Something to Think About

[jamie]

no one should be hurt and especially not killed for being themselves- There is a war inside all of us between good and evil- unfortunately, evil wins out in some people's soul so that they have to "control" others even if it means maining and killing them- I feel it begins in the school play yard and progresses on, sometimes unchecked and even encouraged, until it results in lost of life..may we, all, have peace and compassion in our souls and heart..

[TheSkronkDonkey]

Thoughtful responses so far, I think.

Thanks for posting these links, Bionca.

It isn't all fun and games here -- not by a long shot.

In fact, lately, I've been wondering if the "titillation" and "serious" trans topics should be completely separated. I'm not sure it's doing the site or people looking for deep discussion any good to have things like this and threads like "Massive Load" in the same forum. I hope I don't sound too segregationist.

In any case, stay safe, Bionca, and everyone else. I'm against violence in any form -- physical abuse, verbal bullying, discrimination, you name it. There is a *lot* of hatred and ignorance in our world. Society needs to change, at a fundamental level. I'll finish with the wise words of Carl Sagan: "Fundamental changes in society are sometimes labeled impractical or contrary to human nature: as if nuclear war [or any oppressive force] were practical or as if there were only one human nature."

[Bionca]

One thing I like about the site is the variety of topics. Unlike some sites where any "serious" discussion gets overlooked our dismissed or where any discussion of sexuality gets blasted as "inappropriate"; we have a decent mix here. One of my first posts was a how-to on cleaning the anus for anal sex. Ths would have been totally shredded on some places where I have posted.

I like being able to talk about the full range of things that affect me as a trans*woman and to be able to share this with guys who love/date/fuck/admire gals like me. Generally, the "serious" topics happen in places where guys don't frequent, so they don't get to read very important parts of what it is to be a Trans* woman.

[Bionca]

Originally Posted by jamie

no one should be hurt and especially not killed for being themselves- There is a war inside all of us between good and evil- unfortunately, evil wins out in some people's soul so that they have to "control" others even if it means maining and killing them- I feel it begins in the school play yard and progresses on, sometimes unchecked and even encouraged, until it results in lost of life..may we, all, have peace and compassion in our souls and heart..

Exactly!

Kids are encouraged to "other" people who are not like them. Parents are so often to blame, but also the messages we send as a society compound this by not challenging the assumptions kids have or are fed by parents. To bring this back to the specific topic, in nearly every case where a trans* murder is reported, the media reports the woman as a man - provides the victem's birth name, with their lived name provided like it was a nickname Fred "Michelle" Smith (for example). Male pronouns are used, and there is always either the assumption that she worked as a prostitute, or that she deceived her murderer. The victem becomes partly to blame, and by default the murderer is less to blame. If the reporters can't get this right, then parents can't educate their children and a new generation of kids grows up with false assumptions and feeds their children the same information.