Jack.is Empathetic: Salute to the Shunned

I salute those shunned by society.

I salute those branded outcasts, criminals, evil, unnatural, and dangerous, though they have done nothing to deserve such labels. I salute those who, despite rejection by the world at large, carry on where many would break down, whether because they must or because they are fortunate enough to be unaffected by it. I salute the shunned.

I salute the truants, who realize the futility and even the evil of compulsory education and seek to avoid if not fight it. I salute the runaways, who find themselves suffering only increasingly unbearable treatment in the one place in the world they should expect to find peace and comfort, and leave home in hopes of finding something better. I salute the young revolutionaries who, before they ruined themselves by settling down and securing themselves to the normal life, had great visions for this world and dared to act on them against overwhelming odds and opposition. I salute the shunned.

I salute the prostitutes, who seek not to deprave society, marriage, or our youth; to spread disease; or to be a blight on our streets; but only to make a living, to sustain themselves like any other person wants to. I salute the people of the many glorious sexualities and gender identities, who carry on through prejudice, harassment, rejection, and persecution. I salute all others who suffer for their harmless inclinations. I salute the shunned.

I salute the homeless, who, whether of their own will or by circumstance, found themselves outside the circle of well-fed, housed, employed, comfortable society, and dared to make it on their own, though they are supported only by passing, obligatory sympathy and oppressed by laws and societal attitudes against being down and out, or nomadic. I salute the shunned.

I salute the rebels, the vigilantes, and all revolutionaries who dare to fight injustice in their neighborhood or in their government, who give themselves to the greater cause of freedom and equality for all. I salute the shunned.

I salute the anarchists and all their variants, who dare to imagine a society that is greater than government, and are met with opposition by people who will not be bothered to understand. I salute the socialists, who dream of a society in which all needs are met, and are laughed away by people who must have it all for themselves. I salute the shunned.

I salute all those people, who have the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, to love and be loved, to seek justice, and to do what they know is right, who are struck down because they do not agree.

I salute the shunned.