Bill Maher Had a Point.
(Posted in 2022)
I don't watch Bill anymore because he's a cynical, bullying curmudgeon who quit being funny or clever ten years ago and acts like taking proper precautions during a global pandemic is melodramatic and weak-minded. HOWEVER, just this one time, I have to agree. Rant incoming...
In our frenzied rush to right social wrongs and push inclusivity and acceptance for all, we blurred the lines so heavily that no one can have a safe space. We can no longer voice a thought without making the grave mistake of insulting a marginalized group, even when significant steps have been taken not to do so. I can't keep up with everyone's flag and obscure self-identifiers. And I shouldn't have to. Not everyone can be included in everything all the damn time. Your triggers are your own to identify and moderate. Your opinion and life experience aren't any more valid than mine or anyone else's. I shouldn't have your triggers shoved down my throat because you're upset that everyone didn't think about your existence and how that made you feel. I refuse to be that self-absorbed and self-important. "But what about meeeee!" Eyeroll...
In bending ourselves into pretzels to ensure everyone feels represented and nobody gets butthurt, we push out the people the group was made for in the first place.
As vile as Playboy is, cis men should have their safe place to enjoy a rub-and-tug with highly edited photos of women that will never grace their presence in the real world without the image of a gay man arbitrarily thrown in the centerfold in a magazine designed and curated only for heterosexual men. There are other publications you can identify with. Leave them alone.
As fun as they are, queer people should have their bars and social places without being invaded by a bachelorette party of drunk squealing cis women ironically there to avoid harassment by cis men. There are other places to wear a tiara and drink through a penis straw. Leave them alone.
Cis women and trans women shouldn't have their bodies and the struggles and wonders that come with them invalidated; we should agree that neither of us truly knows or understands what it's like to live in the other's body and accept our differences but stand strong together. Leave our anatomy alone.
Old TV shows don't need to be revived with an entirely different family dynamic to correct the entitled white lens through which the series was told, undermining their original significance and erasing the essence of the character's flaws and charm. Learn from them, and for fuck's sake, come up with an original thought. Leave them alone.
Everybody should have equal rights to exist and thrive, however we choose to identify ourselves. This isn't about our rights to safety, opportunity, liberty, or justice. It's about entitlement, boundaries, community, and purpose. A group should be able to exist with an intended purpose, where the intended audience can gather without being compelled to become something entirely different to placate the woke mob. We shouldn't feel entitled to another's safe space in the name of toxic inclusivity. Sometimes, we don't belong and aren't welcome, and that's OK. Find somewhere else. Leave them alone.
