NA, OPENNESS, AND INCLUSIVITY
By: Journey Rosenbaum-Chavez Singh
Tags: Transgender, Nonbinary, Intersex, Homeless, Drug Addiction

Remember that when you’re free others still suffer!

I’ve never quite been one for surrender. Being an independent person, I despise surrendering. I think it must have something to do with my personality (INTP-A) or something. So anyway I was about to sleep last night when the shelter security said there was going to be NA. Several questions came into my mind.

What is NA? I’ve heard of CA but what is NA. I looked it up and it said it was a 12 step program. Oh brother I thought. Another question came into my mind:

Does NA have the same dreariness and cultiness that CA seemed to have? I started linking them together in my mind but soon I realized that I wasn’t being fair towards them. I knew that I had to wake up Journey and go.

After we smoked a cigarette, we went to the meeting. Due to the enforced Anonymity that NA has, I can’t talk about what anyone said or describe the people. But I can describe how it felt. As I walked in the door I realized I was at home with like minded people. we all got coffee and sat down. I felt like all the people there wanted to know more about me so they could help me on my way to recovery. I got complimented on the onesie that I was wearing. everyone told me that I was ok because I was me with or without drugs. That makes me feel a little bit better about who I am. I must figure out why this approach is so welcoming.

A Culture of Openness — A Culture of openness is where an organization or a person makes an expansive effort to be totally and utterly honest and open even if it gets us out of our comfort zone. A Culture of openness knows what’s important to the people they serve; openness requires us to sacrifice and surrender our need to control everything. A Culture of openness respects all different viewpoints even if the viewpoints are counterproductive to each other. This type of living mandates that we be honest as well as open. There is a serious relationship between openness and honesty. Openness demands honesty, because you’re never open when you lie. Honest people are open people

Culture of Inclusivity — Inclusivity is doing what’s right, which is learning to let people live their lives no matter the consequences. That is the goal of a true democracy. Inclusivity means being accepting of everyone even if that might make you uncomfortable. An open society recognizes that each person comes to the table as they are and should be welcomed for who they are. An inclusive society recognizes and respects the right of all people to practice their own religion and have their own cultural viewpoints valued. We can’t run away from the fact that we are going more and more towards and open and inclusive society. Only ever discussing one religion or viewpoint makes people that don’t share that faith or viewpoint feel excluded and less than others in the group. Instead, we should learn to value people as they are regardless of their flaws. We will never have a fully inclusive society unless we move away from the conversation of discussing equality to equity.

As a juggalo I value openness and acceptance above all things. There is nothing more important to me than being accepting. The fight for equity has been a long road for many marginalized groups. That is why America is fed up with being taken advantage of: homelessness, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ rights and women’s rights. These marginalized groups refuse to take the shit that the American government and it’s people have imposed on them. N.A. teaches us the valuable lesson of surrendering for a reason. That reason is to show us the value of getting outside yourself and being a better person by default because you will embrace the different life experiences that each person was born to bring to the conversation. We must remember who we are, why we exist, and how TrashPandaz can become a more inclusive and dynamic space.

What is the point?

We here at TrashPandaz think it’s about time for us to join together to fight for all injustice as a collective. To long have some marginalized groups gained equality on the backs of other people’s misery. Marginalized people as a whole makes up a community that numbers in the millions; if a million people marched on Washington D.C. they would have to hear our pleas and demands for equity not equality for all. We believe it’s time for all people to stand up and fight for the marginalized communities instead of ignoring or trying to fix them. Just support and accept them. That is all we need.

We will never achieve our goal of an open and accepting society if we ignore the needs, the triumphs, and the suffering of those around us. We at TrashPandaz strive to help ease the suffering in the world by getting people inspired to make a change and donate to local trusted charities. We believe that all people are valuable, useful, and worthy of a life prosperous life filled with their own joy so they can get through their own trials in a safe environment. It makes no sense why the richest country in the world can’t have housing, healthcare/death care, and a job for every American. Too long have doctors and nurses ignored my conditions because it wouldn’t be covered under Medicaid.

Take Away

Please try and help one person with a meal. Please take a picture and share it on Instagram and Pinterest. Please use the hashtag #WeareTrashPandaz.

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