We ALL Belong Here

So I was reading a Substack post today (hi, Rob!) and I loved how the author said, “Racism is stupid.” Yes, it is. Racism is very, VERY stupid. And anyone who is racist is stupid, too. I said what I said!

 

But this made me think about something that occurred to me yesterday while I was reading another Substack post: It’s wrong to believe that we should all be vegan. Now, before I get hate mail from animal rights groups, let me expound on this: It’s wrong to believe that we should all be vegan because we should ALL be allowed to exist in our own way. (Unless you’re a pedophile or a serial killer, but that’s what law enforcement is for – in most cases, that is.)

 

All of the things that we have made up about people in this world – racism, nationalities, dietary preferences, religions, mental health conditions, disabilities, sexual orientation and gender identity – these are all created by man. On a spiritual level, though, we ALL belong. We are all connected. We all have the right to exist.

 

We especially have the right to exist!

 

The problem is that there are too many people in the world who demand that SOME people don’t have the right to exist (such as transgender people) or that some people don’t belong (such as a person with a different religion) or that a person cannot be here (such as an immigrant).

 

And that is not true. Everyone has the right to exist – even that dictator in the White House.

 

Yes, we can enforce laws to go after criminals, and yes, we can establish guidelines in caring for individuals with disabilities and mental health conditions. But all of us belong here in this country and in this world.

 

The vegans belong here, but so do the vegetarians, the pescatarians, the herbivores and the carnivores.

 

White people belong here, but so do Black people, people with brown skin, and people whose skin has an unusual color, such as white or yellow (or orange!).

 

Americans belong here, but so do Native Americans, Mexicans, Asians, Filipinos, South Americans, Africans, Europeans, Canadians, etc.

 

Christians belong here, but so do the Jews, the atheists, the Catholics, the Episcopalians, Protestants, Wiccans, Witches, Pagans and Agnostics.

 

We ALL belong here – in this country and in this world. All the races, all the skin colors, all the religions, all the sexual orientations, all the gender identities, all the disabilities, all the nationalities – ALL of them. Not just one.

 

The fact that we keep setting borders and creating division while also proclaiming that certain people don’t have a right to exist goes against the goodwill of humankind. It turns us into racists, homophobes, bigots, vegaphobes, meat-shamers and overall discriminating, hateful individuals.

 

I don’t like racist people and I will not tolerate them. That is my choice and how I handle the fact that there are racist people. But I’m not going to say that a racist person does not have a right to exist. Racism itself should not exist. You have a choice on whether to be racist or not – and don’t give me that crap about “it’s how I was raised.” No. That doesn’t cut it. How you are raised and how you choose to be are two different things.

 

I was raised by racist parents, but I chose not to be racist.

 

I was raised in a culture that laughed at and taunted people with mental retardation, but I chose to be more compassionate and accepting of people with an intellectual disability. And I learned the new language too!

 

You really DO have a choice on the kind of person you want to be. You can choose NOT to be racist. You can choose NOT to be homophobic. And you can also choose NOT to discriminate.

 

Given the choice between the right thing and the wrong thing, why not choose the right thing?

 

But the bottom line is that I do not believe that certain people or certain WHATEVERS do not belong here or do not have the right to exist. It takes all kinds to make up this world, and that includes the kinds we may not like, agree with or associate with. They all still belong here. They all belong everywhere.