Even here, we are not immune. Imagine my disgust to read a certain diary today -- I'll neither link to it nor name names, but you should be able to find the diary easily should you choose to do so -- saying that we should forget about transgender folks in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act because "they haven't done the work" to gain equal rights.

They haven't done the work? Really? I don't believe that for a second, and neither does rserven, who has spent a lifetime "doing the work," but that's neither here nor there for the purposes of my diary. No, my purposes are somewhat simpler: let's try a little thought experiment.

Were you born in this country? If so, how much work did you do to earn your citizenship?

If you are a citizen above the age of 18, how much work did you do to earn your right to vote?

How much work did you do to earn the right to go to school? To work in your chosen field? To secure housing you could afford? To go for a walk in your neighborhood without being harassed for no good reason by the authorities? To choose public accommodation without fear that you will be mistreated or barred from service because of the color of your skin?

How much work did you do to earn the right to prevent the authorities from barging into your home at any time and for any reason without a warrant? To protect your right to say what you want without undue governmental interference? To practice your own religion (or lack thereof) as you see fit, and not as others would demand? To earn your right to due process?

Can we all agree that these are rights? That it is a fundamental betrayal of of the Constitution we claim to love, defend, and uphold if we deny these rights to certain classes of people for no good reason? That it would remain a betrayal even if the victims of discrimination "didn't do the work"?

That's the thing about rights -- they're not privileges. You don't have to work for them. At least, you shouldn't have to work for them. You should just get them, because that's the way it's supposed to be and because that's what the Constitution demands. And that's true even if -- and when -- we as a nation hypocritically claim that the Constitution is the basis of our laws while both overtly and covertly sneering at groups that are somehow different in some way from the majority, telling them that the Constitution doesn't really count when it comes to them.

So don't tell me that some group of people -- whether they're transgender or black or Muslim or Mexican or purple with orange polka dots -- should be allowed to languish in the effects of discrimination because "they didn't do the work." You, chances are, didn't do the work either. And so it's neither right nor fair nor just for you to enjoy rights that are denied them for no reason other than someone's bigoted discomfort.