(no subject)
1. Pat Robertson
I learned from a progressive news show that I watch that Pat Robertson said some surprisingly supportive things about transgendered people. He said he doesn't see SRS as a sin and that it's not for others to judge whether our gender identity is legitimate. That was pretty cool. Of course, when I went through my own transition, I was pretty surprised by the people who were actually pretty supportive and who helped me along the way. Many of them were actually pretty conservative.
Robertson's statements also highlight a grievance I had with the GLBT activist types that I met in college. I met so many people who seemed to get off on telling me that as a transperson, I'm at the bottom of some imaginary social hierarchy that they made up and that no one could possibly "accept" me. I have no idea what on earth was running through these peoples' minds that they felt it was a great idea to constantly rub in those kind of messages when I was already pretty overwhelmed by the transitioning process. But what I always believed, and what this one example goes to show, is that these stupid absolutes that people like to make about "society" don't necessarily hold true.
I definitely feel bad for the transpeople out there who are stuck with the GLB community because they have this false belief that it's the only place where they'll find understanding and acceptance. And not only that, I've alway gotten the sense that many gay and lesbians take pride in the fact that the T is at the end of the acronym, if they even care at all. But who wouldn't want to place others at the bottom of a hierarchy that they can stand above everyone? But I think it's ridiculous to claim that just because most of society is unfamiliar with the concept of transsexuality and perhaps resistant to it means that we're just some terribly oppressed species in need of gay and lesbian allies to act as our saviors. I've always found that it's just more expedient to get support from the people in the broader world that I need assistance from for trans-related problems and not to hide behind the GLB community as some sort of intermediary. And again, it's always surprising to see that people can be way more understanding than we give them credit for.
Now, I'm just holding my breath and hoping that the Christian right doesn't explode over this and try to force Robertson into recanting and taking back his words. However, I think Robertson has a good track record of holding his ground, even during times when he probably should have apologized. So I think we do have one steady ally on the right. And on a parting thought, I was really impressed by Robertson's discussion of transsexuality. I think he did a great job of explaining things to his audience. I was initially reluctant to even watch the clip because I thought he may say things that would make me cringe. But really, I think that he did a good job of showing he understands the difference between gender identity and sexual orientation, and he simply expressed his views on the matter. And he was able to do it without consulting with the GLB community for sensitivity training. lol! Anyways, while I don't expect that Christians should accept or publicly support transsexuality because they're completely entitled to their beliefs, I was pleasantly surprised by Robertson's statements.
2. When it Hits the Fan
One topic that often comes up in my circles is on expatriating from the United States in some doomsday scenario. I've sometimes entertained the idea of leaving the country myself, even if we're not faced with dire times, because there are aspects of American living that I would love to escape. For example, the cost of living is ridiculously high, and I've met many people from developing countries who have told me that I could easily improve my quality of life by just hauling a nest egg to their country. However, I realize now that even better living standards isn't enough to make me want to uproot myself to a developing country. I'm a very particular person who likes to have the things around me bent to my comfort. For me, comfort is basically anything that resembles the environment I grew up in. So I probably wouldn't do so great if I had to run off to another country with different customs, different smells, different types of cuisine, different languages, etc. When I was younger, I may have been very excited by these things, but I find as I get older, I seek to pretty much stay in my comfort zone. I actually really like America's "WASP" culture, if you can really even isolate and define such a culture, and probably couldn't hack it in a country that doesn't pattern itself similarly.
I'm fortunate that I've actually figured out how to avoid many of the things that I don't like about American life while still living in the country. When I strongly entertained the idea of expatriating, my circumstances in life were completely different. I couldn't imagine being able to get along without having to interact with society or conform to its standards. But being able to work from home, obtain free living accommodations through the generosity of my parents, and pretty much conduct daily business without being tangled up in society has completely removed any desire I have to go anywhere. Because of my zero-cost living, I actually have it better here than I would if I tried to run off for low-cost living abroad. So I'm just trying to take advantage of my current situation to set myself up in life so that I can always run independent from society and so that I can always maintain a healthy distance from the rest of the population. I consider it to be an accomplishment that I've been able to stay out of the rat race for the last three years and avoid the need to "keep up" with other people. Those are I think the two most destructive aspects of being an American. Just being able to hang out away from the crowds and go about my day as I please has done enormously good things for my self esteem and overall quality of life.
Of course, there's always that emergency scenario at the back of my mind where I would have no choice but to leave the country. This scenario is often discussed in the political circles that I follow. However, at this point, I can't imagine a scenario where I would be better off in another country than in America. For example, if our monetary system collapsed, then my money would be worthless, but it would also be worthless in Latin America, or wherever else I chose to go. There's always the argument that I could buy gold, which then could be exchanged for currency in the other country, but I don't really have the resources to pile up on gold. I also imagine that running to another country with no money would make me even more vulnerable because this country could completely slap me around since I'm not a citizen. I hope that we don't have the monetary crisis that the doomsday prophets are predicting because I don't think there will be any good solutions. I know that I wouldn't thrive in such a situation because I'm not cut out to live off the land the way that survivalists are.
I think the only reason I would run would be if the government were proactively coming after me. So if we had some sort of Nazi Germany like persecution going on, then I would flee to another country. Or I guess I don't have to get that extreme. If we had a Japanese Internment scenario here, I would just choose to get out of the country rather than putting myself in the government's hands. While I'd like to say that I can't imagine that scenario playing out, I don't think that the American public has been effective in backing the civil liberties of other Americans. I really do think that if politicians wanted to just round people up, for whatever reason, most Americans would go along with it. I mean, we already do this for people suspected of terrorism, so who knows what other groups the government will go after. I'd like to think that I'm not really a member of any group that would be singled out, but you never know. I don't really believe that there's a possibility that skinheads or white supremacists could possibly get enough influence in government to re-enact the Holocaust on a nation-wide level, so I don't think it's likely at all that we'll ever see that kind of event take shape on American soil. So if you take out racial reasons that could cause me to be targeted, I don't think I really have anything else that would cause the government to want to go after me.
Still, the whole Snowden affair has encouraged me to learn a bit about the process of seeking asylum and brain storm what I would do if I needed to take those steps. I highly doubt I will ever be in that position, but it's always a good idea to have a Plan B rather than be caught off guard. Still, no matter what happens in the U.S., I would prefer to cope within the country. I just can't imagine a scenario that would be so severe that I would need to flee. And even if we had some serious problems, I can't see the hassle of uprooting pay off in the long run.
I learned from a progressive news show that I watch that Pat Robertson said some surprisingly supportive things about transgendered people. He said he doesn't see SRS as a sin and that it's not for others to judge whether our gender identity is legitimate. That was pretty cool. Of course, when I went through my own transition, I was pretty surprised by the people who were actually pretty supportive and who helped me along the way. Many of them were actually pretty conservative.
Robertson's statements also highlight a grievance I had with the GLBT activist types that I met in college. I met so many people who seemed to get off on telling me that as a transperson, I'm at the bottom of some imaginary social hierarchy that they made up and that no one could possibly "accept" me. I have no idea what on earth was running through these peoples' minds that they felt it was a great idea to constantly rub in those kind of messages when I was already pretty overwhelmed by the transitioning process. But what I always believed, and what this one example goes to show, is that these stupid absolutes that people like to make about "society" don't necessarily hold true.
I definitely feel bad for the transpeople out there who are stuck with the GLB community because they have this false belief that it's the only place where they'll find understanding and acceptance. And not only that, I've alway gotten the sense that many gay and lesbians take pride in the fact that the T is at the end of the acronym, if they even care at all. But who wouldn't want to place others at the bottom of a hierarchy that they can stand above everyone? But I think it's ridiculous to claim that just because most of society is unfamiliar with the concept of transsexuality and perhaps resistant to it means that we're just some terribly oppressed species in need of gay and lesbian allies to act as our saviors. I've always found that it's just more expedient to get support from the people in the broader world that I need assistance from for trans-related problems and not to hide behind the GLB community as some sort of intermediary. And again, it's always surprising to see that people can be way more understanding than we give them credit for.
Now, I'm just holding my breath and hoping that the Christian right doesn't explode over this and try to force Robertson into recanting and taking back his words. However, I think Robertson has a good track record of holding his ground, even during times when he probably should have apologized. So I think we do have one steady ally on the right. And on a parting thought, I was really impressed by Robertson's discussion of transsexuality. I think he did a great job of explaining things to his audience. I was initially reluctant to even watch the clip because I thought he may say things that would make me cringe. But really, I think that he did a good job of showing he understands the difference between gender identity and sexual orientation, and he simply expressed his views on the matter. And he was able to do it without consulting with the GLB community for sensitivity training. lol! Anyways, while I don't expect that Christians should accept or publicly support transsexuality because they're completely entitled to their beliefs, I was pleasantly surprised by Robertson's statements.
2. When it Hits the Fan
One topic that often comes up in my circles is on expatriating from the United States in some doomsday scenario. I've sometimes entertained the idea of leaving the country myself, even if we're not faced with dire times, because there are aspects of American living that I would love to escape. For example, the cost of living is ridiculously high, and I've met many people from developing countries who have told me that I could easily improve my quality of life by just hauling a nest egg to their country. However, I realize now that even better living standards isn't enough to make me want to uproot myself to a developing country. I'm a very particular person who likes to have the things around me bent to my comfort. For me, comfort is basically anything that resembles the environment I grew up in. So I probably wouldn't do so great if I had to run off to another country with different customs, different smells, different types of cuisine, different languages, etc. When I was younger, I may have been very excited by these things, but I find as I get older, I seek to pretty much stay in my comfort zone. I actually really like America's "WASP" culture, if you can really even isolate and define such a culture, and probably couldn't hack it in a country that doesn't pattern itself similarly.
I'm fortunate that I've actually figured out how to avoid many of the things that I don't like about American life while still living in the country. When I strongly entertained the idea of expatriating, my circumstances in life were completely different. I couldn't imagine being able to get along without having to interact with society or conform to its standards. But being able to work from home, obtain free living accommodations through the generosity of my parents, and pretty much conduct daily business without being tangled up in society has completely removed any desire I have to go anywhere. Because of my zero-cost living, I actually have it better here than I would if I tried to run off for low-cost living abroad. So I'm just trying to take advantage of my current situation to set myself up in life so that I can always run independent from society and so that I can always maintain a healthy distance from the rest of the population. I consider it to be an accomplishment that I've been able to stay out of the rat race for the last three years and avoid the need to "keep up" with other people. Those are I think the two most destructive aspects of being an American. Just being able to hang out away from the crowds and go about my day as I please has done enormously good things for my self esteem and overall quality of life.
Of course, there's always that emergency scenario at the back of my mind where I would have no choice but to leave the country. This scenario is often discussed in the political circles that I follow. However, at this point, I can't imagine a scenario where I would be better off in another country than in America. For example, if our monetary system collapsed, then my money would be worthless, but it would also be worthless in Latin America, or wherever else I chose to go. There's always the argument that I could buy gold, which then could be exchanged for currency in the other country, but I don't really have the resources to pile up on gold. I also imagine that running to another country with no money would make me even more vulnerable because this country could completely slap me around since I'm not a citizen. I hope that we don't have the monetary crisis that the doomsday prophets are predicting because I don't think there will be any good solutions. I know that I wouldn't thrive in such a situation because I'm not cut out to live off the land the way that survivalists are.
I think the only reason I would run would be if the government were proactively coming after me. So if we had some sort of Nazi Germany like persecution going on, then I would flee to another country. Or I guess I don't have to get that extreme. If we had a Japanese Internment scenario here, I would just choose to get out of the country rather than putting myself in the government's hands. While I'd like to say that I can't imagine that scenario playing out, I don't think that the American public has been effective in backing the civil liberties of other Americans. I really do think that if politicians wanted to just round people up, for whatever reason, most Americans would go along with it. I mean, we already do this for people suspected of terrorism, so who knows what other groups the government will go after. I'd like to think that I'm not really a member of any group that would be singled out, but you never know. I don't really believe that there's a possibility that skinheads or white supremacists could possibly get enough influence in government to re-enact the Holocaust on a nation-wide level, so I don't think it's likely at all that we'll ever see that kind of event take shape on American soil. So if you take out racial reasons that could cause me to be targeted, I don't think I really have anything else that would cause the government to want to go after me.
Still, the whole Snowden affair has encouraged me to learn a bit about the process of seeking asylum and brain storm what I would do if I needed to take those steps. I highly doubt I will ever be in that position, but it's always a good idea to have a Plan B rather than be caught off guard. Still, no matter what happens in the U.S., I would prefer to cope within the country. I just can't imagine a scenario that would be so severe that I would need to flee. And even if we had some serious problems, I can't see the hassle of uprooting pay off in the long run.