Florida Orange tweeting about not allowing trans people in the military is awful, but perhaps worse is his justification – cost. Throughout history, some have held the idea that those incongruous with the majority, whether they be sick, poor, some minority, etc… are ultimately a burden to society. Furthermore they also believe that any effort to address the needs of those outside the majority only increases that burden and tend to conclude that the best course of action is either to ignore them (lest you encourage the distraction) or to actively punish/abolish/remove the burdensome behavior. While all of them are certainly bias in someway or another (who isn’t really), most of these believers insist that they’re simply being pragmatic.
Severe amorality aside, a big problem with this line of thinking is the underlying assumption that those burdened are all in agreement on who’s burdensome, and that those they put in power will act accordingly. Since who is and isn’t a burden is a purely bias opinion and one that can change over time with the influence of power, money, etc…, many of these believers are shocked to inevitably find themselves on the burdensome side of the equation. Over and over again seemingly simple ideas like “we can’t let those needy ones burden society” metastasizes into alienation, subjugation, mass incarceration, and genocide. Even those who do manage to escape being a burden often find themselves with a very human distaste for these inevitable outcomes. This is precarious however, because any desire to voice, let alone act on this could be considered a burden.
So not only is this line of thinking severely amoral, it doesn’t work pragmatically either. In fact, the opposite seems true to me.
Morally speaking I think we should try to help everyone in need, but I also fundamentally believe progress requires inclusivity. This is because unlike the aforementioned scary alternative, being inclusive requires the thought and investment that is necessary to push society forward.
So ask yourself if you think society should fundamentally try to include and benefit everyone or if it should try to ignore/marginalize those that you believe to be a burden. It’s cool if you have nuanced opinions on any number of issues, but if you fundamentally see fellow Americans that as some threat to success (national, personal, or otherwise), go fuck yourself.