Story Why I’m less offended by issues normies find offensive versus issues like bodily autonomy and the right to die

[TAW122]

This is something that I don't think I've mentioned before and in the past I've wanted to make a thread about it, so now I have. First off, the title may sound weird, but basically what I mean is the things that most people are actually offended by I'm less offended by them (and speaking for myself and perhaps even a very minute minority of the populace) compared to more important human rights and civil rights issues like the right to die, bodily autonomy, and decision making capacity (or soundness of mind). Make no mistake though, I do deem social issues important and they certainly do play a role in people's lives as well as their notion on whether they are going to CTB or not. So what does the title of this thread and the content about? This is about why I am more offended by people who try to invalidate, gaslight, or otherwise shutdown issues like the right to die (RTD), bodily autonomy (BA), and decision making capacity (DMC), because they are the very core of a person's credibility and voice. Without those, one has very little recourse to affect a situation or to be able to defend oneself against such allegations or affect change.

This is not to imply that I don't take offense nor take other social issues seriously, I do, but I am just less offended than when someone makes claims like "you are not of sound mind" or that one is unable to exercise "bodily autonomy when it comes to the right to die" because those are effectively claims and allegations that are often unfalsifiable at face value (yes, while there are ways to refute and disspell such claims, it is not easy nor is it really considered by those in power). Of course, if people use discrimination against me, I will indeed take offense and it does cause harm so I'm not totally ignoring that fact, but at least for common social issues, there are often many institutions and social backing that will effectively put those offenders in their place as well as levy consequences (both legal and social) to those people who commit those offenses. Such offenders are often canceled (social consequences) by their peers or though social media and reputation, ostracized for their actions, and/or even face civil action dependent on their actions. They are called '-ists' for whatever form of discrimination or violation they commit. In other words, in current society, the masses will rise to stand up against prejudice, discrimination (especially when it comes to protected characteristics), and other kinds of social issues (especially important, hot topic ones – women's rights, LGBTQ rights, minorities rights, etc.).

However, there is simply (almost) no recourse for people who are branded 'mentally ill' or 'mentally defective', or even anything that is unfalsifiable labels thrown at people whose opinions differ from mainstream or commonly accepted views in society. Instead, people who are branded such labels have little recourse throughout the institutions to appeal, to fight against, or even have their fellow peers stand up for them (unless they are fortunate to have a like-minded peer but those are rare). Worse yet, society itself not only sanctions these kinds of labels through the paternalistic policies by the State, the medical industry, but also social norms, thus leaving individuals who were wronged with nothing and only to fend for themselves by themselves.

In conclusion, as an Asian American (minority) in the US, while I do take offense to prejudice and discrimination through protected characteristics and such, I take more offense towards anything that would undermine or otherwise defame my character, my credibility (soundness of mind and mental capacity), as well as my voice to defend myself. This is because in our current world when it comes to the mainstream societal issues, there are always organizations and groups out there that push back against such bigotry and discrimination as well as institutions and other structures in place to hold those who commit such offenses accountable, whether through societal consequences or legal consequences. Yet the same cannot be said when it comes to people who are labeled, suspected, or even branded as such, including the right to die, bodily autonomy when it comes to the right to die, and one's decision making capacity. I believe that the right to die as well as similar issues is indeed the final frontier and considered the ultimate civil right that an individual can have, yet it is something that is contested for millennia, ever since ancient times, but I digress. I hope my story makes sense and people are able to relate and understand where I'm coming from.

Edit: Corrected the title due to grammatical error.

 

[wisteria3]

I agree with this wholeheartedly. Even though other human rights issues are equally important (if not more so), at least there is a large group of people who oppose, speak out against, and shame those who violate those human rights. At least when people recognize that it is an issue, our society can make progress towards fixing that issue. Whereas almost every single human thinks people who save suicidal people from dying are "heroes," and parents/mothers are "selfless". I say this as someone who has very strong maternal instincts and always wanted to be a mother, although I also would consider myself having kids to be extremely selfish. I saw an article the other day about how birth rates are declining and what we can do to "fix" this, and it just angered me because we don't even question that we should impose the burden of life upon more people, just for the benefit of our current society. Just like people don't question the fact that people should have a right to their own bodies and lives. I think a large part of the issue is the portrayal of suicidal people in media as impulsive, and that they eventually regret it later on and are glad to be "saved".

I feel the same way about veganism, by the way. I don't really mind people who eat meat, but it's the hypocrisy and ignorance that frustrates me. People don't even question that it's okay to torture/abuse billions of animals just because it's "tradition" (slavery in America was tradition once, too). I mean, lower intelligence doesn't mean lower suffering. Also we consider people who abuse dogs to be monsters, but are totally fine when people do the same to pigs or cows. Again, I totally understand non-vegans and don't consider them to be bad people. It just angers me, especially when I see a bunch of people on social media who are extremely offended when people "mistreat" their dog in a very minor way, or who swoon over adorable farm animal posts, oblivious to what they are going through. I guess I'm just rambling at this point, but to make a long story short, I agree with you. It's infinitely more frustrating when it feels like people are blind to the issues that are so clear to you. Also it feels like if generally empathetic people really thought for themselves about it, they'd agree. I feel like people think they think for themselves more than they actually do.

Also, I hope that my veganism rant doesn't come across as judgy towards anyone. Some of the kindest people I know are non-vegans. I'm more angry at the world, not at individual people :)