your town doesn't mean that you obtain no benefit from the bridge being there and being used by others. Property owners who have no children still pay school taxes to their district. They do this willingly, because even though they have no children that will be educated in those schools, the understanding is universal that the education of America's youth is important. Is the right to healthcare not also important?
What is important is Americans getting behind the Affordable Care Act and making their voices heard, especially those who do not use it for their health insurance. It is incredibly important to advocate for programs we believe in, even if they are not personally affecting us. Indifference from those seemingly unaffected by their policies is what the GOP is counting on in our current political climate- that those who do not get hurt by their policies will turn a blind eye.
Being passive in situations of injustice simply because the injustice is not directed at you is the same as saying you don't care that it is happening. I think of this often these days, particularly every time I use a public restroom. I am a female. This happens to be the physical gender I was born with and also what I identify as. I also choose to identify as a "tomboy", and up until about the age of twelve, I was often directed to the men's room when I asked a server or a store employee where the restrooms were located. It was embarrassing and awkward, and on more than one occasion I had to search for the women's room after finding that their directions landed me in front of a bathroom designated for males. Nevertheless, time marched on and I grew breasts, as one does, and this no longer occurs. But I can easily recall the painfully awkward feeling of having to decide, as a preteen, if I should explain to a restaurant employee that they got my gender wrong or simply hunt for the bathroom with the picture of the skirt-wearing person on the door.
I think of this lately because I imagine it would be much, much more uncomfortable for a transgendered person have to explain to an employee, or worse, another patron using the restroom, what their gender is, simply to justify why they are in a particular place to use the toilet. Public bathrooms are uncomfortable enough without having to constantly stress that someone may openly question you about what anatomy you're hiding beneath your clothes.
I am a female, and I use the women's bathroom. But I will never stop advocating for those who identify as a different physical gender than they were born with to be able to use any damn toilet they want. If you break it down simply, those who oppose transgendered bathroom rights are arguing that their right to feel comfortable in a public restroom is more important than the rights of a transgendered individual. We live in America, right? Aren't we supposed to be striving for equality? My comfort (or semblance of comfort because, let's face it, all public bathrooms are gross) does not matter more than anyone else's, regardless of their gender identity.
I might be a white, middle class person, but I am also a single woman with no desire to procreate. Legislation aimed at making it harder for a woman to have control over her own body and reproduction has been popping up in state after state since Donald Trump was elected (and before). If you are a man, a married woman with children (or plans to have them), or a person who knows they want to have kids someday, this might seem like an issue that doesn't matter to your life. The "I would never have an abortion, so I don't care what laws are made about it" stance is a dangerous one. If a woman's right to choose if her body creates another human is taken away, it is the same as our government declaring that women are unfit to make their own life choices. Regardless of how you feel about abortion, you should at least care how our political leaders feel about women's power over their own lives. You may have chosen to have a family, but you got to make that choice. Others should have the same ability.
If you believe that you can be passive when it comes to the current government, that your life will remain unaffected by their policies, you might be right. If you're lucky, you will be right. However, as legislation is proposed and enacted that specifically targets the rights of certain races, religions, and genders, it is up to the rest of us to amplify their voices. The social construct of our nation runs on the premise that we are an open and accepting "melting pot" of races, religions, and lifestyles. When the governing power in our nation is the group perpetuating racism, injustice and bigotry against minority groups, the advocates have to take a stand.
You might be a straight white person with easy access to health insurance, who has never experienced discrimination or hatred. This is why it is your responsibility to not put your head in the sand. Advocacy is about using your privileged position and your voice to declare that you care about those who are being targeted.
I might get to walk through life without my rights being called into question on a regular basis, but you can count on me working to make sure yours aren't, either.
