Burning questions (i only briefly went over this so give me grace if it bad)

There are many questions that are hard to answer when they shouldn't be. For example, a couple questions I’ve had for a while are;Why is it wrong to love certain people? Why does the way you look or where you come from determine whether you deserve to be treated like a human? Why do men deserve human rights and women don't? Where have compassion and empathy gone? I (a young teenage girl of color) will try and tackle these questions in this piece as best I can. 

I’ve been a feminist by nature for as long as I can remember. I would notice how girls would be pushed into a corner of the recess yard while the boys took up the rest of the space to play football or to play whatever game they felt like playing while the girls played tag and four square off to the side having to be mindful of the boys so that they wouldn't be knocked over or hit with a ball. (sometimes on purpose from my experience in a recess yard for 10 years) I would wonder why “girls colors” were only pink and purple while the boys had the rest of the rainbow. I would volunteer when the teachers would ask for someone to lift an object or hang up something tall and I would rarely get picked and I knew why. Because I was a girl and girls are notoriously known for being weaker than men. I always wondered and still do wonder why boys get those advantages in life and girls had to settle for what they were given. Women are expected to settle down and have children and be a mother first, and when a woman doesn't follow that plan they are treated as less. Women in general are treated as less. But why is that? Why do men hold the hierarchy? Doesn't a woman deserve to live the same life as a man? Why does the government have control and laws over women's bodies but men can be free?

 Aren't we all human? 

Being a person of color automatically makes you a target. Whether it be a target of hateful civilians or the government. I hear about black kids, men and women being lynched in 2026. I hear about these murders happening right before the eyes of the government and they do nothing. I hear about Latinos executed on the streets for fearing men in masks chasing them down with weapons. I hear about Latinos being sexually exploited to see their loved ones after being kidnapped by these men in masks claiming to be keeping the streets “safe”. If its for the “better” of our "community" why are they kidnapping mothers, fathers, and innocent people with no past of criminal activity. But do you know who does have a past of criminal activity? These men who are executing people on the streets, kidnapping innocent people, and sexually exploiting these people. But no one sees anything wrong with it. Nobody cares about the people walking around in fear of being targeted even when they have all their legal papers. (I.C.E doesn't care to check legal papers anymore) why do they promise “liberty and freedom for all” if it's not for all? Why do they feel so badly towards innocent families who come here for a better life? 

I never understood why liking the same sex romantically was ever a problem, or just being yourself. Why does it matter who someone chooses to be romantically involved with when it has nothing to do with you. Why do people feel so bothered by others living their lives?

Finally, my final question; where has all the empathy and compassion gone? Why do we decide that we don't care about others because it's not us. When did we lose the ability to put ourselves in other people's shoes? You don't care to stand up when something is wrong because it's not affecting you but you know that if it was you you'd want someone to say something. 

Community can make or break the world. You can't have community if you can't feel empathy for others. We have normalized hatred and violence to the point where we don't care about  one another, to the point that the world could be turning into a modernized nazi Germany and not a soul will open their mouths to say it's wrong. My questions come from a place of genuine concern because I find myself hoping that the world ceases to exist because instead of moving forward we are moving backwards as my dad would say. But genuinely why do we not see one another as equals? Aren't we all human?