Hello, Lovely Soul Drop!
I was thinking about something that relates to the previous post. Yeah, there’s no reason for teachers to talk about their sexual life with their students…but if you are around your partner and family and they happen to see you out of class there shouldn’t be an issue with that. If you are homosexual and in Venezuela (Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East) then it’s a huge problem. That’s the difference between not sharing your private life because it doesn’t have anything to do with what you’re talking about or just because you don’t want to…and having to hide your private life because people finding out would get you fired.
I understand some people disagree with sexual diversity because of their religion. It doesn’t justify them hurting you or firing you only because of it, but I do comprehend where it comes from. However, the lack of acceptance for disabled and neurodivergent people makes absolutely no sense if you preach about diversity, tolerance, and love. Autistic, bipolar, borderline, and mentally ill are all seen as insults. Why? “Person with cancer” or “diabetic” aren’t insults. So why would we see mentally unhealthy people as worse somehow? We do the same with chronically ill people, deaf, blind, crippled people. We see them as less than healthy or bodily-abled people.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “About 1 in 36 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to estimates from CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network” and it also says “ASD is nearly 4 times more common among boys than among girls”. The Child Mind Institute explains that since females don’t always fit the mold and also mask better; they tend to be diagnosed less often than males. You probably know undiagnosed Autists or Autists who have never shared their diagnosis. You probably know many neurodivergent people that you love and like without realizing they have a diagnosis or a condition.
I feel awful about the left poisoning the neurodivergent and disabled community because if I’m not a “BLM-queer-social justice activist-non-binary-feminist” then I’m not good enough to be part of the community. Bisexual, brown, Latina, female, neurodivergent, and chronically ill are all labels that fit me. I’m right leaning though, and I’m an Egalitarian with Classical Liberal/Libertarian views. I don’t fit the mold for Conservatives but I don’t fit the mold for the Left either. I would love to live without a box to adapt or a society to convince I’m capable enough, moral enough, good enough.
I manage my mental and physical health, I have a beautiful stable relationship, I love my friends and I love my job. I have to hide parts of myself there because they are too Conservative to accept me as I am. It’s not “not sharing my private life” it’s actively hiding it, being careful of what I say, and hoping no one says anything or finds this blog. That’s why I don’t support the puritan Conservatives and all of those who think I’m not capable because of who I was born as. On the other side, I don’t support the activism that turns one group against the other. Neurotypicals, bodily-abled, males, heterosexuals, white people, religious people, none of those are my enemies or bad people in general. Many of my loved ones fit those labels. Those labels don’t speak about their morals, their values, or their hearts (not even the religious label, sadly). If you have a good heart and you live and let live, then I’m with you.
Society needs diversity, we need actual acceptance, empathy, tolerance, and an open mind to see differences as strengths and not as things we have to fix or change. Both sides get diversity wrong. One wants all humans to fit the traditional norms and the other wants everyone to think the same or have the same politics they do. Diversity of culture, sexuality, lifestyle, religion, ways of thinking, neurotype, and even physical abilities are necessary. They enrich us. They help us grow.
What do you think? Let me know!
Thank you for reading
Well put. I often feel like a drifter in this world, without a stable place to plant myself because of how polarizing all this is. I don't fit into hardly any one group without something I believe or feel or think becoming an instant disqualifier. You write beautifully sis.