"Tell me, if you awoke in a skin of different hue, to walk as a human from another culture, or gender, or sexual orientation, would you hold the same opinions, my love? Or would they shift to your new perspective? And if that's the case, if they would morph into something more loving toward yourself, what does that say about those opinions, are they yours? Or based in a "them" and "us" brain pattern? In some primitive impulse? Because you are capable of so much more. So perhaps take a moment to dream of walking in the shoes of others, to imagine you were born other than how you are, and let that marvellous brain of yours see from their perspectives and open up your vision to vistas new."
They say the future is female; I say it's united and flexible. We are human before we are anything else - a gender, race or sexual orientation. All personality traits are found in all genders; men are fully capable of being empathic. Personally, I find emotionally open men to be fully manly and indeed, the most attractive. What we need to avoid is cold or indifferent leaders, those seeking power and craving personal status instead of seeking to serve with love. We need those who desire to stop the pendulum of discrimination rather than letting it swing to the other side, making new victims and villains. Our sons are as important as our daughters and we need to raise all of our children to be fluent in compassion, empathy and kindness.
In the precinct my colleagues fall into one of only two categories. For the most part they simply resent a woman in the office and every mistake I make is used as a stick to beat me with. But there are those, who I should be thankful for but aren't, that gush praise over every little thing I do. The first lot make me look like a troll and the second like a princess. I don't make any more mistakes than anyone else, but I'm not a saint. Why should I be? No-one else is. They tell bad jokes, fart and loose paperwork. You know what? I'd like to go into work looking like a man, not to be one, I'm very happy being female. But I want to show them I'm every bit their equal and I'm not afraid to be judged on my own merits. But since I can't, I'll put up my armour and work twice as hard to be better, while dodging unwanted romantic entanglements and accepting unearned compliments with good grace.
"...because when nobody is special, everyone is."
"...because when nobody is 'special,' everyone is."
'... because when everyone is special, everyone is."
But if you're 'special' it doesn't mean the rest of us are, most of us prefer equality, fraternity and liberty.
(Note: when the British put "special" in quotes they mean either a person of lower mental capacity or someone who acts as if they are entitled to better treatment than others).
When food equity became a reality, when the developing countries got their fair share of the global platter, we were so happy but there were necessary changes. For a start, we took down all the garden fences and looked at the land again. In so many places it could be ploughed and planted with crops for the local community. The effort of it brought us closer together, working as a team. It was the start of something new, something we'd been missing for so long. In other places the gardens became woodlands, places to play and nature reserves. The madness of the grass-era faded and what came to replace it was far more beautiful.
Mist the target in thickest fog, rock the branches in howling storm and yet my arrow stays true to heart, for I am the huntress of legend. I bring the end to days of ledger, an end to owing and owed, an end to to bowing and bowed. I send word from the world beyond, I deliver the letter that brings real truth, that which renders equality both easy and obvious to all. And when the parchment touches skin, when it is absorbed into the blood, when the vision clears, you will see as I do, for there is no mist for me; neither is there wind, for this miss there is but victory.