"It's whats on the inside that counts." We're all heard this somewhere, somehow. It's a often repeated phrase that more or less has come to mean "personality is more important than physical attractiveness."

Yes, this is true. The most beautiful person in the world would not be wanted if he or she is an unbearable asshole, whereas a less than average guy with a stellar sense of humor would be welcomed in many circles. Unfortunately, the world is not as cut and dry as this. Recently, there has been a surge in people identifying themselves as something. Male, female, nonbinary, genderfluid, transgender, black, white, mixed, gay, straight, sexually attracted to Apache attack helicopters, etc.

None of that matters.

What you believe you identify as does not matter in the slightest. Or rather, it shouldn't, anyway. Please, continue to read on and hear my side of this statement.

A few years ago I was in high school happily doing my work at a computer. It was one of the few computers in the room, and I had commandeered one early on in the class period so that I could get my work done in order to allow myself a nap later in the day. Some 30 minutes later a very brash, rude, black student comes up to me and demands to use my computer. I told her no, and in a loud voice she made a fuss, accusing me of being racist. One thing she said was, "Is it cause I'm black?" My response was, "No, it's because you're an asshole."

A few years later, same high school, there was a student known for being rather eccentric, to put it gently. In reality, she was a self-entitled, pushy, bossy, and obnoxious person that no one truly liked. Numerous times over the years, she's been discriminated against and on each occasion she's tried to peg it on multiple things. Her looks, her religion, her sexual identity (which changes as often as her hair color did), and at no point did she realize that the reason she was treated poorly was because of her actions and demeanor.

Let's get to the point here.

People are prejudiced, and that's inevitable. As creatures, prejudice is an evolutionary side effect of trying to survive. Our ancestors were prejudiced against sabertooth tigers because they often died to them, and so developed a fear of sabertooth tigers. People today are afraid of hoodlums for a variety of reasons, and so have developed a fear of hoodlums. However, what many people fail to see is that the fear of "hoodlums" and criminals and such is falsely attributed to race.

Forgive me for this ludicrous statement, but black people are scary. When there is a questionable black person in an elevator, women will hold their purses tighter and men brace themselves for confrontation. The same does not happen for a white teenager entering the same elevator of people. Why is this?

Humans, in all our foolishness, have attributed violent behavior to the color of someone's skin, and not to the content of their character.

If you are black, it should not matter that you have more melanin in your skin than others do. If you were male and have become female, it should not matter that you have in your pants that determines what bathroom you use. Barring relevant ability, all people should be considered equal.

It does not matter what you are, it matters who you are.

If what you are is a straight, rich, white male with a family history of being upstanding, but who you are is an egotistical psychopath, your psychopathy should be the defining factors in your life. If what you are is a nonbinary half-asian, half-fish sentient alpaca, and who you are is an empathic, loving indivudal who only wants to help those in need, take a guess as to what's more important.

I had a dream that illustrates this rather well.

Pretend you have a piece of paper and need to be taking notes. In front of you are a pencil, a pen, a dry erase marker, and a feather with an inkwell. Which do you use? Most of us would choose the pencil or pen, but is that because we have a deeply rooted hatred of dry erase markers or feathers? No, it is because the pen and pencil are familiar to us. All four of the writing utensils would accomplish the job just fine. We don't pick the pencil over the rest because we don't like the shape or color of the rest. We pick the pencil because... why not? It doens't matter what it looks like, only that it works.

Now, replace the paper with a white board. What would you choose then? Obviously, the dry erase marker, yes? Why? Is it because you have a seething prejudice towards all pencilkind, and ink-based utensils are just ugly? No, you chose the dry erase marker because it's what gets the job done. It's the most efficient option of what we're given.

Now translate this to the real world. If a black straight man, white gay woman, mixed asexual nonbinary, and fatter-than-he-should-be Filipino male were to apply for a job in applied physics, what should be the deciding factor? Sexual orientation? Color? Space between eyebrows?

I could go on and on, but I'm running out of words for this article, so allow me to summarize my point.

1. What you are on the outside does not count. It's who you are on the inside that matters.

2. The world does not, but should, operate based on what or who gets the job done best, disregarding anything non-essential.

3. Don't be a dick, and the world will be all the better for it.

To quote the Backstreet Boys, "I don't care who you are, where you're from..." cause really, it doesn't matter.

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I encourage people to speak up and discuss this matter with their peers. Please, feel free to message me or leave a comment to agree, disagree, ask for clarification, or simply to give me your opinion on this matter. My only request is that you speak humbly and listen respectfully.

Thank you.

-Miguel Rodriguez