Chastity White Rose

Tag: religion

  • 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 3: The LGBTQIA+ Suicide Epidemic

    Those of us who are part of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual community have a higher rate of depression and suicide than the average person. There are many reasons for this, which I can identify and explain. The following are a few reasons that this is the case.

    1. We are lonely

    The fact that former friends and family turn against us when we come out (or are outed without our consent) results in us being without any support network.

    If you have no friends, family, or even a life partner, it can often seem like your existence is meaningless, and no one would notice if you vanished, or perhaps they have even told you to die. Many people who commit suicide feel this way, but at least most have parents, a friend, a spouse, or a therapist they can talk to.

    But too often, this is not the case with some of us who receive hate from humans and are even told that God hates us.

    2. Poverty

    Even those of us who are in the closet are often at a disadvantage economically. If you are single due to being a closeted gay person or are asexual or celibate, you often don’t have a second income to rely on. If you lose your job, have an injury, or get very sick, you have no one to pick you up. And in many places, even gay couples in a sexual or romantic relationship don’t get the same tax breaks or even the ability to have their spouse covered by their insurance.

    Society rewards sexual or romantic relationships and puts them on a pedestal. Even friends are “just friends” and are never taken as seriously as a husband or wife. This problem is compounded because Gay couples have to keep their partner a secret and pretend to be regular friends or roommates. It is beyond exhausting to keep secrets just to avoid being a victim of a hate crime or sent to conversion therapy. Relationships are hard enough normally, but when you can’t honestly answer the question of whether you are single or in a relationship without lying or people not approving your partner because they were born with the wrong body parts, it gets extra stressful.

    3. Lack of Healthcare

    Healthcare is hard for everyone, but for people who already lack a good job and health insurance, if they have an illness, they have no hope of getting treatment. It is also worth mentioning that for transgender people, the surgeries and or hormones they need to feel comfortable in their own body are either denied by health insurance, or a doctor can refuse to do it for personal or religious reasons. Therefore, many people, including myself, have self-harmed their bodies because they could not get the help they needed from a trained surgeon who can remove their breasts, penis, testicles, or whatever is causing them gender dysphoria.

    Also, nobody would seriously have their genitals operated on without a good reason. Although this book is not about my experience specifically, I did have to fight for two years to find someone to remove my testicles. This surgery was needed primarily for reasons of excruciating pain due to testicular torsion, but gender dysphoria also played a large role as well. During that time of intense pain, I used to research suicide methods as well as self-castration methods. It is only because I was finally able to get trained medical help in September of 2020 that I am alive to tell you that I understand why suicide is so common for my people.

    4. Religious Abuse

    The three major monotheistic religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, all tend to speak negatively in their holy scriptures and/or the common traditions of the followers of that religion. I cannot speak on most religions, but I can tell you that those who call themselves Christians tend to pick on homosexuality and describe it as an example of a sin that is somehow worse than murder, theft, lying, or adultery. Of course, they deny that they do this.

    But the key issue is that in spite of the fact that some people are not even having sex with anyone, they are still constantly preached to and told they have a sinful lifestyle regardless of the fact that they have not acted on their desires. Even so, I would argue that their sexual activity, if any, is between them, their partner, and whichever God they believe in.

    But the reason I bring this up is not to bash religion but to explain how a gay or transgender person is often excluded from participating in a religious life. When they are told that they cannot inherit the kingdom of God (see 1 Corinthians 6:9), they can be turned away from finding comfort in religious faith or a relationship with God. Because many people find meaning in their lives through religion, this is one more thing that many LGBT people are not allowed to find comfort and a reason to keep living.

    Resources

    When considering the reasons I have mentioned, it is no surprise that LGBTQIA+ people commit suicide at a higher rate because they do not have the same support systems that cisgender heterosexual people do.

    In fact, while I was writing this book in June 2025, I received news that the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline was ordered to end its “Press 3 option,” which matched the caller with someone knowledgeable about LGBTQIA+ issues.

    https://www.thetrevorproject.org/blog/trump-administration-orders-termination-of-national-lgbtq-youth-suicide-lifeline-effective-july-17th/

    When I heard this news, I was quite devastated. I understand that our issues are not the same as other people’s general crises that lead them to suicide.

    When a person is LGBTQIA+ and calls a suicide hotline, they cannot just talk to some random cisgender straight person who tells them that they probably should stop being gay or transgender, and then all their problems will go away. A lot of people don’t trust someone unless they have reason to believe they understand what they are going through. Just like black people probably would not trust white people who have never experienced the targeted hate crimes and discrimination they face. Having special categories for minorities on a suicide hotline is essential for reasons like these.

    Not everyone is the same, and if an untrained person says the wrong thing to a suicidal person at their worst moment, that person will most likely die. For this reason, I am obligated to say something about this and try to offer resources that may be helpful to my Rainbow people during difficult times.

    The Trevor Project is an organization that helps LGBTQIA+ people in difficult times. I would advise you to look more into it and write the information down so that in the event you are suicidal or put into a situation where you lose your job or home due to discrimination against you for who you are, at least you will have someone to call.

    I also included some other hotlines which may be of help. I read their websites, and they care greatly about protecting the privacy of the callers who may be in danger if others find out their personal information.

    Trevor Lifeline for LGBTQ Youth

    The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender National Hotline

    Transgender Lifeline

    If anyone has more websites, links, or phone numbers I can add to this post for people contemplating suicide or facing another crisis, please let me know.

    Chastity’s Contact Information

    • (816) 844-2077
    • chastitywhiterose@gmail.com

    This year is a very dangerous time. People are trying to kill my Rainbow people, and most of them are driven to suicide by people who beat them down till they have nothing left to live for. I may be only one person, but I have been at the lowest point in life, just as many of you have. Please contact someone for help if you are feeling like ending your life.