Unacceptable Restrictions

Civil rights will be a prize endlessly sought after by many because to suggest that there are those who do not deserve the same treatment as others, for inconsequential reasoning such as skin color or sexual preference, is demonstrably unethical. While there is undoubtedly still a struggle for equality between races, recently, the lens has been sharply focused on the LGBT community and, since they're the victims of intense hate crimes, whether they should be privy to the same rights as heterosexuals. Essentially, the right for marriage equality is an incredibly divisive issue for some members of society, but it is no question that this issue is significantly relevant to the population. The recent push for civil rights has become a sort of fixation for pop culture to the point of occasional tokenization. Moreover, it is an indication that civil rights and acceptance are a business like any other for the majority. For instance, popular musicians such as the hip-hop duo of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis released “Same Love,” which went on to become a double-platinum single, in support of legalized same-sex marriage as the song bespeaks the problematic and unfortunately common treatment of LGBT community. Everybody unquestionably deserves the same rights and privileges as one another regardless of the circumstances of their birth or sexual preferences because actions are the truest measure of character.

Discrimination is a disquietingly frequent reaction in contemporary society that certainly is not endemic to any one culture. In her poem “Who Said it was Simple,” Audre Lorde writes: “there are so many roots to the tree of anger / that sometimes the branches shatter / before they bear” (580). Ultimately, as the speaker’s words suggest, discrimination’s roots are prevalent. Lorde’s poem paints a picture of the speaker observing a gaggle of upper-class white women “discussing the problematic girls they hire to make them free” (Lorde 580). Their conversation exposes their true nature. In other words, the upper-class women are blissfully unaware of their privilege as white and well-to-do. Their server, who Lorde emphasizes as “almost white,” (580) skips over a black man in order to take their orders first. In these women’s feminist endeavor, they have neglected to acknowledge any sort of racial issues. The women’s unawareness leaves the speaker to wonder “which [part of her being] will survive all these liberations” (Lorde 580) and how this haphazard rallying will change how the author perceives herself. Subsequently, this white-centric form of feminism lacks any sort of nuance that considers the implications of their actions regarding other races. In doing so, the white women unknowingly contribute to the problem by continuing the cycle.

As an illustration, the server and the waiting man did not choose their race, nor did the maids that the well-to-do women seek to liberate, yet they are in their positions all the same. If this scenario was ideal, the white women would have patiently waited as the server tended to the man. Furthermore, the server decided to immediately wait upon the women. Perhaps, the server’s choice suggested a strange socialized acceptance of Caucasians’ dominance, and they need to be served first due to some arbitrary idea of superiority. In this context, it is an obvious question of fairness. The black man was certainly waiting first, and the reader is not given any inference as to the man’s social status, so it seems almost inexplicable for the server to pass over him. Even disregarding the ethical implications of finding one’s race, sex, or gender identity inferior, or in some way just deserving of less, the black man had entered the line and earned his place in line. Ultimately, because the man was immediately cast aside, the wealthier women’s treatment is obviously unfair.

Correspondingly, civil rights are applicable to race, and personal liberties are absolutely associated with sexual preference or gender identity as well. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ song “Same Love” addresses the vociferousness with which various subcultures synonymize “gay… with the lesser” (Macklemore and Lewis), which is an unfortunately common mindset within the hip-hop subculture. It appears that the singer believes that “If [he] was gay, [he] would think hip-hop hates [him]” (Macklemore and Lewis). The evolution of human rights is a definite cornerstone of progressivism and considering that the similarity between both race and sexuality is strikingly consistent, it is hardly surprising that popular culture has latched onto the movement. Even at its most cynical business-like approach that borders on unctuousness, there is a precedent in realizing that there is nary a difference between people no matter their color, sex, or gender identity. Perspective is king and while “a certificate on paper isn’t going to solve it all / it’s a good place to start” (Macklemore and Lewis). Though it may be politically charged and emotionally schismatic, a homosexual is just as deserving of the same rights as a heterosexual; the difference between them is something intrinsically individual and irrelevant to their professional lives. Consequently, personal lives are by their very nature only the business of the individual in question.

Thus, to question whether civil rights extend to homosexuals or minorities is hardly worth asking because society has nothing to gain from squelching certain people as if they were inferior and somehow less than human. It is decidedly unprincipled to restrict people from their privileges and for something that they had no control over to begin with. Moreover, it is simply more in line with traditional ideals to judge a person’s merits by their actions—this is what their character is founded upon and the framework with which they approach their life. A homosexual person is just as able to make right and wrong decisions as a heterosexual person; homosexuals are not sub-human, so they are free to make their own decisions. Should society members’ decisions deviate and actively endanger one another, judge them for this instead of their appearance and who they love.

Works Cited

Lorde, Audre. "Who Said It Was Simple." Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. Ed. John Schilb and John Clifford. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. 580.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. "Same Love." The Heist, Ryan Lewis, 2013.