Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Will it ever Stop?


I was in boy mode, dressed in shorts and a big T-shirt, (No Bra) and I went into the discount club store with my daughter. As I rounded a display, heading for the bakery, I came face to face with a man, who scrutinized me. Head to toe, several times. The look on his face said it all.

Okay, I know. I could be wrong, but in my mind he spotted a tranny and he didn’t like what he saw. To clarify further, my shorts were made for the female gender, but I had an altercation with our muddy dog, and my shorts were dirty. The shirt was old, with holes, so maybe he saw something else.

Then again, with my longer hair that curls in the back and my high forehead, I look a little androgynous. I’ve written before about how people notice a difference in me since I decided to transition. I think that man figured it out. Still, the look on his face pissed me off.

Although I’m working on eliminating my obstinate nature, I looked the guy straight in the eyes and said, “Have you got a problem, sir?” He turned away and nudged his wife to go another direction.

As I said, I can’t know what was in his mind. I’m overweight so maybe it was something else, when are people going to believe their own scriptures. If they believe in Christ, then they supposedly believe the commandment to love all mankind.

Also, you’d think that after a whole life of being the object of ridicule, I would’ve learned to ignore it by now. I thought I was past all of that. Perhaps the soaring summer temperatures are to blame, but he pushed a button.

As a young cross-dresser, reactions to my presentation were everything. Passing was more than whether I did or not. I grew up in a small town. There were laws that threatened to put me in jail for what I did. Consequently, I kept my cross-dressing to my self.

I relived that fear the other day in the discount warehouse. It made me feel like a freak. For a split second, I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. According to the Bible, differences, no matter what they are, must be tolerated. The Quran, from what I’ve read, is not a manifesto for intolerance either. Although there are excuses for bigotry built into the text of both.

Now, perhaps it’s the subject of a different blog post, but I want to know, when will we get past our western culture prejudice? When will we stop using religion to justify hatred? When will it cease? Whether the intolerant look, the other day, on the man’s face came form his beliefs or not, he really has no right to feel superior to me. Then again, neither do I have that right. I need to love him too. It’s only fair, and that will be the subject for my next blog post.

3 comments:

  1. "He spoke not a word and went straight to his work" is a line from "A Visit from St. Nicholas" and Clement Clark Moore does muse about what is going on in the mind of the silent, red clad visitor. His conclusions are vastly different from your own.
    Without words is it the man's bigotry,intolerance, use of religion to justify hatred, cultural prejudice or were the words you wrote completly from your own mind reflecting your own beliefs, level of tolerance, antipathy towards others you perceive as different than yourself, your own level of bigotry, etc. You may never know what this person thought. It may have been a desire on his part to point things out to his wife so that she may become accepting of his own going out cross dressing. What you can examine, however, are your own feelings and your willingness to ascribe evil intent and motive to others so you can cement your position in the class of agrieved individuals.
    I could be wrong but he said nothing and you wrote a lot about it.
    Pat

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    1. You are right Pat, But after a lifetime of being the subject of ridicule, I think I can recognize the look. thanks for commenting. I have a post scheduled that speaks about intolerance on both sides. I hope you will check that out.

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  2. *
    You are already advanced when it comes to Christian love and forgiveness. That man at the store makes forgiving easy because, as Jesus said, 'Forgive them, they know not what they do.'
    *

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