He stopped at one shop to ask the price of a merchandise. From where he stood, he could only look the back of the long-haired shopkeeper. He was so surprised when the shopkeeper with a female feature answered him with a bass voice. He immediately left the shop with his mom and giggled after they were out of the shopkeeper's earshot.
His comment after telling his story was what appalled me the most. "If I had known that the shopkeeper is a transvestite, I would've avoided his shop!", he said with a disgusted tone.
Everybody knows Thailand is famous for not only for their food, but also for their.. ehm.. extraordinary people (read: transvestites, transgenders, transexuals, whatever you name them). They are everywhere. Thailand has also become the go-to-country if you want to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Some transgenders are very pretty you can't even differ them from the real females, but some not so. Tourists often get deceived by their appearance.
But are they SO different from other human beings, that you need to treat them like they are less than a human being?
I've never given a serious thought on this before. My colleague's comment was like a slap on my face, on how I have treated them, even though indirectly since I never encounter them personally. When I talk about them in my groups of friends, I would talk like they are a ridiculous being, worthy to be laughed at. Something inside me must have changed since I don't feel like laughing at them anymore when I heard my colleague's comment.
To me, transgender people are those confused with their gender identities. Some of them are homosexuals or bisexuals, but not all are. I agree that homosexual activities are wrong, but confused people are not and that does not mean I can demean any of them. Confused people need guidance.
Suddenly, I'm just like the Pharisees in the Bible, a hypocrite who can't even follow what Jesus had done.
Jesus had showed us how to treat people like them.
"You shall love your neighbour as yourself" - Matthew 22:39 (ESV)
John 8:1-11 showed us explicitly how Jesus treated a woman caught in adultery. He didn't act all high and mighty, nor did he ridicule and punish the woman. Instead, he let her go, but that's not all, he told her to repent.
Shouldn't I do the same? Instead of laughing at them, I should shut my mouth up and tell them to repent. It's not an easy feat, but I must do what I can do and let God do the rest.
How about I don't discuss this Biblically? Do I still have no right to demean them?
No, I don't.
Even though they're transgenders, transvestite or homosexuals, basically they are still a human being. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 1 states that "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood"
Article 2
"Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty."
Article 3
"Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person."
Article 5
"No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
So, do you have the right to degrade such person, whether directly or indirectly?
“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” - John 8:7 (ESV)
References:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
No comments:
Post a Comment