What price has common courtesy? Speculative fiction aside, this question has been haunting me ever since I began my journeying close to 30 months ago, and especially more so since I have “admitted freely" that I am a Trans. Some things are apparently obvious. Take for example the comparison to children's favorite place to enjoy wildlife - “The Zoo.”
I would assume everyone had a favorite childhood place. Their “happy place,” as it was once suggested, and mine was Benson's Animal Farm, a place where I had my first picture taken on one of the most ferocious of beasts on earth - the Lion. Of course the noble animal was solid cement, and as I looked down from my perch, I anxiously prayed in my childish way for the camera to complete its mission and get me back on the ground. Now that I am “out,” I find that my journeyings are like the Zoo, but with one difference. There is no admission to see this Zoo. It is a walk and drive-through place inhabited by all.
And where do the guests of this place find the creatures which they find so interesting? Well, my dear Watson, they observe me as they travel, and if looks could communicate truth, I am convinced I am not the most appealing to view, and as I continue my marathon walking, I consistently make every effort to engage in a common greeting, such as…guess? Right…”Hello,” and sometimes I add “..how are you today,” which doesn't get me many fans. I guess my appearance, as it is, which deviates from the generally accepted “gender-acceptable clothing” hasn't yet sunk into the minds of those who look with humor, interest, disdain, and occasional nods of the head, but the worst part is those who see me approaching, and instead of acknowledging me as we pass, eyes are glued to the cellphone which lingers in their hands like a lost lover. They don't even throw peanuts at me, as I used to do for the monkeys in the cage.
Memories come crashing as I remember the Zoo from my early age, and when I grew more mature, I wanted to know more about the creatures who were held captive behind bars or set free in an open space, somehow trying to imitate the natural habitat which they should, by rights, still be living in. And as the analogy would suggest, the common spectacle which I present by dressing a little different….well…there are some who celebrate “diversity,” but cannot tolerate seeing the reality before their eyes. The fact remains that those of us who are Trans suffer from a variety of societal maladies, such as “we should be somewhere else,” as if what I am is contagious….LOL…say it isn't so, Charlie!!!
If the admission to the Zoo of diversity and talents and disciplines is free to all, then why has “common courtesy" taken a vacation?
Freedom, if we value it, is a matter of non-conformity, and by that I don't mean we don't follow the rules, but making a judgment about those who dress differently or are of another color or nation…well…IT JUST SHOULDN'T BE!!!
Transgenders have been with us for centuries. However many of them today make their minds up to assimilate into the general stream of consciousness and not “be different,” but I will make this assertion: Transgenders are now what “traditional” genders use to look like. You know, they dressed well and not like the characters on “Beavis and Butthead,” if any of you can remember that hilarious jibe at life.
Freedom means to accept a responsibility to become authentic. To be who you are. To not drink the Kool-aid of mediocrity of uninspiring conversation or even a lack of conversation, because the admission of who I am to others is somehow “threatening?”
Jorja Lee is NOT A THREAT. And Jorja Lee is not an animal to gawk at or even ignore when in the mix of social interactions. Jorja Lee is dignity, diversity, acceptance, tolerance, and all the things which made this nation what it was. And I am proud to be a citizen of a country which, so far, has not rounded up all us Trans and put us in refugee camps, awaiting our destiny at the hands of the Ultra-right who are at war with those they do not understand. And I am also proud to be in a state whose Governor accepts my choices with pride
Freedom to be who we really are is our most precious commodity. How about if we applied it with a little common courtesy, instead of all that other bullshit!!!!