
I’m sorry seeing differences made you uncomfortable.
Your views being guarded is the only confirmation you need.
However, most of our country does not have the privilege of protection.
When asked where I am from, I hesitate to say Idaho.
Here, I first learned harmful prejudices, not just those aimed at me.
I was taught to shadow myself and silence my voice as a little girl, young woman, and mother.
Reared in a religion where it is better to shame you than to save you, where God only loved you if you follow the rules set by the men running the organization.
How a high school French teacher thought it was appropriate to segregate his classroom. How he delivered discriminating jokes about Pearl Harbor and “warned” my peers not to come to school on December 7th because, as a Japanese American, I would b(o)mb the school.
I learned from a young age racism in Idaho is normal.
Sexism in Idaho is standard, and so is the harassment that followed these lines. Even if the biased brush off is, ‘boys will be boys’.
Homophobic beliefs are common. You learned at a young age being part of the rainbow community was never safe, not after watching the news about Matthew Shepard so close to your home in neighboring Wyoming.
I was born to a mother from the Nisei generation. A granddaughter of German immigrants. Even if my ancestors were foes. Even if my paternal grandfather had once seen faces similar to mine, my mother’s, my grandmother’s as the enemy in WWII.
We are all immigrants, some newer than others; we were once all foreigners.
(Unless you are the descendants of Indigenous tribes.)
I know these personal experiences are not unique or isolated, as they spotlight the many disheartening incidents happening in our country. We need to remember this country is built with intertwining diversity. We must be honorable in recognizing that every marginalized individual still deserves to be represented and protected.
We know these people; we are these people.
BIPOC (Any race other than white): Around 42% of the population
2SLGBTQIA+ Community is 7-8% (At least 20 million people) of America’s population.
People affected by a disability are 13.4% (42.5 million people. This group includes individuals with any of the following hindrances: hearing, vision, cognitive, walking, self-care, or independent living difficulties.)
Women or femmes represent 50.5% of the population
*If you can visit the Japanese Internment Camps, I implore you to learn and expand your knowledge on the topics of oppression. Before they are wiped clean out of our history books, as so many other events have been whitewashed and altered to fit a better narrative. These historical outcomes are part of our history as so many other cultures have been cruelly affected by the mindsets and generational beliefs against people who are not dominantly white, male, Christian, or straight.
*These population percentages are estimates, not absolute.
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