Did I get your attention? We, as humans, have learned to discriminate and that's actually part of why we've become so successful as a species. Now, there are levels of discrimination. There's systemic discrimination like women not being allowed to vote or only atheists can hold a political position in some countries. And then there's personal discrimination like some older Filipino-Chinese who think Filipinos are not trustworthy.
It's systemic discrimination that's harmful. The state should not be allowed to discriminate against any person on a systematic basis. For example, granting only one sex to vote or disallowing certain groups to associate or form an assembly is harmful.
However, when people discriminate against other groups in their own personal lives, I think the state should allow for such a form of discrimination. Now, before I continue, I should state that I think discrimination is not good but it does more harm for the state to police discrimination than it does good.
(As SOGIE has been in the news more times than any other issue, I might mention more SOGIE related cases on here.)
Take for example a man who refuses to date trans-women but will date any other woman. Is he being discriminatory in that case? A more common form of this kind of discrimination is one that involves the Filipino-Chinese community. Many/most of the will constrain their dating lives to members of the Filipino-Chinese community. Is that discriminatory and should that be policed?
Let's move to a larger scale like businesses. Would it be wise to police business that hire only one gender? For example, spa that only hires women, or a small business that does not want to hire foreigners as it wishes to be a Filipino only company? Catholic seminaries, for example, accept only natural born males (i.e. No trans-men). Should a homophobic business owner be forced to consider a gay man for a position or should we allow this business owner to be homophobic so that this gay man would not have to deal with a homophobic boss? Should an old woman be forced to consider as her nurse, a trans-woman or man even if it makes her uncomfortable to have him help her change clothes?
How about cases that infringe on religious freedom? It's no secret that the Catholic Church isn't a friend to LGBT causes. The RCC believes that sex and gender are one and the same (the same thing we've all thought until a few years ago) and so no one can be another gender other than the one they were born as. Can a Catholic parish refuse to marry a trans-woman (born male) to a straight man? Can convents refuse trans-women because their order only allows women to be part? Can a Christian photographer be allowed to refuse his services to a gay civil union because his conscience tells him not to?
These cases may seem farfetched to some but we're already seeing some cases of these happening in the West. One case in Canada saw the closure of a women's waxing salon because the women who worked there refused to wax a trans-woman's balls - strange as that may sound.
Hard as it might be to admit but we should allow discrimination. The best course of action for everyone on all sides should be to encourage dialogue among the people. Thrusting anti-discrimination laws down our throats, in my opinion, is counter productive.
Right now, in our country, the LGBT community enjoys the exact same rights as everyone else. You heard that right - the exact same rights as everyone else! All of them can vote, can own property, can assemble, can protest, can run for office. Many in the LGBT community are successful people in business, music, show biz, etc. Anyone in the LGBT community can marry anyone of the opposite sex as them - just like the rest of us. Anyone in the LGBT community can use the bathroom of their sex.
I have yet to see one right afforded to just one group of people but denied to the rest on the basis of SOGIE, race, etc. If you find one, please tell me.
However, when people discriminate against other groups in their own personal lives, I think the state should allow for such a form of discrimination. Now, before I continue, I should state that I think discrimination is not good but it does more harm for the state to police discrimination than it does good.
(As SOGIE has been in the news more times than any other issue, I might mention more SOGIE related cases on here.)
Take for example a man who refuses to date trans-women but will date any other woman. Is he being discriminatory in that case? A more common form of this kind of discrimination is one that involves the Filipino-Chinese community. Many/most of the will constrain their dating lives to members of the Filipino-Chinese community. Is that discriminatory and should that be policed?
Let's move to a larger scale like businesses. Would it be wise to police business that hire only one gender? For example, spa that only hires women, or a small business that does not want to hire foreigners as it wishes to be a Filipino only company? Catholic seminaries, for example, accept only natural born males (i.e. No trans-men). Should a homophobic business owner be forced to consider a gay man for a position or should we allow this business owner to be homophobic so that this gay man would not have to deal with a homophobic boss? Should an old woman be forced to consider as her nurse, a trans-woman or man even if it makes her uncomfortable to have him help her change clothes?
How about cases that infringe on religious freedom? It's no secret that the Catholic Church isn't a friend to LGBT causes. The RCC believes that sex and gender are one and the same (the same thing we've all thought until a few years ago) and so no one can be another gender other than the one they were born as. Can a Catholic parish refuse to marry a trans-woman (born male) to a straight man? Can convents refuse trans-women because their order only allows women to be part? Can a Christian photographer be allowed to refuse his services to a gay civil union because his conscience tells him not to?
These cases may seem farfetched to some but we're already seeing some cases of these happening in the West. One case in Canada saw the closure of a women's waxing salon because the women who worked there refused to wax a trans-woman's balls - strange as that may sound.
Hard as it might be to admit but we should allow discrimination. The best course of action for everyone on all sides should be to encourage dialogue among the people. Thrusting anti-discrimination laws down our throats, in my opinion, is counter productive.
Right now, in our country, the LGBT community enjoys the exact same rights as everyone else. You heard that right - the exact same rights as everyone else! All of them can vote, can own property, can assemble, can protest, can run for office. Many in the LGBT community are successful people in business, music, show biz, etc. Anyone in the LGBT community can marry anyone of the opposite sex as them - just like the rest of us. Anyone in the LGBT community can use the bathroom of their sex.
I have yet to see one right afforded to just one group of people but denied to the rest on the basis of SOGIE, race, etc. If you find one, please tell me.
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