After some recent controversial posts, reactions, and even flag-wars… many of us are wondering “How do we win this battle?"
This post is inspired by recent events surrounding an article talking about transgender women having their hair cut off by the police in Aceh, Indonesia. The article was posted in Steemit and supported the actions of the police in Aceh.
Many people in the LGBT community here on Steemit and around the world have been outraged and have taken to their blogs to share their thoughts... and now I will do the same.
the photo of Gandhi was repurposed after being found on flickr
*My viewpoints here are only personal beliefs, or ideas on how we can live together in this world more harmoniously. I can not claim that this way of approaching things is appropriate 100% of the time but I believe that if people practiced this more consistently, we would live in a more peaceful tolerant world.
Every person,
on all sides of what’s happening is acting from a position of believing that their way of doing things is the right way. This may stem from religious, political, societal, familial, or any other personal beliefs. When we have interactions like these, it’s important for all of us to consider the other persons point of view and why they are thinking the way that they are thinking. We all need to have more compassion for each other and try to have more understanding because in the end, we are all acting from the view that what we are doing is right.
So if we only ever look at the other side and think “That’s not what I believe, they are wrong,” then none of us are ever going to be willing to have any meaningful discussion and neither one of us will budge. One option is definitely to rage an all out war where we fight until one side wins… but does one side really win after so many members from both sides of the equation have been killed fighting for what they believe in? Isn’t this just history repeating itself?
Photo on Foter.com
I think we must all act from a place of love. Love doesn't always have to be soft and gentle and feel good... love can be firm and assertive as well. I think that acting from a place of love means being open, and receptive to listening to others - we all just want to have our voices heard. We have to be the ones that listen first... because it has to start somewhere and we so desperately want acceptance and tolerance for all.
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” - Mahatma Ghandi
Ask questions, get to know your neighbour... be curious!
Even for myself within the LGBT+ community I'll be honest right now and say that I don't know a lot of transgender people. I don't fully understand what it's like to live a day in their shoes. Here on Steemit I've been meeting many transgender people that are looking to build community and I'm both cautious and excited to get to know them better. I'm cautious because they're so different from me and there might be uncomfortable conversations, but I can't let that fear stop me from getting to know my neighbours!
I'm certain though that most people will be thrilled with my curiosity and my genuine interest in hearing their stories... like I already said we all want our voices to be heard. I might ask questions that are offensive, but I'm sure they'll let me know and I'll have learned more from those experiences.
Photo on Foter.com
Back to what's happening in Aceh, Indonesia
It's really hard to see images of people being abused, and those of us in the community that are more personally connected to the discrimination these people are facing will most certainly be hit hardest with the gut-wrenching emotional charge that they've been feeling.
I encourage us all to think reasonably about what methods of communications are going to have the most desired outcome with the most lasting benefits to our communities as a whole. I really like 
I don't like what happened in Aceh. I can hope to benefit our community by sharing a post like this, and I can also start each day more consciously with focused efforts to be more curious and engaged with people that are different from me.
Lastly, let me say this... THANK GOD PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT THEN ME, it'd be a really boring world if we were all the same... we just need to re-learn how to communicate with each other in meaningful ways where we all feel like we are being listened to.