Andrew Vachss, a militant defender of children in matters of abuse and sexual exploitation has written a series of books about a character named Burke and his family of outlaws. Burke, who was raised by wolves and spent his childhood in institutions and his family of outcast, which include a sister go out and kill baby rapers.
Burke describes the straights of the world as citizens and by implication those who are not part of the system are non-citizens.
I was an obvious transkid in the late 1950s and 1960s at a time when I could be arrested for existing. I was arrested several times on what we referred to as “mopery with intent to gawk” bullshit charges. Mostly because of pigs exercising their bigotry.
I was a militant and politically aware with an outlaw mentality and the chant “No justice, no peace” carved in my soul.
Forty years later I am still angry. Angry that we are labeled mentally ill for being born different. Angry that transkids are still abused in school. Angry that they are still subjected to reparative therapy.
I am saddened that people who have been outstanding employees lose their jobs when they transition or for that matter if their past comes out. Where is the justice?
I am angry that people claiming their invisible bully in the sky tells them we should be treated like third class or non-citizens actually have their bullshit treated as credible. I am angry that some iman in Britain can call for our stoning but that if I suggested he be kicked out of Britain, then I am a bigot.
I listen to horror stories from WBT sisters and yes my 24/7 Transgender sisters too and even some from TV cousins and I sometime wonder how people bear the lives of suffering bigotry and prejudice. Forty years have taught me that we drink, we drug, we self destruct. Some of us suicide. We try to assimilate or we stand up and fight.
We adopt all the survival skills of any other despised minority group.
I’ve had some straight WBTs tell me I should support their marriages before supporting same sex marriage. But same sex marriage isn’t really same sex marriage. What it does is make marriage available to any two adults no matter what their sex and by doing so automatically protects the marriage of a WBT to a man.
As a feminist I look at the murders of transkids and the vile accusation that they decieved the poor murderer and therefore were asking for it the same way I look at the all too common practice of justifying rape and murder of women by claiming they were asking for it through their way of dress or their being out or that they trusted the wrong man. Wrong! The criminal is the one who committed the crime. The victim is the victim no matter if the victim is the virgin daughter of a multi-millionaire Taliban Christian minister or a strung out on drugs street walking trannie sex worker.
I get sick of the accusations of the all knowing academics who attribute to me things I know to be false. Who then call me a liar if I dare to say, “Hey, that’s bullshit. You pulled your so called “information” out of your ass.” I’m sick of studies that I can tell are being taken solely to “prove” a foregone conclusion.
I am sick of being told that I want special privileges when I simply wish to be treated the same as the citizens. Anatole France said, “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor, to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets and to steal bread” . It is all well and good when our needs are the same but in order for me to be treated the same as all other citizens I need some considerations of the special needs presented to me by accident of birth.
The reason I don’t just shut the fuck up and go off and live quietly is injustice and the knowledge that what evil really needs most to triumph is for people like me to stop protesting injustice.
Women Born Transsexual 