Mental Health Awareness Month Day 27.
Discrimination is a downhill slope to the dehumanization of humans who are different than you in any way.
Racism, sexism, religionism, mentalism, ageism, etc. It all goes against what our country was founded on. “...That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Unalienable! That means undeniable! Just because somebody is BORN they have the right to live, be free, and chase joy. Every single person deserves those things! But it’s 2020 and clearly we’re STILL not all on the same page about this. Because George Floyd is no longer with us.
I’m not going to sit here and play “holier than thou”. I thought I wasn’t racist, but I’ve probably made racist comments. I am very aware that I was incredibly homophobic for most of my life. Before being hospitalized, I honestly thought mental hospitals were for “crazy people”. I recognize I have discriminated against people who were different than me plenty of times, and I will probably continue to do so. I will mess up and say or do the wrong thing. And I also get that white privilege is real, though I wish it wasn’t. (Just because I wish it wasn’t doesn’t make it any less real.) And I know I have been privileged just because of the color of my skin. And that’s not okay. What’s worse is discrimination and/or dehumanization because of the color of their skin or any other reason.
I’m angry because of how discrimination DOES affect me. And I get that I probably won’t face something as awful as someone like George Floyd simply because I’m white. But that doesn’t invalidate my anger. Hearing about him and so many others recently who have been killed for no reason just makes me realize I have more work to do. I can be better. I can learn more. I can be a better human.
Discrimination doesn’t discrimate. (Oh, the irony!) We are all equal simply because we are human. I TRULY believe that! The harsh reality is that we do not act that way. People are treated unjustly because of their race, their skin color, their religion, their gender, their sexual orientation, their marital status, their age, their mental illness, their disability, their political views, etc. That is not okay, wrong, despicable, and fucked up. No wonder suicide rates are so high.
I have been fired twice because of my mental illness. The first time my employer was unaware of my struggles. The second time my employer knew exactly what was going on. That is not okay. Most job applications say that they are an “equal employment opportunity”, but then they ask you to voluntarily disclose information that they could use to discriminate against you. Why would I disclose I struggle with depression if most people would not hire me just because of that fact alone?
I do not know how we put an end to discrimination leading to innocent lives being taken or being fired unfairly or suicides or being treated any less or worse than a white male in power. (I honestly think that white males in power are the ONLY group that haven’t faced discrimination. They are the ones doing the discriminating.) But I do know staying silent doesn’t bring about change or justice. And we so desperately need justice and change. And we need it now! #heber #discrimination #georgefloyd #icantbreathe #dehumanization #injustice #wealldeservethesamethings #allmenarecreatedequal #speakup #silencekills #bethechange #breakthestigma #endracism #enddiscrimination #mentalillness #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthawarenessmonth #mentalhealthinthetimeofcorona #coronavirus #covid19 #corona2020 #letsbereal #31in31at31 #agamutofgrey #lifeisbeautiful #may2020 5.27.20
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