Chastity White Rose

Tag: politics

  • Chapter 14: The Problem With Nationalism

    I understand that Chapter 13 of Walking the Rainbow Bridge has the potential to be greatly misunderstood. It is obvious that I dislike the idea of countries, borders, governments, and citizenship in general.

    When I criticize the United States of America, many people will say: “If you hate America so much, why don’t you move to another country and see how much worse it is!”

    When people say this, what I really hear is: “Yeah, we are not great, but at least we are not as bad as those people over there!”

    And yes, I agree. The USA is not as bad as many places in the world. That misses the point entirely. However, I have my specific problems with the USA government. My issue really is with the concepts of countries and states existing.

    As should be known by anyone who knows something about American history. The USA, as we know it, started as a bunch of white British settlers who came to this land and started their system. However, there were already native Americans here, and these white settlers from Europe killed and/or moved them continually west until the current day, when only a few descendants remain and some live on small reservations.

    As if that was not bad enough, these founders also brought dark skinned enslaved people that they had obtained in Africa. Our history is one of immigrants bringing other immigrants against their will to kill the natives of this land and build an empire that eventually fought to become separate from England.

    The Declaration of Independence, written July 4, 1976, specifies in detail the problems the states had under the rule of the King of Britain and why they wanted the states to be an independent nation.

    https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

    You see, the start of what we know as the United States of America began by criticizing and breaking free from the previous government that the founding fathers had suffered from. The most American thing that can be done is to criticize the government.

    Unfortunately, the Native Americans and the enslaved Black people were not so lucky. They did not have the freedom as citizens of this new land. They were enslaved, beaten, whipped, killed, and chased off the land they had been on for generations.

    This act of destroying the people of the land and taking over is called colonialism.

    https://www.thoughtco.com/colonialism-definition-and-examples-5112779

    The reason I am not a fan of countries is that they almost always involve colonialism and violence at some point. The European settlers were not born in America, yet they all became citizens. The Native Americans were born here, yet they were not treated as citizens and were forced to give up their land, languages, and way of life.

    How then can we say that someone coming from another country to the USA has any more right as a citizen to live and work here? Declaring someone like me a citizen because I am born here, and yet not someone who came from somewhere else, makes no sense.

    That is why I believe in open borders and equal citizenship for all people regardless of country of origin, race, language, or religion. I am against nationalism. I just don’t believe that I am better or worse than anyone because of my birth here.

    But perhaps because American history is what I was required to learn, and because the current USA government is taking away the rights of the LGBTQIA+ people right now, I am quite resentful of the powers that be at the moment, as well as the atrocities done to innocent people in the past. It is therefore why all of my books and blog posts have a tone of anarchism and idealism.

    I want everyone to get along. I know this will not happen and that wars will continually be fought over land, resources, and religions. I hope that we can bridge the gap between people of different places and cultures in the same way that I want to bridge the gap between people who are straight or gay, cisgender or transgender, and sexual or asexual.

    But let me be clear about one thing that must be understood. A state or country is not the same as the people who live there.

    • Americans are NOT the American Government.
    • Chinese people are NOT the Chinese Communist Party.
    • Jews are not the state of Israel.
    • Arabs are not a terrorist group.

    The people are not the land, government, religion, or anything else. Each geographical location contains many different kinds of people, and they should not be lumped together as if they are all the same.

    Just as I don’t want the actions of Rose Montoya to be associated with me just because she and I are both transgender, I don’t want to falsely assume that anyone of a particular identity is evil.

    And in the past, I have made that mistake. I have been hurt by many people who call themselves Christians, and therefore, I do have a prejudice that I use to protect myself. The link between the interpretation of specific bible verses has been used to discriminate and commit violence against gay and transgender people.

    A prejudice is not the same as hatred or anger. However, when you see a snake, your chances of survival are better if you assume it is venomous and get away from it. Sometimes we have to protect ourselves from those we see as a danger. Having a gut reaction of prejudice is not being hateful, but it is being careful.

    What I am saying is that it is important to get to know people rather than letting those prejudices, which protect us in the short term, become something worse that causes us to be the very monsters we assume others to be.

  • Chapter 13: My Immigrant Best Friend

    The subject of immigration is one that I never researched prior to 2025. All my life, I have personally believed in open borders and that we should not have the concept of countries at all. Of course, I know the legal system doesn’t follow my ideals.

    However, as someone born in Merriam, Kansas, in the United States of America, I am a citizen by law even though I did nothing to deserve it. Therefore, I have no moral right to work or live than someone born in another country who comes here.

    But one day, I started a very special friendship with an immigrant at Walmart who came to work there. I started trying to use Google Translate on my phone to translate messages. Most of the time, this wasn’t even necessary because she understands more English than I do Spanish.

    To protect her privacy, I will refer to her as Fiesta because fiesta is the Spanish word for party. Working with Fiesta was always a party because when we worked together, we sang and danced. She even knew most of the English songs I know. Although I had only known her for a short time, I can tell you she was one of the best workers I had ever seen. Nobody else besides me at my store ever worked with such a smile on their face.

    And then one day she told me that her work visa had expired and she could no longer work at Walmart with me. I was deeply sad about this because I will miss her. I hope that she can become a citizen here or that, at least if she returns to her country that she will be safe.

    But based on my reading about this issue, it seems that it is not very easy to become a citizen or even to get a temporary visa status. These rights are limited in number and given only to a small number of people who government officials deem worthy.

    But the news in 2025 about immigrants in American politics has often made me question why people would go to such trouble to enter this country. All I can really say is that if someone’s country they were born is so bad that they want to come here, then I think they should be allowed to.

    But I also think that if immigrants really knew what this country is like, they probably would not want to. They are not treated very kindly by other American citizens. On top of that, many of them may be in great danger in their original country.

    Maybe they did not do anything wrong, but their homes were destroyed in a war. Maybe people are trying to kill them because they are gay or transgender. Maybe they no longer follow the major religion in their country and, therefore, are considered a criminal worthy of death. Therefore, because such situations happen, it is not hard to see why someone may go to another country, legally or illegally, when they have to save their lives. I do not judge them because I have no right to. I don’t know their situation, and I imagine it must be hard.

    Next time you see an immigrant to your country, I would like you to remember this Bible verse. You don’t have to be a Christian or Jew to appreciate this, just know that anyone who claims to follow these religions must also consider whether they are following this law of treating the foreigner the same as a native citizen.

    Leviticus 19:33 When a resident foreigner lives with you in your land, you must not oppress him. 34 The resident foreigner who lives with you must be to you as a native citizen among you; so you must love the foreigner as yourself, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

    The average American citizen knows nothing about the immigration system in the USA. Even I don’t know much, because I have never moved to another country. I guess that most of you probably haven’t either. You just judge people and declare them “illegal”.

    Many other people were also born in the USA. Some of them, I wish I could deport to another country so that they would no longer be here to abuse people they consider less valuable than themselves, based on the chunk of dirt they were born on.

    And to my friend Fiesta, I want you to know that you were always the kindest friend to me at Walmart. You did not treat me as less than you because I did not know your language, or because I am transgender. We danced and sang together, and every night was a party just because you were there. I will remember you, no matter what happens. If there is anyone who has a right to work in any country, it is you.

    Immigration Links

    https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/why-dont-they-just-get-line/

    https://americasvoice.org/blog/immigration-101-why-immigrants-cant-just-get-legal/

    https://www.flowofhistory.org/the-problem-of-citizenship-in-american-history-2/

  • Chapter 10: Consistently Pro-Life

    In this chapter, I know I am going to lose some readers because if there is anything that is more misunderstood than the religious or political debates over LGBTQIA+ rights and identity, it is the abortion debate.

    I know you are not expecting a Transgender person with rainbows all over their social media and book covers to be Pro-Life because the “Pro-Life” movement has traditionally done things that are very “Pro-Death” involving the LGBTQIA+ community.

    Most of the Pro-Life organizations and charities are strictly Anti-Gay and Anti-Transgender. Most of these groups are religiously based, and this causes them to only work with people who meet their standards based on their faith. Since many passages in the bible are interpreted to forbid homosexuality and even imply that homosexuals go to hell, the Christians who believe these things seem to prioritize their fight against LGBTQIA+ people even more than they do their fight against abortion.

    But let me be very clear here: there is nothing Pro-Life about denying gay people the right to marriage. There is nothing Pro-Life about denying the ability of gay couples to adopt children that straight people did not want or could not afford to take care of, and there is nothing Pro-Life about taking away life-saving hormones and surgeries from Transgender and Intersex people who rely on them for their physical AND mental health.

    Nobody has the right to call themselves Pro-Life unless what they are doing actually keeps people alive. You don’t get to murder a transgender person on the street and then go to church and talk about being a follower of Jesus. If you do, you are a hypocrite, and even Jesus would tell you so, just as he did the Pharisees and Sadducees.

    For me, being Pro-Life DOES NOT EQUAL BEING ANTI-ABORTION. Rather, being Anti-Abortion is probably 5 percent of the equation. I follow a consistent life ethic, and this includes Veganism to save the animals and supporting human minorities who face additional challenges because of their race, religion, gender, skin color, disability, or whatever other excuse people use to murder them and take away their jobs, housing, and healthcare.

    Therefore, by writing these chapters about the Rainbow people, I am doing my best to be Pro-Life for the LGBTQIA+ community. I hope that even though you may not agree with my opinion that abortion is immoral because it is murder, you can at least see the parallels to the other topics.

    There are two important Pro-Life organizations I want to share with you. The first is the Rainbow Pro-Life Alliance. I have been a board member since 2022 and attend the Zoom meetings. What I can tell you based on my experience is that all of these people come from different places and don’t share the same opinions on every topic. We do agree that abortion is wrong and that LGBTQIA+ people certainly have a place in the discussion, even though we have been excluded by mainstream Pro-Life organizations and events. After all, most of us are either extremely gay or are straight allies.

    https://www.rainbowprolife.org/

    The second is Vegans for Preborn Rights. Because I am an ethical Vegan who does not eat or wear anything from an animal, I want to be involved with them, too. I don’t know them as well, but their website is full of helpful resources explaining the Pro-Life and Vegan connection. Also, they fully support LGBTQIA+ people.

    https://www.vegansforprebornrights.org/

    Oddly enough, the reason I became a Vegan was because I was Pro-Life for humans, and then I just extended it to other species of animals. I have answered many questions about Veganism over the years. I would say I have faced more criticism from co-workers at the jobs I have worked because I am Vegan than I have for being transgender! However, if I had to choose between being called by my correct pronouns and saving the lives of the animals, I would choose the animals every time.

    If you want more information on Veganism, I recommend the book “Why We Should Go Vegan” by Magnus Vinding. It is available free on Smashwords and is an excellent summary of the reasons it benefits the animals as well as humans if we adopt a vegan diet. I also recommend Magnus Vinding’s other books because most of them are about philosophy and ethics. He is an amazing author, and he introduced me to Smashwords even before Draft2Digital purchased it. Draft2Digital is the company I use to publish my e-books to this day.

  • Walmart Ends Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    I have many thoughts about the recent statements from Walmart abandoning their DEI policies.

    I am an Overnight Stocker who was hired on September 5th, 2023. When I first started, I was required to go through many training modules on the computer. Some of these were food-related, such as keeping things at the right temperature and avoiding cross-contamination. Some were about what to do in emergencies or active shooter situations. However, my favorite was the one on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It had specific examples with cartoon characters and voices about what to do in situations when someone is being mistreated because of their race, gender identity, disability, etc. I thought it was one of the coolest trainings I did because it was about how we should treat people.

    And now, with the news that Walmart is removing DEI from their communications, I can’t help but wonder if this is just a political movement to save their reputation by pleasing the customers and politicians who have an agenda to eliminate LGBT people and people of other races. This news also does not hit very well for me because I am Transgender, and two black female coworkers who were good friends of mine were fired in the past year. These women were not new hires either, and they had both been there much longer than I have. Is the goal to bring society to a time where only cisgender, heterosexual, and white men are able to have jobs? That is how it used to be a long time ago.

    To me, DEI is just a reminder that we should remember that people are different and learn to understand and treat them with respect. But apparently, others do not see it that way.

    https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/walmart-abandons-dei-missed-opportunity-leadership-contrecia-tharpe-hbdbc/

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2024/11/27/walmart-pulls-back-on-dei-could-we-see-more-companies-adopting-mei/

    https://www.newsweek.com/nationwide-walmart-boycott-its-easier-said-done-2056526

  • Chastity’s Response to Trump’s Executive Orders

    Since Donald Trump was inaugurated as President on January 20, 2025, he has signed many executive orders. There are some that I agree with. For example, on January 27, 2025, he signed an executive order which reinstates everyone who was discharged from the military for refusing the Covid-19 vaccines. I consider this a good move because I don’t want anybody to lose their job just because they choose what they will and will not put into their body. I fully believe in bodily autonomy when it comes to a person deciding what to eat, what vaccines to take or not take, and what they wear. Etc.

    But there are some other executive orders which can potentially lead to the death of some of my people. These dangers specifically apply to Transgender and Intersex people. Trump has declared that the Federal Government of the United States of America will only recognize two genders, male and female. To the uninformed, this sounds harmless because most people think there are only two genders. But is it true? The answer is more complicated than you think.

    There have been many attempts to define what males and females are. This task gets harder to do the more you learn. The simple fact is that intersex people exist who have more than the standard chromosome variations of XX or XY. There are people with XXY, XXYY, and XYY, and some only have a single X chromosome. Defining sex/gender on chromosomes is not reliable and can actually be expensive. I am 37 years old, and I don’t know my chromosome variation, but I suspect XXY, also known as Klinefelter syndrome.

    The other way people usually define male or female is by looking at someone’s genitals and then labeling them as male if they have a penis and female if they have a vagina. Usually this is done to newborn babies who are assigned male or female at birth. However, this is also not reliable. Some people are born with more than one set of genitals. But the larger point is that we should let people’s “private parts” remain private.

    My primary concerns are the following specific parts of the order titled “DEFENDING WOMEN FROM GENDER IDEOLOGY EXTREMISM AND RESTORING BIOLOGICAL TRUTH TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT”.

    “(d) The Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall implement changes to require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex, as defined under section 2 of this order; and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall ensure that applicable personnel records accurately report Federal employees’ sex, as defined by section 2 of this order.”

    What does this mean for people in reality? Are you going to pull down everyone’s pants and inspect their genitals every time they renew their state ID or passport? Will you be taking blood samples to test their chromosomes? If so, who pays for this? The individual or the taxpayers in general? What about those who are intersex and have mixed genitalia or chromosomes? These statements raise more questions than they answer.

    “e) Agencies shall remove all statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications, or other internal and external messages that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology and shall cease issuing such statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications, or other messages. Agency forms that require an individual’s sex shall list male or female and shall not request gender identity. Agencies shall take all necessary steps, as permitted by law, to end the Federal funding of gender ideology.”

    What is gender ideology? I have never heard this term coming from anyone other than those who have not taken the time to educate themselves on transgender and intersex people. What do you mean by ending the federal funding of gender ideology? I don’t agree that there is such a thing as gender ideology, but it sounds like more money will be spent on trying to slap a label on people of either male or female, regardless of the fact that some of us are a combination of both.

    Transgender and Intersex people have always existed and will continue to exist, regardless of what any government says or whatever our identification documents say. However, there will be people who have their privacy invaded, and some of them will lose their jobs and ability to travel, and some may die as a result of these policies. Some people have made a great effort to pass as their preferred gender and even have had their identification documents updated with their preferred gender and name already. Additionally, many of them have spent thousands of dollars on hormones and surgery to change their bodies so that they can pass as their felt gender. These people mean no harm to the public, but many people will commit violence against them or fire them from their jobs as soon as they are forced to be revealed as transgender or intersex by laws and policies related to this order.

    Some intersex people do not by any measure meet the requirements to be identified as male or female. These people, including one person that I know and care a lot about, have already obtained an X gender marker on their documents. Whatever you do, please don’t force them to endure genital inspections and chromosome tests everywhere they go. That’s not good government policy. That is just sexual harassment.

    The second executive order, which I will mention briefly, is the one titled “PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM CHEMICAL AND SURGICAL MUTILATION”. I don’t want to spend too much time on this because that is a post for another day. However, I oppose this because it is already written to ban gender-affirming care for individuals 19 and younger. I can only speculate how long it will be before the next executive order banning hormones and surgery for people of all ages.

    I, as an individual, fully support the right of adults to decide what to do with their bodies related to gender-affirming care. Furthermore, I do believe that people under the age of 18 should also have these options in specific cases and that these decisions should be made along with their parents and doctors for practical, legal, and medical reasons. I will expand on this in a future post. For now, know that the executive order is linked in the sources section at the end of this post.

    Comments from Fellow Friends and Board Members of the Rainbow Pro-Life Alliance:

    “Donald Trump’s executive order mandating that there are only two sexes is an attempt to erase intersex, nonbinary, and trans people. Yet his declaration doesn’t change biological reality or the lived experiences of millions. There are 5.6 million intersex people in the United States alone, according to the American Journal of Human Biology. They cannot be defined out of existence. Intersex, trans, and non-binary people are valuable members of our communities and deserve our support.” – Sarah Terzo.

    Sources for Executive Orders and General Information on Intersex people:

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government/

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-children-from-chemical-and-surgical-mutilation/

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/reinstating-service-members-discharged-under-the-militarys-covid-19-vaccination-mandate/

    https://www.healthline.com/health/transgender/types-of-intersex

    https://rainbowroo.com.au/blogs/news/end-intersex-surgery-we-are-not-broken

    Conceived this way