A Billion Cool Points Go To...

...Dianna Agron, Who. Is. Awesome.

Quotage #1:

Acceptance opens doors, makes room for change, diffuses misunderstanding. Every day, people commit hate crimes because of misunderstandings. Hate effects the target, and consumes the person behind the gun. It is crazy to realize that we have been in war for almost our entire existence on this planet. Many times for reasons of greed and hate.

Quotage #2:

 We can’t always put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. But we can try....I am lucky to live in a place where I can wear almost anything that I want to express myself, and that jail is not a probable consequence. Which makes me feel as if I should exercise my right to do so every now and then. Think of the people that have died because of their passion and heartfelt hopes of change? So many good men and women. All because of an inherent wish for tolerance, love and support. 

What a beautiful message and gesture. (She's always quite eloquent and thoughtful on her tumblr, but something about this post makes it extra important.) I think we tend to forget that this kind of hatred is still there and still very real--as unfortunate as it is--in today's society. I've been doing a lot of reading on the Civil Rights movement for my history class, and the more I read about it, the angrier and more horrified I become. How is it that human nature can turn so ugly when one doesn't understand or does not try to understand something that society deems different and unacceptable? How can someone hate another so much because of the color of their skin or their religion or sexual orientation or whatever makes them different? And it's not just limited to the racism of the past and today, but also homophobia, like Dianna Agron points out, something our society deals with on a daily basis.

All because we don't try to understand our world and most especially the people we interact with. We are all different, and that's what makes us unique. We are all human. In the words of Gaga, we are born this way. So why are we so set on judging someone else because they are so different from us? What will we gain from the hatred and intolerance?

Thank you, Dianna, for your inspiration and beautiful thoughts. #letlovein

(Edit: Deconstructing Glee brings up a couple excellent points with this as well. Agreed on all counts.)