i have a news feed on bloglines which gathers articles based on two google searches; transgender and transsexual. it helps me stay current with all things trans. i came across this story the other day, regarding a local trans woman in mesa, arizona, a few miles from my location.
in the first story from ktar.com, the headline from the feed reads “transsexual mesa man arrested for exposure” (emphasis mine). though the article itself is headlined “mesa transsexual arrested for exposure”. i guess ktar had to get in their digs. and the comments reflect the worst of humanity, referring to the trans woman with male pronouns, as a “freak”, confused, mentally ill, and one commenter considering themselves “fortunate to not have witnessed this news story”.
the second story from kpho channel 5 has the feed headline and article headline the same “transsexual charged with indecent exposure”.
az central.com reports the story as well, in the most objective and non-judgmental fashion.
the story itself is heartbreaking, on a few levels. i’ve encountered kendra on a message board a while back, and she’s complained about her neighbors on several occasions. the typical reports from transwomen that we’ve heard so many times in the past - childish and homophobic taunting and harassment, mostly from men who can’t seem to deal with people different from themselves. you know, the “family christian values” that members of lgbt community are accused of lacking.
not knowing the whole story, i can’t honestly make any kind of accurate assessment of the respective behaviors of each party. i can say that exposing ones self is never appropriate in our society except in a mutually consensual intimate context. and brandishing a gun, bb or otherwise, is far beyond inappropriate - guns are not toys, and even a bb gun can be deadly. but then again, we don’t really know to what level her tormentors drove her. she’s not the only person i know of to reportedly expose herself in public, nor is she the first person to recklessly brandish a weapon.
and having encountered these types of situations myself, i can understand what constant harassment of ones personhood and humanity can do to a person. and though i’d like to believe i’d never behave that way, it’s not like i’ve never surprised myself when i’m angry and upset.
Not knowing the circumstances I can not make any assumptions. I used to live in Arizona and one of my neighbors was a nudist. Come to find out that as long as he was in the confines of his own house even with the door open that he was not exposing him self. Personally I liked having him next door. His wife was mighty fine to look at. He wasn’t so bad either. OOPPSS: I am getting carried away.
Was he in a ladies room with no enclosed stall standing up to pee? If so he was no lady and should have been taken down. Never… Never use the ladies with out squatting to pee. It is very unladie like and a dead give away.
I have been living as a woman for over 60 years so for me it is the natural thing to do. I have trained myself in the manor of women that just my body language says I belong where ever I am.
I too get mad at the at the so call Christian right. Of all the predigests people in the world so called Christians are the worst. To them we are all going to hell in a hand cart. I confronted with them almost every day. They will come up to me spouting ” You are going to hell if you don’t change your ways.” I have a stock answer for that “If you die before me would you save me a seat?” Shuts them up real fast.
Comment by Oweena Scott — November 8, 2007 @ 4:01 pm