The Civil Rights Movement, the Suffragette Movements, and many more movements that helped give people rights and change lives for the better all have one thing in common: they all happened before Generation Z. Many of the older generations have been calling us the “soft generation” ever since we wanted a say in this world. Is this really true? If so, were the generations before us softer than us? 

We should start looking at some of the biggest movements that we learn about in our textbooks and see how and why people were against it. One of the biggest movements kids first started learning about was the Civil Rights Movement. This movement started in the 1950’s and picked up steam during the 1960’s, with many people against it. This movement wanted to bring about the fact of how black people of all ages, sex, and occupations have been treated unequally and segregated. This was hugely controversial with many white people fighting, beating, and even killing black men and women for telling the truth of how they were treated. Many white men even joined the terrifying Ku Klux Klan, which has been fighting against equal rights for black men and women since 1865. Most black people fought peacefully by using bathrooms, water fountains, and any other places that only allowed white people to use. 

This included sit outs at diners, swimming in white only pools, and many other acts that could have gotten them killed. While there were some bad acts that led innocent people being hurt, most acts were peaceful. Many white people in powerful decisions were very against the idea of having to share public spaces with white people due to rooted racism and awful stereotypes of black people that could have been proven wrong in a second if they even met a black person.  

Another good example are the Suffragettes Movements. These movements were for getting women’s right to vote because back then, due to sexism, men refused to let them have that right.. During all three movements, they were all hated by a specific group due to not wanting to share freedom for people that were not white men. 

 I never understood the problem with being emotional or actually getting mental help. Almost everyone has had to deal with some mental health, whether that be trauma, mental illnesses running in families, or any other problems that we for decades ignored. Many men in the army during some of the bloodiest wars in history have been dismissed as crazy and unable to survive in the world due to major PTSD that they got from the wars. Wouldn’t we rather live in a world where we do not force everyone who isn’t “normal” by outdated status and ideas into an asylum rather than accommodate and get used to the idea that we are all different people? 

In my opinion, I am glad that we are more accepting of all types of people in this beautiful world. This matter is very personal due to the fact that I deal with major depression and anxiety, both types of illness that have been demonized and mistreated until these past few years. While I still have been stereotyped and told I’m not depressed due to many facts of my current life, I am still glad people are starting to take these mental illnesses and disabilities seriously.