The video that featured Lana Wachowski was the first of its kind that I have ever seen. The fact that everyone has something to say and everyone analyzes something says how much difference there is or can be that can cause unnecessary challenges for people, that can be a matter of life and death. LGBTQ who speak out for the LGBTQ community are incredibly brave to speak out and say that it is okay to be who you are. We as a global community and society need the positive, loving, and supportive vibes and messages like that to encourage the growth love and acceptance, the opposite of hate and rejection. I found so much resonance with what Lana said, “The nature of our mortal lives is the consequence of our words and deeds. The fundaments upon all our knowledge and learning rests is the inexplicable. We’re always interested, as storytellers all three of us, in the nature of that inexplicability.” And one of the actors said, “To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us unique.” Life goes in such a deep place, internally, externally, and completely as a part of existence on this planet, where many things are different than what some people believe, and there are ways in which I think we need to help spread the awareness and acceptance of what is different than what some people think are wrong. Nobody is to say what is right or wrong, or to place judgment upon anyone that is different than them based on gender, race, or sexuality. I feel like religion plays a major part in this as a bad thing. It seems like people only see people for what they do and not for who they really are. Lana said, “There some things that we have to do for ourselves but there are other things that we do for other people.” That is a beautiful truth that would make a huge difference if all people would do that. If anything causes depression or thoughts of suicide, then the factors that are causing it need to be addressed, a person should never fear for their life based on the immoral judgment of society or anyone in general.

In Adams chapter 1, the author asks, “Who am I,” and the sad fact that the answer depends on a large part of society who judges people based on their current terms of identity categories is one of the major things that needs to be addressed in all aspects of the world. Anyone has dibs on putting a person in a specific place and identity based on what the dominant group has set up, based on what they look like and do. Discriminating automatic judgment still feeds to weigh oppression on targeted groups, we need to reform society to where the dominant groups are examined and persecuted if it takes advantage of its unfair advantage while ignoring their direct and indirect influences towards targeted groups. The dominant group controls the subordinate treads, signals that is being allowed, to be learned, taught, and accepted in society, in the media, in schools, at work, EVERYWHERE. Culture needs to be changed and looked at critically, to stop the divider that stands in places, enabling the oppressor and dominant groups to keep getting away from what they are doing wrong.  “Our ongoing examination of who we are in our full humanity, embracing all of our identities, creates the possibilities of building alliances that may ultimately free us all.” I examine myself every day, it is very difficult to be prevented by different barriers that exist. Not everyone examines their lives, which dominant groups needs to begin doing so that they can help serve justice.

In chapter 26, the mention of the amount of free time that families have decrease the quality of their lives due to the systematic order that persists the inability to address educational, political, social, and many other issues that exist to keep pulling them down is certainly due to whoever is hogging all of the money. Health care as a privilege, basic human rights are neglected, all lead to the same question, “How many people are doing something about this, and how many are not?”

The speaker of “50 shades of gay” was another first of its kind that I have seen. I feel like her parents did what everyone should do, they were not condescending or forcing her to be put into a box. The quote, “We are all responsible for equality,” is true because those who are victims of inequality depend on those who have access to equality, and they keep on taking and taking from the poor. How else is everyone going to obtain equality if they are being prevented from it in the first place? The other thing that is said, “Familiarity is key to empathy,” is exactly what I feel like is another issue because people are either unfamiliar with the issues that exist and they don’t care, whereas some people who are familiar with issues are more empathetic towards the people who experience the issues. This has personally happened to myself, after learning the truth and realities of real life, my whole life changed, it is painful to bear the weight of not knowing what to do and how to help. But it is even more painful to hear one of my own family members or anyone else to be so insensitive to the inequalities that exist, whether it is due to unfamiliarity, or just plain ignorance and carelessness. I think that we have to make more of an effort to gather the good people with good voices and input to overcome the bad voices and input.

Sources:
Adams, M., Blumfeld, W., Castañeda, C., Hackman, H., Peters, M., Zúñiga, X. (2013). Readings for Diversity and Social Justice. New York, NY: Rutledge.

HRC. (2012, October). Lana Wachowski Receives the HRC Visibility Award. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crHHycz7T_c

Wright, T. (2012, December). Fifty Shades of Gay. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/io_tillett_wright_fifty_shades_of_gay