Justice

LGBT Activist Perfectly Explains Why This Peace Sticker Is Not the Right Response to a Viral Anti-Gay Decal

October 19th 2016

Writer Sam Kalidi recently posted a photo on Twitter depicting an anti-LGBT decal right above a Trump 2016 sticker on an unidentified person's vehicle. The image is receiving a lot of attention on social media this week:

Though this does not appear to be an official Trump/Pence 2016 sticker, some people have argued that the image reflects the views of some of his supporters. The viral photo has also inspired some to share the following image, which uses the same figures but conveys a message of forgiveness rather than a message of hate seen in the initial sticker:

Forgiveness 2016The New Civil Rights Movement - thenewcivilrightsmovement.com

But Robbie Medwed, an Atlanta-based LGBT activist, wrote in The New Civil Rights Movement that LGBT people should not have to post or accept the Forgiveness 2016 sticker.

While he understands that the second image is meant to "build bridges," it is also "incredibly naive and abusive," he wrote.

"For decades LGBT people have been tasked with forgiving those who want to cause us real harm," he wrote. "We’ve had to fight (and we’re still fighting) for the right to simply live in happiness and safety — and with every battle won we’re supposed to forgive those who worked to harm us, without any repentance or apology on their part. The people represented by the Confederate figure are abusers and oppressors. They have dedicated themselves to tearing apart our families, to imprisoning us for existing, to demonizing us for using the bathrooms, for inflicting violence upon us, and so much more. One need not have a doctorate in history to understand the horrific intentions and impact this group has had on LGBT now and in the past."

He said it's outrageous to automatically forgive people who have been so hateful to the LGBT community, and that it's unfair to expect the LGBT community to "blindly forgive those who cause us harm simply because it will make our oppressors feel better about themselves." Forgiving oppressors, he argues, should not be the onus of those who have been marginalized.

His column generated a lot of discussion on social media, with many readers voicing agreement:

FacebookFacebook - facebook.com

Read Medwed's full piece here.

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