Mad Honey

by Jodi Picoult

I think what they hate is difference. What they hate is that the world is complicated in ways they can’t understand.

How similar does someone have to be to you before you remember to see them, first, as human?

If you’re a cis woman, imagine what it would be like if you woke up tomorrow and looked in the mirror and suddenly saw a man’s body looking back at you (or vice versa). Imagine how disoriented you’d feel, and how trapped, and how confusing it would be. Imagine having to sneak the moments when you could dress or act to reflect who you truly are; imagine the ridicule at being “outed.” Imagine having to justify yourself to people simply because you were born this way. That’s a good starting point for understanding.

We are all flawed, complicated, wounded dreamers; we have more in common with one another than we don’t. Sometimes making the world a better place just involves creating space for the people who are already in it. —Jodi