Jeez, get worn out, take a break, and the whole world changes. ;-)
I do not see Bruce Jenner (Now Caitlyn) as "brave" in the sense that multiple other groups ARE brave in.
Combat troops.
Teens or younger, who come out to unknowledgeable and maybe unsupportive parents - and thus have no chance to grow and even live, in some cases.
Anyone "different" born to such parents.
Which is also part of the issue with the whole "religious" bit - MOST are nutcases when examined; the rest are useful idiots.... (As Marx termed them, mind...)
Truth is, several of the things we think of as "major advances" in freedom are, in fact, NOT. Brown v. Board of Education; Miranda; Income Tax; Social Security; Obamacare. SSN was supposed to be a secret; now, more people know my SSN than know me.
Miranda DID ensure we were notified of our right; it also made legal the Inquisitorial, aka Star Chamber, method of interrogation. I.E., you can be informed of your Miranda rights - which then means anything you say is in fact "voluntary." Even if you sign a confession after 15 hours straight interrogation a la the "third degree."
Brown v. BoE enforced integration, claiming that separate was inherently unequal. However, it mandated the mixing, proclaiming all would be equal - and in so doing, destroyed the schools. "If the black man cannot succeed, it is now his OWN fault." (So, you want to talk institutional racism, you've now made it legal... Because if he fails, it's his own inherent inability that's holding him back, NOT because we're racist.) I.E., there's a presumption in there... Like how women will wear pants for sexual gratification, to riff of a posting up a bit here.
Part of the problem, and the reason I basically want to be left alone, and therefore require the ability to FORCE people to leave me alone (preferably a double-stack 1911 style) - is because many people cannot understand or tolerate such a lifestyle You MUST accept our god(s), our traditions (e.g., human sacrifice, or ritualized cannibalism... "For who so eats my flesh, and drinks my blood..." Or, just as easily, the Indian thugee religion, of sacrificing a willing victim to Kali by strangling. Note, WILLING - and also, it echoes Christ's "sacrifice" - who knew he would rise on the third day, s hat was the sacrifice...? but I digress. Willing victim, again. The Thuggee were wiped out by the British. Because human sacrifice is wrong, Mkay?
)
As to whether or not Caitlyn should be able to wear what she wants, when she wants - Yes! I should be allowed to wear a skirt, and not even bother with shaving my legs, hose, heels, or anything else! (And I mean skirt, not kilt, though _I_ can't discern a difference...) I do understand, too, the "reasons" women shouldn't wear pants... Didn't make sense overall, BUT: It draws attention to the crotch. Makes it a focal point. Whereas a dress or skirt draws attention to the curves, the womanly appearance. But it's not practical in many cases, e.g., Pony Express, factory floors, ships, riding (I don't need to try sidesaddle to know it's effing stupid.) Even the low bar bicycle is meant to accommodate skirts....
Now, the Caitlyn transition was ripped apart by Crowder, I think it is - Louder with Crowder? Something like. Anyway, made the whole build-up about how Caitlyn was trying to say Genders (used interchangeably with sex. :-P ) don't matter, so a man can be a woman, a woman can be a man, a woman can have a penis and a man can have a vagina... Completely wrong, but not going to be able to change that one's mind. (Like the Left, the Right is frequently right on certain topics. It's the overall that always means they're BOTH wrong.)
If, in fact, Gender (sex) were mutable - changeable - then Why the F#%$ would we care? We just wear a dress one day, and pants the next. (Hey, isn't that what women do now...? Anyway.) The whole POINT of Femulating (to borrow a term from Stana) is to Emulate the grace, poise, beauty, composure, and strength of women.
Something most WOMEN can't be bothered with.... Note the casualness of the clothing. Unless a lawyer or high exec, most women don't dress for work. And clubbing or bar hopping, they look like sluts. You almost want to ask, "How much?" (So much classier than the "DTF!" call from Jersey Shore, right...?)
They don't need to wear crinolines and corsets, but if the skirt is so short you can see their thong...? Or the blouse so sheer you can see her bra? Hmmm. Not classy.
I can't speak for everyone, but I want to be beautiful - and men are utilitarian. Meant for brute strength and single-minded processing. Objective: Exceeded. Enemy: Killed. Target: Eliminated.
Whereas - who has seen a mother cooking, while watching the children, and carrying on a conversation with her girlfriend or mother, all at once? Juggling all tasks, not dropping a single one? (And they can do it in the office, too.)
{Side note: We switch gears so many times during the day in my office, I don't have a clue any more which way is up. The tranny is stripped. Clutch melted down a few years back...}
I don't want to emulate Pink's punk style, and I don't think most of us find it attractive in a lot of ways. (Of note, women can get more leeway because they're seen as less of a threat; when they're punks, as in the old-school usage, they're mostly "bratty" to Joe Schmo. Even if they can kick his @$$ without breaking a sweat. But do you want to react with a, "There, there." type response to a 6' 180# guy with a 12" mohawk in rainbow colors? Or is it more like, "Better back off, boy!" ? And 180 isn't large, we know. )
Girls with sleeves, tats all over, especially the face...? Dermal implants? Hey, their choice. But it turns it's back on the whole concept of femininity. These females have decided to embrace shows of strength. That is their right! But, it's not what we -who generally could KO them with limited or no effort - want to emulate, generally. Had that "privilege" for the last 40 years. Need to get a certified response out to a real estate company ASAP, for example, and - well, the "strong, independent, I don't need no man" SO can't be bothered. This is the woman who checks the account three times a day at least, and gets notifications on her phone of every purchase. but if they take her to court, well, she'll make them change their mind... (How? I guess I better get back to work and earn money to pay that lawyer... )
As for BS like "gay rights," the big one seems to be "marriage." 1. Marriage is meant to make a stable environment for children. Gays don't exactly fit that, because their union won't produce children.
2. WTF is the purpose of getting government involved? Why, to ensure that a marriage is a THREE WAY contract, of course! ([said with a good southron accent] And to keep those niggers from marryin' good white folk. /accent But I digress. However, miscegenation was the reason for the marriage license and the blood test. blood test also ensured you weren't TOO close in relations - IE, no first cousins.)
The government got involved because "evil men" were leaving their "faithful wives" (long suffering angels) and leaving them with NOTHING... The poor dears were DESTITUTE.... (sob, sob.)
So someone had to DO SOMETHING... And like any good prostitute, law makers stepped up, and destroyed EVERY man for what a FEW might have done. MIGHT have done.
Further, there's common law marriage. I've stayed away from common law states for that very reason, but found it may not matter. GIRLFRIENDS are being awarded palimony, I think it's called...
And the government collects, you better believe. Whenever it can. WHATever it can.
I don't think Bruce "hurt the cause." I don't see a cause. We're either free - or not free. People can CHOOSE to see us as freaks. Or they can CHOOSE to know us. They CANNOT choose to stone us, or knife us, or drag us to death behind a car.... Etc.
The reason doesn't matter, the crime is what matters.
We do run into the problem of, "a whore can't be raped," true. (I.E., a streetwalker may be ignored by the police because they think she's making it up - she got stiffed on payment, wants payback.) But p0rn certainly adds to that "elan" (pardon twisting the term). "traps", "she-males", "sissies," twinks (technically gay male bottoms), probably a lot more. (And I left out transvestite intentionally.)
It's like Jerry Springer all the time... Not so much Brandon Teena.
But unlike us, Bruce can choose to be Caitlyn in a near-perfect presentation. Afford the surgeries on her own dime. and afford to live in isolation if she chooses, including going to Thailand or to Netherlands or to someplace else where NO ONE WILL CARE....
We shop at second-hand stores, try to make our SOs satisfied, try to put it off, try to avoid it, try to reason with it, bargain with it, hide it, treat it like drinking or gambling.... And at the same time, we have concerns of raising children, dealing with our parents, and STILL have the wackos out there who will attack us "just because." (Welcome to life as a woman, sort of... ;-) )
Bruce had several children with different women. Stayed wealthy the whole time, and then married into money. (If that even matters...) And now has a new income source, too, to offset costs we can't even scrimp and save for.
(No joke, first thing I thought when I got my inheritance from my grandparent's estate was, "I can transition!" Then I put it towards education so I could make more money and afford the transition, and also be so valuable to the company no one would care. 15 years later, I don't have the degree and I don't have the money, ANY of the inheritance or MY money left. And a woman who wants to control me. Maybe no one should listen to me, ya know? Downpayment on a house? Me. Payments on her car? Me. Pay for the daughter, the custody battle? Me. Give up my bike, sell the other bike, drive my car into the ground, pay both our insurance, medical bills, etc, etc, etc. Pay for her to make a business which never made a SALE, forget got out of the red.... Yeah. Anyway.) Piece by piece, we've ALL been there.
Except Bruce / Caitlyn. The Olympics weren't easy, I'm sure. Lots of training, lots of dedication. I did similar in other areas. The obsessiveness allows us to hide our weakness, our perceived flaw.
I can't arrange $100/month for the meds.
Can't take over the financial concerns (it's a shambles, and long story short, we're constantly robbing peter to pay Paul so we can pay John next week so we can rob Thomas to bribe Peter the week after. I've done it before, and faced all SORTS of problems there. )
I don't begrudge her her success; I see the word "brave" applied too cavalierly. E.G., there was a young girl who managed her scholastic career, her sports involvement, AND her cancer - and she did NOT get any awards, even posthumously.
Caitlyn gets to live a pampered life, in essence, because she CAN spend enough to pass.
I won't pass in a dark room with a blind man, who must rely on his eyes alone...
Probably ever.
So, "Brave" not so much. visible, might've helped that way, but Chelsea Manning comes to mind, too... What about Edward Snowden? He KNEW he'd be branded a traitor.... Did it anyway. And the NSA is STILL recording all we do, Panopticon is still underway, we're all still deviants... Etc.
BTW, for more on the law "as it's supposed to be" :
http://lawcomic.net
I've been working my way through, The lawyer who does it is presenting things well - but still believes in the system.
Lastly, I'm NOT a libertarian. Can't be, I believe in protecting myself aggressively. Someone walks up to me with a gun pointed at me, I believe in killing them. A state-issued badge is irrelevant, especially these days. The gun is for lethal force, which is employed when someone doesn't bend over and spread'em fast enough for the authoritarians. It's not there for show, it's for projecting power. And the cops have no duty of care to any of us - they can legally wait outside until the perp leaves, for "occifer safety." (It's a decision by SCOTUS, BTW.)
They also need not know the law. Nor do they need to follow the gun laws we mere mundanes are subject to, nor are they held accountable as we are.
Uniform or no, badge or no, a thug is a thug. Should be treated as such. And they don't come to talk to me for fun.... So, since they'll be protected by color of law regardless - pro-active defence and headshots are preferred.
Somehow, I didn't see the iceberg coming in the relationship side, but it's going to be resolved soon. MUST be, for my own sanity.
. I guess I'll just leave this thread. I guess I'll just stop having opinions on here
