… if it was getting bad.
It’s getting bad. Fatigue. Insomnia. Mood-swinginess. Detachment. It’s seven a.m. and I’m taking more melatonin. I won’t be getting any of the planned daytime activities done. I feel like my life is on hold, waiting to be able to breathe again.
Dear Cis People:
You are not, for any reason, under any circumstances, by any means, allowed to have an opinion on my identity. It does not work that way. Get over yourselves, you are not the gender police. Gender is not a simple 2-position switch, I’m allowed to mix and match. Get over that, too.
I really just don’t like all these anti-cis sentiments out there. It is absolutely stupid to lump all non-trans identifying people into one group and assume that they’re all ignorant jerks. It creates a schism which in turn delineates the world into us and them.
There is no us or them. We’re all people.
When you read a sign that says “ATTENTION LIBRARY PATRONS, THERE IS NO EATING OR DRINKING IN THE LIBRARY”, do you go up to the circulation desk to complain that it’s not fair to lump all library patrons together and you’re not like those other library patrons who would need to be told and they’re creating a needless schism between library patrons and everyone else?
No. Of course not. You understand that, as a library patron, the instructions apply to you whether you need to be told or not, but the fact that the instructions are provided don’t imply anything about you personally. And they’re addressed to library patrons because that’s who they’re aimed at. People in the sandwich shop across the street don’t need to be told there’s no eating in the library, at least not until they come over and patronize it.
This letter is addressed to cis people because that’s who it applies to. It is lumping all cis people together, but only as a category that should not be going around opining about trans* identities.
If you’re cis, there are exactly two possibilities here: either you agree that it’s not your place to do that, in which case I don’t understand why your response to this would be anything other than nodding in agreement, or you disagree, which… okay, like, that’s just your opinion or whatever, but yeah, then you’ve got no right to complain about an open letter addressed to a generalized you on the subject.
The “schism” is created by the entitlement of the privileged to think of themselves as the normal unmarked state, free from criticism and in no need of advice. And that entitlement will rear its head any time it isn’t 100% catered to, no matter how gently or politely the message (and the one above isn’t even that rude, just direct)… better to confront it and point it out when it arises than tiptoe around it and hope it goes away.
Also, it says something, calling the original message “anti-cis”. How is that anti-cis? I don’t see anything in there telling me there’s something wrong with my being cis. It doesn’t say “Dear cis people, being cis is boring!” It also doesn’t say “Dear cis people, you are all ignorant jerks!” (Although if a trans* person were to yell that in their frustration with the cis people who are ignorant jerks, I wouldn’t take offense to that, either. They’re not yelling at me, and funnily enough, people get upset and angry after repeatedly being treated badly. Weird, I know!)
But this isn’t even doing that. It’s not talking about who cis people are, it’s talking about a behavior. It’s an anti-bad-behavior message.
If I see a “No Smoking” sign, I don’t think it’s calling me an ignorant jerk just because I’m already a non-smoker and didn’t need to be told.
If I see a “Please Wait Here for Next Available Teller” sign, I don’t think it’s calling me an ignorant jerk just because I already know how to wait in line.
The world is full of requests to treat other people with basic courtesy. Why should this request to treat trans* people with basic courtesy be considered somehow offensive?
The “library patrons” comparison
YES.
Sit down and STFU, cis people.
No love,
A cis chick who isn’t a narcissistic douchecanoe.
The 16-year-old high school student who was arrested after causing a small explosion on school grounds will not be charged with a crime.GOOD. Good job making the right decision, Florida Powers That Be. That’s 1.
YESSSSS oh my god some actual good news this week
oh man i just breathed such a sigh of relief
Thank god.
(Source: likestepsonthemoon)
Be a decent human being and be respectful. Hate sows hate. Bullying feeds insecurities. Harassment leads to desperation. Don’t be the reason people stop sharing their gifts and talents with the world.
Please.