Live and Let Live

This started as a status post on fb, but as it grew in length I decided that I really needed to blog about it instead. The catalyst for this post is the Chick-fil-A hubbub flying around the net. I've been bothered by the back and forth hurtling of meanness and the way that some are using the First Amendment as justification that it's okay to say what you want. To a certain extent I agree and am grateful we have the rights defined in the First Amendment. But what was it that we were always taught? Our rights end where another's begins? So my right to swing my fist ends at the tip of your nose, that's the gist anyway. Maybe that's childish simplicity, but that seems to be the MO of the "debate" happening over Chick-fil-A, childish.
Again, I am grateful for my First Amendment rights, but the extent to which I agree ends when people put action behind those words. In my view, Chick-fil-A has done more than just aired their opinions of prejudice, they have become discriminators by acting on that prejudice to support the limitation of the rights and freedoms of others. Interesting how First Amendment rights are being used in an attempt to suppress rights.
Many of us lead a life of privilege where we rarely, if ever question any of our rights because we're never challenged in that way. I include my self in that group, and have referred to myself as just another all American girl, minus the blue eyes and blond hair. But I also include myself in another group, actually several groups, that have experienced discrimination. My first experiences with prejudice and discrimination happened as a child, growing up in an almost exclusively white small town with a predominant religious influence. I was not white and I was not of the predominant religion, and everyone knew it.
I have continued to personally experience racial/ethnic discrimination in different forms until this day, mostly subtle though sometimes shockingly overt. I regularly observe others that are discriminated against for the same reason. I've also experienced gender discrimination, as I'm sure is not uncommon among women. I've even experienced some ageism. Being viewed as younger may not seem like a negative thing unless it's used as professional prejudice. I've also learned a lot about the injustices that people with disabilities face, with my children as my teachers.
Anyway, I don't want to be preachy or seem high and mighty on my soap box. I just want you to take a moment to consider if something of importance to you was held hostage. If your ability to interact with something you believed in was limited or non-existent, or in fact, against the law. How would that make you feel as a human being? Do you want to be responsible for creating that feeling in others?