Mean People Suck: The Conservative war against transgender people
When you believe transgender lives have no value, you can use the power of the State to bully the transgender community
Whenever I'm in the middle of conformity, surrounded by oneness of mind with people oozing concurrence on every side, I get scared. And when I find myself agreeing with everybody, too, I get terrified.
P.J. O'Rourke, Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government
I’m still unsure how this has come about, but speaking out in support of transgender people seems to have evolved into my cause du jour. I’ve long supported the LGBTQ community- I have gay, lesbian, and bisexual friends, coworkers, and acquaintances I love and support wholeheartedly. But I don’t know that I know more than one or two people who are transgender.
I’m trying to educate myself, and what I’m learning about what transgender people face these days leaves me cold. First of all, we’re talking about less than 1% of the total population of the US. The transgender population is barely large enough to pose a threat to themselves, much less anyone else.
Second, Conservatives have targeted them precisely BECAUSE they’re a small community with no voice. Red state lawmakers have singled out transgender people for special “attention” because they’re easy to demonize and oppress.
That’s what bullies do.
This brings me to one of the things that gets me to spring into action more than anything else:
MEAN PEOPLE SUCK. And mean people with the power to pass legislation suck donkey balls.
I was bullied in junior high school during my 7th- and 8th-grade years. That experience has left me with an abiding hatred of bullies and those adults who look the other way. In my case, some adults knew what was happening, and instead of stepping in to protect me, they walked away and/or looked the other direction.
Bullies don’t operate in a vacuum. They require the tacit permission of people in authority to prey on smaller and/or weaker people. What red-state legislatures and Governors are doing to transgender children (and adults, in some cases) is little more than state-sanctioned bullying. Instead of following accepted medical practices shown to reduce the risk of suicide among transgender youth, red-state legislators have shown they don’t care.
So much for being pro-life.
When you believe transgender lives have no value, you pass laws that confirm that belief. When you don’t know anyone who’s transgender, they’re an abstract concept and easy to demonize. It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that transgender people are people like you and me. Outside of their gender transition, they’re like anyone else. They have dreams and aspirations. They have bucket lists. They have bills to pay and obligations to meet.
More than anything, they have lives they wish to live undisturbed. They want to live without being subjected to the awful abuse, bigotry, and hatred directed at them by people who know nothing about them. All the haters and bigots know is that the person they hate is transgender; they know nothing of the inner person. It’s sad, but they’re willing to hate someone because of one small aspect of that whole person.
How do we combat such senseless hatred and bigotry? I’m hardly an expert on this subject, but education is always the best way to combat ignorance. I began by following Plastic Martyr on Instagram, who’s made videos discussing virtually every aspect of her transition. Her openness has opened my mind about transitioning, exponentially increasing my admiration for those undertaking that journey.
Plastic Martyr (not her real name, of course) was fortunate to grow up in a loving and supportive environment, which made her decision to transition far less traumatic than it might otherwise have been. Too many children don’t grow up in a supportive environment and encounter rejection, anger, and ignorance.
Sadly, the rights of transgender children represent the hill Conservatives have chosen to die on. Then again, it makes sense when you realize the Republican Party has no ideas to sell to Americans. All they have is hatred, bigotry, and the fear of what they can’t be bothered to understand.
The Party of Small Government has decided that because they can’t understand the desire (or need) some children feel to transition, they’re within their rights to reject it outright as “sick,” “perverted,” and “unnatural.” Their argument that “God doesn’t make mistakes” is absurd because that’s never been the argument of those seeking to transition. People transition for myriad reasons, most fully understood only by those seeking to transition.
The bottom line is that it shouldn’t be up to someone else to give a thumbs-up or -down. No one who isn’t the person wishing to transition should have veto power. There’s no way to put ourselves in that person's shoes and fully understand their reasoning or where they are emotionally.
I’ll confess that I don’t understand transgender people or their reasons for transitioning. Then again, I don’t have to. The only thing required of me is that I support their decision…and if I don’t, that I keep my mouth shut. Free speech rights being what they are, we’re all free to our opinions, but opinions, once voiced, aren’t necessarily free of consequences. One is free to think what they will of what someone else decides to do with their life, but not necessarily to broadcast those thoughts.
It’s like the man once said- if you can’t say something nice, keep your damned mouth shut. There’s enough pain and suffering without you adding to the oversupply.
Why not do the kind and compassionate thing and support someone who’s decided to transition? It’s a long, challenging, and often painful process. It can be emotionally trying, physically draining, and the source of much psychic pain and suffering. A little kindness and compassion can go a long way and will cost you nothing.
That anyone would subject themselves to such a process to become the person they genuinely believe themselves to be is awe-inspiring. And it takes a level of commitment and endurance that few would tolerate.
Subjecting these people to the whims of mean people who’d like nothing more than legislating them out of existence seems unconscionable. That these mean people too often cite their “Christian faith” as the source of their opposition to transgender people is the height of arrogance and hypocrisy.
Persecuting transgender youth is precisely what Jesus would do, eh?
(‘Tis better to be thought a fool and a transphobe than to be Carlos Santana and remove any lingering doubt.)
Jesus never preached against transgender people. He did, however, preach against hypocrisy, arrogance, ignorance, and oppression. Of course, these “Christians” have long proven themselves willing and able to cherry-pick Scripture to justify their hypocrisy, vanity, and self-righteousness.
Too many people devote far too much time and energy to making life miserable for a small segment of the population that poses no threat to them. Because if they couldn’t make people suffer, they wouldn’t be able to feel good about themselves.
MEAN PEOPLE SUCK.
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