Looking at the status quo as a defense has historically not worked out well. Similar resistance and excuses were said of gay men, lesbian women, minorities (IE dark skinned people in much of the world), slavery or indentured servitude, basic women’s rights, marijuana users, mental health issues like autism, bipolar, borderline, schizophrenia, physical disabilities or deformities, and more.

Most of those instances now have first world societies with a majority of people agreeing those people deserve [near] equality and basic human respect besides. For the instances where a majority has not been reached yet across the first world (racism, religious intolerance, sexism) the trend is getting there.

That’s not how things were before. How is what you are saying any different? For all the above, people had their reasons they believed to their core and were sure the detractors like myself were wrong. As you have noted in the moment, you could use the status quo and human tendency to be conservative (not in the political right/left sense but in the general definition) and having a hard time with change to show society does not want this progress/change.

I understand you believe this time is different. But isn’t that what all the people before believed too?