This is (Not) a Blog About Gay Marriage

I have a lot of Conservative friends on Facebook, and, consequently, I often run across articles and things that they have posted, liked, commented on, etc.

Recently, for example, I saw more than one person post articles about Buger King's new "Proud Whopper." This was a temporary promotion Burger King ran at one single, solitary store in San Francisco around the time of the gay pride parade there. If you don't live in San Francisco/you don't frequent this one particular store, this will not impact your life in any way. Yet somehow, this became a HUGE deal to those who oppose gay marriage.

This is not a blog about gay marriage, though.

This is a blog about kindness.

Because the responses I read to this story were absolutely revolting.

I debated whether I should include any of the negative comments because they are incredibly offensive. But I have decided to quote some of them here to make a point. So here are a couple of things people wrote in response to articles about one (1) Burger King supporting gay rights during Pride Week.

"Will 1 in 5 of the Whoppers contain HIV, just like gay men in real life?"

"Filthy homosexuality is nothing to be 'proud' of. 'Pride'?!? More like a complete absence of any shame whatsoever."

"I wonder if the "Proud Whopper" comes with a fruit salad?"

"I crossed Subway off my list for their all-halal menu. Now I'll cross BK off my list, too."

Those are just a couple of them. I left out the more offensive/graphic/profane ones. 

But now it's my turn to respond. 

No matter what you believe, no matter what deity you worship, no matter how old you are, no matter how well-educated you are, you do not have the right to belittle or degrade another human being.

I am sick and tired of politics serving as an excuse to speak to and about people like they are less than human.

And if you think your beliefs give you license to speak negatively about people who believe differently than you, than all I can say to you is: Shame on you. 

I know what you're going to say: 
"I have freedom of speech. I have freedom of expression. I have freedom of religion."

You're darn right you do. But my question is this: 

Is your right to "speak your mind" more important than the feelings of the people who stand to be hurt by your words? 

It is time to grow up, America. It is time for ALL of us to show some respect for one another. We are all people. We deserve to be treated as such. There will always be people whose beliefs and ideals differ from yours. But when you choose anger, when you choose to be unkind, you are weak. To sit behind a computer screen and write horrific things about another human or group of humans is the greatest demonstration of weakness that I can imagine. 

And you are wrong. You are wrong to be so blinded by hate that you would compromise the feelings of a living, breathing individual. 

It is time to stop treating politics and society as some enormous battleground. It is not a war to be won. At our core, we all seek to be treated fairly and equally. And we deserve to be treated as such. 

If you can't say something nice (read: constructive) don't say anything at all. Because on the other side of that computer is a person with feelings. There is no excuse to be anything less than kind. Ever. Your beliefs don't give you a free pass. You aren't "speaking God's truth" if you are too busy calling people names and typing up denigrating comments on your tablet.

Because, whether you like it or not, we ARE all the same inside. And I won't stand to see people treated unfairly anymore.

And hopefully neither will you.

A Crafty Metaphor

I have asthma.

I have had asthma for about as long as I can remember.

I struggled for years trying to get it under control. I've tried just about every medication under the sun, largely without luck. Until a couple of years ago when I was prescribed a medication called Flovent. It was the first medication that ever kept my asthma comfortably under control. It's a preventative medication to keep me from having asthma attacks. I could probably live without it, but in order to do so I would have to refrain from physically exerting tasks and activities.

Anyways.

About a year ago, I went into my local pharmacy to get my Flovent refilled. When I went to check out, I was informed that my insurance policy no longer covered this medication (a medication with no generic equivalent). And in order to walk out with this medication today, (which had been prescribed to me by my doctor) I would have to cough up $70 out of pocket.

So now I had to make a choice. I was sort of painted into a corner because my two options were as follows:
1. Come up with $70 today to take home my inhaler. And then come up with $70 every month or so to refill it.
2. Walk away without my prescribed medication and go back to the drawing board trying to find a medication that works for me.

Tough choice, right?

I'm a college student in New York City. As much as I wish I could have come up with the capital to pay for that medicine, the reality was that I couldn't afford it. So I walked away from the pharmacy empty-handed that day.

"Well," you say, "if you can't afford your asthma medication, maybe you shouldn't go for a run.*"

I suppose that's one kind of preventative measure. But, if you ask me, I shouldn't have to quit doing something that I have every right to do. Nor should I have to quit doing something that I enjoy doing just because a corporation decided my medication wasn't worth covering. Someone devised this medication so I could go for a run or take a dance class without running the risk of having an asthma attack. And I have medical insurance to cover me for my day-to-day medical needs. So why is gaining access to that medication suddenly so difficult?

Unfortunately, finances play a huge role in most people's decisions, including mine. If I had the $70 kicking around, I totally would have spent it on that medicine (a medicine that isn't necessarily life-saving but certainly makes my life a lot easier). But since I didn't (and don't) have that kind of money, I essentially had no choice other than to walk away and try to figure out something else.

I had no right to choose. The only "person" whose choice was honored in this situation was the corporation who chose to no longer pay for my medication.

I doubt Flovent was taken off the list of preferred prescriptions for any religious reasons. But if someone is ever going to deny me medication based on the corporation's religious beliefs, I sure hope they do everything they can to make sure those values are upheld in every aspect of their business.

Because if it's THAT important to you, you should have no problem divesting in companies with opposing beliefs. And you should also have no problem with only outsourcing your labor to countries who share your ideals.

Sure, it'll probably cost you more money.  But that's your problem, right? Your right to choose.


*Okay, okay, I don't run. It was just for the sake of the metaphor, geez.