I find that similar arguments are often made about those of us pushing for the full equality and humanity of queer people.

First, people excuse our mistreatment in the past by saying that it was just the zeitgeist. We can't hold figures in the past responsible for what they did to persecute queer people.

But as you point out, the people in the past are dead. It doesn't matter if we criticize them or their ideas.

Except it does matter. Because what our critics really want us to do is stop criticizing people in the PRESENT. They want us to respect cultural paradigms that justify grievous persecution against us. They want us not to morally judge our persecutors.

They want us to be "nice" to those who work hard to marginalize us, or to those who passively accept that marginalization.

Well, I for one refuse to respect those who morally condemn us. I certainly refuse to be nice to them, to treat them like their views are just another garden-variety sort of disagreement.

It says something about our society that even though a majority of people in the United States actually agree that we queer people have the right to live happy, fulfilled lives — the majority are nonetheless willing to let it all slide in the name of "respect" and "can't we all just get along."

And there's even this ridiculous but quite enforced social enforced rule that it's beyond the pale to criticize religious teachings (and/or religious people) that marginalize and villify us.

The rule is that mainstream (but not so much fringe) religion is off limits, even when such religion morally condemns us in ways that will inevitably lead to our persecution and ostracization. (Like the Catholic Church's public teaching that we queer people literally depraved, disordered, and destroyers of nature.)

I never expected that this social compact of looking the other way would still be the case in the United States in 2024. But it most decidedly is — in many cases legally but also by strong social custom, and particularly in the corporate world.

Even in the upper ranks of the Medium corporation.