I recently saw a post on Twitter stating, "If you're pro-black but anti-gay, you don't want equality, you want privilege." This is something that really struck me, and I firmly believe it to be true. If you fight for equality you cannot pick and choose what kind of equality you fight for. I fight for women's equality, because I have been most directly affected by sexism throughout my life, but it does not and should not stop there. I also do my best to fight against racism, homophobia, transphobia, discrimination against those with disabilities, ageism, discrimination against religion, and that probably doesn't cover all of the bases. At the very least, I work to educate myself on these issues so I do not remain ignorant. Bottom line for me is that I believe people should be treated equally no matter what.

Those who fight for equality, but only in regards to the way they have experienced discrimination should educate themselves on the systems of privilege and oppression put in place in our society. It does not help racism to say that you "do not see race" or that "race is invisible." In fact, your race has a very big effect on your life and the way you have experienced opportunity or lack of opportunity in this world. It is important for people to validate that race has an effect on the way people are treated by society and therefore, has greatly impacted their life in both good ways and bad ways. I also recognize that just because someone does not identify as a feminist does not mean they are sexist, but maybe they just don't understand what the true definition of feminism is. Someone could still feel women should not be discriminated against even if they feel "feminist" is a dirty word. Just because someone uses a homophobic slur, that does not mean they hate gay people, but perhaps instead don't understand how those words can be triggering and offensive. There is a huge difference between those who discriminate and those who are simply uneducated on discrimination. Many people simply don't realize how big a problem discrimination is in our society. Many also don't feel it is our obligation to fight against discrimination. However, as Desmond Tutu said, "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."

While our country is far from reaching equality for everyone, I commend those who are actively fighting against discrimination. There is a lot we all can do to help reach equality. The first step is education. Discrimination is something that affects every single person to varying degrees and in different ways. It is something that every person should be socially aware of. It is important for people to be working towards becoming educated on these issues and eventually educating others on them as well. There are many different causes to fight for in this world. It is great to see people growing more and more passionate about issues as they explore how those issues have affected their lives. If we ever want to get to a point where no one is discriminated based on race, age, gender, sexuality, religion, and so on, everyone who fights for equality must be rooting for all of these causes. It is not okay to be "pro-black, but anti-gay" because that does not help our country to reach equality for everyone. People should continue to fight for equality in their own way and all of these movements will work together to ultimately move towards a better society where everyone is treated equally.