astrotastic:

project-argus:

religiousragings:

atheistme:

I really want to write about why this trend of “sj bloggers” and the hive mind it’s created on tumblr irks me so much. I am going to write this post, and then I am going to try my best to wipe my hands of it, and go on talking about all things godless.

If at any point during this post you thing to yourself “god, this girl is a fucking moron” i would like to direct you to the unfollow button. If you are not willing to respect my thoughts on these issues, please see yourself out.

I’m going to be completely honest with you guys. I am a white girl, who comes from a place with a lot of privilege. My family came over to America from Armenia in the early 1900’s. When they got here they had absolutely nothing, all of their belongings were taken from them, but they managed to turn their lives around. They brought themselves up from nothing, and ended up being very successful. Their white skin is no doubt a factor in all that they were able to achieve. I am very proud of what my family members were able to accomplish in their lives, despite all the hardships they went through to get there, but that doesn’t mean that I’m insensitive to the fact that this isn’t an achievable reality for everyone. 

No one understands better than people like me what it is to come from a place of privilege. I am still, to this day, trying to unlearn prejudices I was raised to believe about society. Thats the truth. I don’t try to make excuses for it. But I am very aware of it. I keep an open mind. I actively try to educate myself. I learn from my mistakes and I move on. I am a better person than I was 3 years ago, and in 3 years I will be a better person than I am now.

There is a hivemind on tumblr that people who belong in the majority can’t understand what minorities go through, therefor, shouldn’t have an opinion or be willing to speak on the issue.

While I agree that people in the majority will never be able to fully understand what it’s like to be a minority, or what these people go through, that does not take away their capability to be empathetic, to educate themselves, and to speak out in support of those who need it.

The way to fix all of the ism’s and phobias in our society is not to yell and scream. You are never going to achieve equality by calling people names, making personal attacks, making baseless assumptions about another persons character, pointing fingers, or telling the person you are speaking with the world would be better off without them.

You just can’t advocate for equality that way. It’s not ever going to work.

If you really want to address the problem of prejudices in society, you have to educate people. (note: I’m not talking about the best way to address prejudices in government and organizations, only the general thought of the population. Because really, that is the first step.) You are NEVER going to get people to be willing to be open minded about your cause by making them feel attacked. That is basic human nature. You are not going to show someone how to be a better person by yelling and prompting a defensive reaction. If you want to show someone how to be a better person, you have to be a better person. You have to show them what it’s like to be empathetic. You have to show them  why it’s important to care, and then show them what caring looks like. 

As much as the hivemind on tumblr would like you to think that the best think a majority person can do for minorities is to sit down and shut up, but I am here to tell you that is untrue, and absolutely unrealistic. The minorities NEED the majority to understand. They NEED the majority to speak up and advocate for equality.  The system is never going to change if the majority of the system thinks it’s fucking great. That is reality. And no matter how much that fucking sucks, we all need to learn how to make the best of it, and advocate for change.

Dialogue is probably the best way to combat the prejudices in our society, short of diversity education (which, should include dialogue anyways). Minorities and majorities need to sit down and talk. And it cannot be a one-sided conversation. We need to listen to each other. We need to bounce ideas off of each other. We need to learn and grow as a population together. 

Because at the end of the day there is no “minority” or “majority.” It doesn’t matter who is white or black, gay or straight, trans or cis, or anything inbetween, or anything else. We are all humans. We are all made of the same stuff. We’re all stuck on this planet together for a short time, and we should spend that time loving and caring about one another, rather than tearing each other apart.

Thank you for listening. And when I say listening, I mean reading. 

Love you guys. 

This! ^^^

Signal boost!  AtheistMe is awesome!

A sigh of relief.  We’re all in this together.

Yay!

Basically what I’ve been saying all day, or attempting to say. Beautifully put.