Not Everything Is Infringement

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Why this essay matters

Why does asking for room look reasonable when we do it—and threatening when someone else does? J.C. Howard examines how inclusion gets recast as aggression.

Opening lines

When I ask for room to live according to my needs, I can explain the reasons. When someone unfamiliar asks for room to live according to theirs, I may begin looking for an agenda. That unequal starting point deserves attention wherever people share a workplace, a classroom, a neighborhood, or a country.

Religion is one setting for this problem. Disability, sexuality, race, cultural belonging, and political dissent provide others. The circumstances and consequences differ, sometimes profoundly. The recurring question is whether we are evaluating what people actually do or reacting to intentions we have assigned to their identity.