Just People
Oct. 27th, 2010 07:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brightrosefoxAbout the whole "Fatties Making Out On TV" article in Marie Claire: Cleolinda and comments said it well.
http://cleolinda.livejournal.com/921195.html
And it makes me think about all the other things people are that are still "socially unacceptable" even though it's the 21st century and we're thisclose to flying cars and nanobots everywhere.
I mean, okay. Everyone has their opinions and preferences and feelings about things.
I can be friends with lots of people who have lots of different opinions -- my social circle bounces around a broad political spectrum. Just because I vehemently disagree with you doesn't mean I would disown you as a friend.
But I admit, I now feel slightly uncomfortable around certain friends (mostly online), knowing that we won't be able to openly discuss certain topics without them cringing over same-sex love or making negative comments about people (while saying that they're not homophobic or racist or sizeist or sexist or abelist, etc). And I feel that in time, the opinions of those friends can and will change. If you've lived your whole life believing something specific and rigid and absolute, it can take a while to open up to all the other options, and even longer to feel okay with it all.
Change is a scary thing. I understand that many people feel safe in their boxes, putting other people in boxes. We all have boxes. I don't care how open-minded and accepting someone claims to be, everyone discriminates and everyone has prejudices and everyone makes judgments.
Boxes are tiny no matter how big they seem. If you're unwilling to move out of your box, at least maybe expanding the box might help.
I keep quoting Depeche Mode in my head.
"So we're different colours. And we're different creeds. And different people have different needs. It's obvious you hate me, though I've done nothing wrong. I've never even met you, so what could I have done? I can't understand what makes a man hate another man. Help me understand. People are people. So why should it be you and I should get along so awfully? People are people, so why should it be you and I should get along so awfully? Help me understand. Help me understand."
http://cleolinda.livejournal.com/921195.html
And it makes me think about all the other things people are that are still "socially unacceptable" even though it's the 21st century and we're thisclose to flying cars and nanobots everywhere.
I mean, okay. Everyone has their opinions and preferences and feelings about things.
I can be friends with lots of people who have lots of different opinions -- my social circle bounces around a broad political spectrum. Just because I vehemently disagree with you doesn't mean I would disown you as a friend.
But I admit, I now feel slightly uncomfortable around certain friends (mostly online), knowing that we won't be able to openly discuss certain topics without them cringing over same-sex love or making negative comments about people (while saying that they're not homophobic or racist or sizeist or sexist or abelist, etc). And I feel that in time, the opinions of those friends can and will change. If you've lived your whole life believing something specific and rigid and absolute, it can take a while to open up to all the other options, and even longer to feel okay with it all.
Change is a scary thing. I understand that many people feel safe in their boxes, putting other people in boxes. We all have boxes. I don't care how open-minded and accepting someone claims to be, everyone discriminates and everyone has prejudices and everyone makes judgments.
Boxes are tiny no matter how big they seem. If you're unwilling to move out of your box, at least maybe expanding the box might help.
I keep quoting Depeche Mode in my head.
"So we're different colours. And we're different creeds. And different people have different needs. It's obvious you hate me, though I've done nothing wrong. I've never even met you, so what could I have done? I can't understand what makes a man hate another man. Help me understand. People are people. So why should it be you and I should get along so awfully? People are people, so why should it be you and I should get along so awfully? Help me understand. Help me understand."
