... we best start our loin-girding now, because if the hoopla over Caityln is a harbinger of anything, it's that it's going to be a looooong haul leading up to next year's elections when it comes to the Facebook (and other social media to which I am not hip [i.e. I'm looking at you twitter -- who gonna character count *me* boo?]).
I do know that, riffing off the quote in the image that accompanies this post, there is nothing so easy to hate as that which is unlike ourselves ... and there sure was a lot of hate -- dare I say an Olympian size amount -- to go around of late
A few clarifying points ... I think it is true that I can wish Caitlyn well and also wish that the media coverage moves on to other more important things. For that matter, I can wish her well and also wish to never hear another thing about a Kardashian again, be it one of the K kids, or the Kanye K, or any others connected to the brood. My life would go on without any sense of loss ...
I also know that, unless you are on the committee that chooses the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, you don't really have an opinion worth hearing about the designated honoree. If you're unhappy, start your own awards and choose whom you want to celebrate for whatever reason you so designate. Otherwise, know that things happen in threes, so Caityln Jenner is a natural progression after Robin Roberts and Michael Sam (the awardees of the last two years). And ... welcome to diversity. If you haven't heard of it, perhaps you surround yourself only with those who support your beliefs and you haven't entered the grown up world of being challenged by those different than you. My advice to you -- get over it ... and if you can't, continue being a cultural agoraphobe in your own little world that only contains those like you so that your little head needn't be challenged beyond it's little capacity.
Let me also emphatically state that there are many heroes who deserve recognition and who don't have the power of the Kardashian Kult to harness the press. It was somewhat mean-spirited for the rumor to go around pitting Noah Galloway against Caitlyn, but mean spirits are nothing new in this arena. I'm more saddened *for* Noah and others like him, who got dragged into a publicity stunt, and for whom much praise now is only offered as an antidote to alleviate the uncomfortableness of dealing with transphobia instead of being praise presented for their worthwhile merits.
But for those enlightened ones with the skill set to separate out the issue-subterfuge as presented by those "for" and "against" in the media, there's a human being at the heart of this who is representing the percentage of individuals who look in the mirror and can't understand how they ended up in a body that doesn't correspond to what they feel in their soul. Just because I can't personally relate doesn't mean that I can't transcend my own lack of understanding to feel the pain and confusion and dissonance and to hope that the person in that situation, whether Caitlyn or the kid next door, has the courage to take action to explore a life less painful, less confusing, less dissonant.
In the end, I'm going to ignore the last name and the baggage it contains, and I'm going to stand with Caitlyn and with those like her who struggle with their identity. And, at the risk of making the kind of comparisons best left to Kanye Kardashian, I'm going to rest well thinking that were Jesus here, he'd be offering up his support to her as well, 'cause I kind of think that that's the way that "Jesus walks".
ARTHUR ASHE: CONSCIENCE LEADER, HUMANITARIAN, EDUCATOR & ATHLETE:
http://www.arthurashe.org/?gclid=CL-s2oPu-8UCFZE1aQodRYAAWg
SOMEONE ELSE IS "OVER" THE KARDASHIAN KULT:
https://news.artnet.com/in-brief/kardashian-plastic-jesus-art-286164
OPEN YOUR MIND ... AND GET EDUCATED:
http://lgbtcancer.com/transgender-explained/
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