True Blue Texan

Monday, August 31, 2009

And the march of the "progress" continues...

The Smith-Cotton High School Marching Band came up with this t-shirt for the new school year. Seems they forgot to run past the "author-i-ties" that be. It's been pulled. All students have had to return their t-shirts. The anonymous donor that was going to pay for half of the $700 fee to make the shirts, refused to pay upon learning of the design. They're having to start again and get "proper" approval.

I don't know about you, but this pisses me off. Think Progress has an article here that you can use as a jumping off point to find out more information. One commenter at the local newspaper suggested that the band put the shirts up on Ebay since many people from near and far have said they'd buy one. So would I.

Just to be perfectly clear. Evolution is science. Creationism is religion. One should be taught in schools and the other in church.

The phone number for the school is (660) 829-6300. Their address is 312 E Broadway, Sedalia, MO, 65301. Let them know you'd buy a shirt or two.

And remind them that evolution is not religion and although the school district may have a policy that requires them to remain neutral on religion it doesn't apply.

Bad Blogger! Bad!

Not Blogger with a capital B and one of those little trademark thingies. Bad blogger as in I have been a bad blogger of late. I even signed up for NaBloPoMo again and couldn't even manage to fake it. As in 30 posts in 30 days, or 31 as the case may be.

Lots of stuff going on. Busy at work with no time to post. Weird mammogram results that led to a ultrasound that led to a biopsy that led to the doctor scratching her head that led to a self-diagnosis of a progression of my lymphedema. Whee! Plus there is only so many times I can go the health care reform well before it runs dry. I am outta of new stuff to say about it and absurdly grateful that my current insurance seems to be actually working.

So, rather than burden you with my depressing views on the non-movement/status quo/ruled by the purse-strings crap fest that is health care reform in this country, I'm going to redirect my time and tackle transgender and LGBT issues instead.

I read an interesting article this weekend that I thought I'd share. An article on OregonLive.com discussed one Rev. David Weekly and his coming out to his congregation as a transman. Weekly transitioned before becoming an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. Called to a religious life at a young age, he also knew he was male even as a child. There are no reports that his congregation has reacted with anything but but support.

The same can't be said of the commentary at Oregonlive.com. It's harsh. It's fed by ignorance. And it's all too typical of what the trans community faces on a daily basis.

Though Weekly is quoted as saying, "I am a man in some ways different from other men," he said. "But most people are different from other people in some way. And God still loves us." Many of the commenters on the website can't see this obvious truth.

I won't reprint any of the comments here; I'll let you go read for yourself. But they are classic examples of what you'll find on the comments of ANY mainstream online story about transgender people. These are actually more tame and generally refrain from the use of vulgarities and profanities that I've seen in other places.

I believe that we will eventually find that all LGBT people are represented on the genetic spectrum. Meaning, it is not a "lifestyle choice" but something that is genetically inherent in who they are. In truth, there is a great deal about the human body and development that we know next to nothing about. We've only had the human genome mapped for less than a decade. There are huge portions of it that we have no idea what it does, what it controls or influences or if it's even just filler.

For now, we must work on accepting the great diversity that is the human race. Singling out someone for ridicule and hatred simply because they're different is the action of a child.

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." 1Corinthians 13:11.

It's time to put away our childish prurience and learn to recognize the essential humanity in those around us no matter how different they may seem. Rev. David Weekly took a courageous step in revealing such a personal aspect of himself to his congregation. I wish him every continued success.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Tyli'a Mack

Once again there has been another murder of a transgender person; this time in Washington, D.C. It took a while for me to find information that her correct name. Thanks to Matt Kailey at the Houston Examiner.

Tyli'a and another transwoman were attacked near the Transgender Health Empowerment offices in D.C. Her companion was injured, but survived. Police are looking into the possibility that this has a bias crime after the survivor reported that her attacker used homophobic language.

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs recently released a report that shows that the incidence of violent crimes against LGBTs continues to rise, up 2% nationally. Whether this represents an actual increase in the numbers of violent crimes against LGBT or an increase in the reporting of these crimes is unclear. Either way, the numbers are staggering. Questioning Transphobia has a post reviewing recent studies that show that ever third day and trans person is murdered somewhere in the world.

An $25,000 reward has been offered for more information regarding the murder and assault in Washington, D.C. Let's hope that the incentive of this much money brings a quick resolution to this crime.

And as an aside, the reason it was so difficult for me to find the correct name of the victim was due to sloppy reporting by local media and the police. The police are a separate issue, but the media only has to turn to the AP Stylebook to find the correct way to address this issue. It has clear guidelines. A transgender person should be referred to by the name they use and the pronoun that best represents their presentation. Even if the individual in question can't or won't give a reporter this kind of information, they can use the pronoun associated with their presentation. So if Tyli'a dressed as a woman and called herself Tyli'a and not Joshua, then the local media should have picked up on this. They need to have their errors pointed out and issue corrections.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

In Memorium

Weird Wednesday will be back next week. I have no heart for chasing down the weirdness with the news of Senator Ted Kennedy's death.

There is little I can add to the general outpouring in regards to Kennedy. He was flawed, certainly, but he was also great. I hope that the Senate can rally around his memory and make serious progress on health care reform. This was Ted Kennedy's cause and if we gain nothing else from his passing, let it be this.

Friday, August 21, 2009

The Power of Words

There's been lots of words tossed about of late. Most of them have been used out of context and to inflame. We all know what they are. They're designed to bring up images and memories of the worst that humanity has to offer. Those that use them forget that by doing so they diminish the memory of those who fought against the real evils in this world.

AKMuckracker over at the Mudflats has a piece that sums this up so well. I encourage you to read it and to remember your history whenever you hear the President compared to Hitler or his policies to Nazism. Using these words for political gain cheapens them and makes the impact they should impart much less.

Remember what the Nazis did, the lives they destroyed, the evil they perpetrated. Obama is not Hitler. Health care reform is not fascism or Nazism.

These comparisons are an insult to the men and women who fought and died, who spent time as prisoners of war and the millions who died at the hands of the Nazis. We must never forget that true evil walked the earth 64 years ago and was defeated at terrible cost.