The Opinionated Bitch on ‘Those People’
“Those people” is a phrase to which I have become deeply sensitized. “Those people” implies an other-ness I can’t seem to wrap my brain around. Maybe it’s because it’s always seemed so easy for me to relate to others on some level - even those with whom I deeply disagree. If I can’t agree on an ideological level, at least I try to relate to them on a human level. At our core, we are all human beings and as such it is my belief that we are all born with certain rights, no matter where we’re born. We all deserve to be treated with dignity. Period. If you can’t treat someone with dignity, I find myself unable to keep silent and right now, I’m troubled to live in an America filled with fellow travelers insistent on talking about “Those People”.
“Those People” are everywhere. Those people are women. Those people are feminists. Those people are black. Those people are immigrants. Those people are jobless. Those people are LGBT. Mostly though, those people are poor and in pain and most of us are dangerously close to becoming one of “Those People”. I’m one of “Those People”. I’ve been in several of those categories at one time or another and still am in a couple.