Subj : This is spirited -- I'm placing the sh-- pot, grab a stick & start stir To : All From : George Pope Date : Thu Jun 02 2022 15:50:24 I was on Quora today, & this is one answer I gave that I thought might suit starting some conversations in Fido again (I miss when every echo had new content every week at least!) This was in reply to someone (F2M intent, but no plans for surgery yet) asking about how trans people are treated in society. My oh-so-controversial stance is that people are people dammit, & nobody deserves abuse! [regarding someone using the wrong gender pronoun] ItÆs just like if you see a baby in a stroller & say, ôIsnÆt he cute!ö to the parent(or nanny) & they say, ôItÆs a SHE!ö &so you use ôshe" from then on. . . ItÆs up to those who are transgender in any way, to not take quick offense at innocent misusing of their preferred terms, even if it seems everyone is getting it wrong & youÆre frustrated as all get out ù just smile sweetly & correct them, ôIÆm a guy, please address me as such.ö Or, if theyÆve begun the interaction rudely, reply, like a guy would, ôDOES THIS LOOK LIKE A F**KING DRESS TO YOU, MORON?ö I was confused by a neighbour who would give me a different name different times seeing them. I checked with our mutual friend, who let me know I wasn't going goofy in the head, they are gender fluid & some days are named ôherö & others ôhimö but they preferötheyö mainly unless they say otherwise. So, in this case, it was my business, insofar as it was affecting my mind & emotions negatively,. so I was discreet in finding out why IÆm confused, by asking the mutual friend whom I knew well enough to know sheÆd be kind to both of us in her answers. So now when I see this person, I might ask, ôSorry for my bad memory, whatÆs your name again?ö which I say to most people since my massive CVA, so IÆm in no way singling them out or treating them differently for being of gender fluidity ù I still donÆt much understand their situation and how the gender de jour is determined, but thatÆs okay, because itÆs not my business to go that deep into their personality, anyway. If we grow into friends (possible ù theyÆre nice enough a person to qualify) they may reveal more to me in their timing, or notù not my concern ù the issue I legitimately had was settled, & beyond that, I STFU & just be a good neighbour & civil citizenm meaning, as Mama taught: MYOB! IÆm pretty good at that, over the years of practice IÆve had, &, if I EVER see a gang grabbing a transgender person, & attempting to rip their pants off, to inspect genitalia(apparently it happens!) or for ANY reason, I WILL be in there hard & fast, & there will be damages done to the perpetrators, same as if I witness an attempted sexual assault, or mugging. I donÆt need to be young & in peak physical shape to take down arseholes pulling bad stuff on the weak vulnerable. (one attacked by several; = weak AND vulnerable, so IÆll be evening the score & moving the odds to their(our) favour in stopping the assault. I never go after someone in revenge, but I will intervene when some thing happens in front of me. IÆll put my age & experience against a few far younger thugs, any day, & expect to win. WhatÆs ôonly the minimum level of defense necessaryö, exactly? I expected that my helping their intended victim would greatly piss them off, so theyÆd be more ferocious & willing to go to greater than normal extremes to finish their attack, including removing me as a factor hard & quickly, so I will defend their victim & myself to the degree _I_ feel is necessary to ensure our safety until the police take their time(possibly, if busy elsewhere) actually arriving, & to ensure the perps are there to be arrested & charged. (Ideally, but IÆm not responsible if they are constitutionally weak & donÆt make it that long.) All of us should think like this & be ready to teach any thuggish arseholes how to behave in polite society. Word will get around after the first few ù no, IÆm not saying be a vigilante ù IÆm not, but if you do see something, say some tghinng to 911, of course, but do what you can to help the victim in the meantime, & if you are using tactics the police arenÆt supposed to, why not? ThatÆll get the word out that being an arsehole rightfully has risks, & if you feel you might be vulnerable to attack, look up the cases in your area, or in your local paper, of swarming gangs who have killed their victims ù theyÆre there ù understand that when you are accosted in a park by a group, they may well intend for you to end up dead. Defend yourself with as much violence as you deem necessary to guarantee your survival. Take self defense or martial arts classes, so you are in better shape if attacked. We are all citizens together of Planet Earth. The proof: weÆre all breathing the same oxygen. Work for the kind of society & community youÆd like to live in for the rest of your time there. Lobby your government, all levels, to stop recycling criminals back to the street after a token bit of time in prison, where they just learn new antisocial tricks & make new & bad associates to upgrade the level of trouble theyÆll do io their next run at your community. Rehabilitation is great, if REASONABLY feasible, but regardless,if thereÆs any chance of recidivism (repeat offending), keep their arse locked up away from the society & its rules that they openly rejected. --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6 * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757) .