A big part of the centrist dream is to move past the “Republican” and “Democrat” labels. In a perfect world, we would be able to look past these labels. But we live in a world where racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia are a thing.

I’m not saying all these bad things exist because of the Republican party, but they also have been creating policies that are detrimental to these marginalized groups.

Of course, all the “isms” and “phobias” aren’t just isolated to the Republican party. A lot of Democrats can also express dangerous ideas towards marginalized groups. As you can imagine, this can be very confusing for a marginalized person.

Not all Republicans hate me, but they make policies that take away my basic human rights. Not all Democrats like me, but they make policies that protect my basic human rights. What gives?

Maybe it is unfair to make judgement calls based off widely held misconceptions about a certain group of people–oh wait–isn’t that what these political parties do to marginalized people all the time?

I know it must be hard having people be cautious of you because of beliefs you might hold, but you need to understand it is for our safety.

As a marginalized person, you need to approach any situation with caution. You have to police what you say in case anyone around you may be racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic. Particular everyday situations can be extremely dangerous in our current political climate.

It’s easy to say “don’t judge people based on their political party” when you’re part of the majority. When you’ve never been threatened the way a marginalized person has, it’s as easy as pie to “push politics aside.”

Is this even really about politics? When your “politics” deny a person’s humanity and attempt to destroy the livelihood of a marginalized person, it’s no longer politics– it’s an issue with your morality.

So when you say that politics aren’t a valid reason to unfriend someone, you’re sorely mistaken. As a marginalized person, I am cutting people out of my life because their morals are so out of line that they think people like me shouldn’t be allowed to breathe. As a Mexican-American woman, certain people will look at me and deny my humanity. Isn’t it reasonable that I should remove these people from my life?

Even though the Us vs Them mentality is harmful, that’s is our reality. It’s Us, the minorities, vs Them, the people who work to see us suffer.

How to we get rid of this toxicity in politics? Stop being racist. Stop being sexist. Stop being Homophobic. Stop being transphobic. Stop giving bigots platforms to spread their hate. It’s really not that deep. You can’t just treat marginalized people like crap then expect not to face consequences for it.

If you want to see an end to “civil unrest,” stop disrespecting our existence while expecting us to just lay down and take it.

If you as a perfect centrist want our country to be a better place, the change needs to start with you.