To The Millennial Christian Woman Ashamed Of Her Generation,

Growing up, my parents never spanked or slapped me. I was also, as everyone is, taught to cross my t's and dot my i's. I, too, can walk in heels and sit gracefully in a dress. I was taught, as well, to carry myself with dignity.

So, dear millennial Christian woman, I may be an entitled millennial snowflake, but I fully believe that the facts contradict all of your points.

I fully agree with you that the fires in the Midwest, a year ago now, should have gotten more attention. I applaud the brave farmers working to save their livelihoods, their cattle, their farm. This is impressive, a feat of bravery that I cannot confidently tell you I would replicate. I didn't grow up on a farm, I grew up in a relatively small town in the suburbs. But I do agree that these farmers are brave.

However, don't trash the people who are protesting just to make your point.

What do we have to protest, you ask? Well, for one, the gender pay gap still does exist. Yes, we don't have it worst, however, it still remains a very real problem that the work women do is considered lesser than the work that men do.

We have a president who has been accused of sexual misconduct by numerous women, whose voices have been ignored. We protest so that we can walk down a street without being catcalled or worrying that this man we turn down will be the one that snaps and assaults us. We protest so that we might potentially, someday, join the myriad nations that have actually had a female leader.

I could go on about this topic alone for a full article.

Maybe sometime I will.

But I feel that my sourcing should at least convince you that a problem does exist, and, as someone who grew up in a town where she was surrounded by scornful people like you, I'd like you to know that speaking up does, in fact, take bravery. Sure, we aren't running into a fire. I'm not saying that we're braver than these farmers for marching. But we are not weak.

You are free to worship your god as a Christian woman.

You are also free to educate yourself about other religions before stereotyping all Muslims as haters of Christians. Terror attacks overwhelmingly affect Muslim people, and the Quran itself preaches acceptance and tolerance.

Yes, there are extremists. But overall, Muslims are innocent and have no intention to attack Christians. If you're going to stereotype all Muslims based on a single stereotype, it follows that I can stereotype you as a white supremacist member of the KKK.

Sure, most Christians are none of those things, most are kind, caring people---but so are most Muslims, yet you state they are vehemently "against Christians" based on the actions of a few.

(It's also worth noting that all refugees are not Muslim as well, since you seem to lump them all together. And refugees, in general, don't mean harm either.)

Yes, we need to protect our homeland.

But much of the danger to our homeland is not posed by these refugees. If you would like to protect our homeland, perhaps you might advocate for gun control, which has killed far too many. This is a greater threat by far than terrorism--think about the terrorist attacks that have occurred on American soil in 2018 and compare them with mass shootings.

But I suppose gun control is millennial, liberal nonsense, and the immigrants are the ones who are going to hurt us. (Oh, and by the way, when you say "homeland," you are referring to the place that our ancestors forcibly took from Native Americans and Mexicans, right? But I suppose there was a very good reason for that.)

I'm a member of the LGBT+ community, and you're fundamentally wrong about us and our intentions.

First of all, let's get this out of a way--not being straight is not a "condition" I was born with. And before you tell me I'm biased, it's been proven by psychology: homosexuality and same-sex attraction is not a mental illness or a curable condition. You can't love me and hate my sexuality because it's a part of who I am. It's who I always have been.

It's not a disability or "condition." It's just like me having blond hair or blue eyes. It's me.

Now, to the bathroom issue. For one, I have a few logistical questions to pose. First, I don't know if you're trying to talk about transgender people, for whom the bathroom controversy is most prominent, but either way, there are a few logistical issues. If you do mean that you want LGBT+ people to have their own bathroom, I ask you: how will you enforce this? Contrary to popular belief, we do not exude "Gay."

If you came up to me on the street, I doubt you'd know that I could be romantically involved with a woman. Plot twist: you've likely shared a bathroom with an LGBT+ person plenty of times, and you were none the wiser. Are you proposing that this new bathroom is solely for gay people? Do you want a male bathroom, a female bathroom, and a gay bathroom? How gay must I be to enter?

And if you're talking about transgender people, I want to tell you two things. For one, plenty of transgender people pass very well for the opposite gender. Forcing a transitioned trans man into the women's room will make him feel understandably out of place--I have a trans male friend who, midway through his transition, went into the ladies' room (since he still had female parts and lived in a place where transgender people were less accepted) and was shouted at for being a man going into the women's room. And secondly, creating a "trans bathroom" would actually be a good idea.

That's exactly why we're pushing for having more gender neutral bathrooms--to make transgender people feel safer. But are most people who dislike trans people advocating for it? No. And by the way, if assault is what you're worried about, transgender people are much more likely to be assaulted than to be assaulters. Food for thought.

Your bashing of the average millennial woman displays your myopic view of right and wrong.

Who says "midwest standards" are gospel? Who says a woman has to wear shorts of a certain length to be considered worthy? Who are you to pass judgment on others and say if they're going to go to heaven or not? Spanking children is your personal judgment, but I'd consider it a worthy use of your time to read this article about how spanking has been shown to lead to increased aggression and this article about the general ramifications and changes in research methods involving spanked.

I'm sure you could find articles that contradict these; however, they remain food for thought. Oh, and regarding participation trophies: I'd like to ask you who gave them to our generation. The millennials aren't the ones who ask for participation trophies--we're taught to need them by the older generation, and most of us don't even expect them anymore.

I am ashamed of America as well.

I'm ashamed that we've elected a president who has touted that by groping a woman he can get them to do anything. I'm ashamed that we're so afraid of the threat of Muslims and LGBT+ people that we ignore persistent gun control problems and discriminate against wholly innocent people. Yes, the world is laughing at us--they're laughing about the fact that we let someone who didn't even get the most votes win our election and that we now have someone at the helm of our country who compares the size of his nuclear button with other world leaders. And plenty of millennials are strong like you, dignified like you, and endure.

I'm sorry that our generation has to listen to people like you bash them when we truly are not the problem. We, too, are fighting for our rights and beliefs, a desperate fight to just be treated equally and have a safe place to live. And we are fighting for people around the world. But, as you say, we have to take care of home first. We don't give up on our beliefs either. We let our voices be heard.

I will say, "Fight for women now." Fight for women in other countries, if you like. They deserve to be fought for. But I'd ask that you also fight for women in the US who don't have your privilege. I'd ask that you fight for women of color, for whom the pay gap is even larger than for white women. Fight for transgender women, who are assaulted and hurt regularly, especially if they are also women of color. (You can look at my previous sources for that if you'd like). We aren't "parading our tits around"--look at any photo of the women's march. We're, in our majority, clothed, and speaking our minds. And we're not just throwing a fit. If you can't see why we protest from my myriad sources, I can't help your heavy denial.

I have never been hungry. But I know that here, in America, plenty of people are. I've never been homeless, but I know plenty of people are here. Yes, we're not a "third world country," and I certainly advocate for helping others there. But there are plenty of worthwhile causes to fight for here. And by the way, when you advocate for fighting for those who are "homeless, hungry, and without love," I simply point to the people I've been advocating for--the women (especially of color), LGBT+ people, and any intersection of them, who are assaulted, the people who die in shootings, and the people who are homeless here but are dismissed as "lazy and entitled."

We are not attention-seeking or spoiled. To say that millennials are entitled and expect praise is to ignore those who are going into selfless fields, supporting those around them every day with love and compassion. Are the medical school students giving their time to learn to save lives doing it for a trophy? Are the psychology students who just want to help the mentally ill looking for recognition? No! We aren't just looking to be noticed, and the millennials who DO want to be famous work their tails off for it. We aren't the generation of the lazy and entitled. We're the generation who stands through the criticism by people like you and continue to thrive.