Most people are set in their way, they don’t want to learn anything that makes them uncomfortable. They like blissful ignorance but sometimes a person steps out from the crowd and learns new things.
He wrote “I had no idea what I was talking about” and if you read the comments on any article about trans people you will know that is true. The comments that always get me are the ones that write something like “a man has XY chromosomes and a woman XX chromosomes” and I think they are living in the 50’s and don’t want to learn anything new.
When I was in grad school and learning about activism; one of the things that the was there were three types of those people on an issue, there are those who are fixed in their ways and will not change on both sides of the issue and then there is the movable middle. You thank your supporters, you let the who disagree with the issue that you think they are wrong and then go for the movable middle. Those are the minds that you have to change, but once in a while a person like Mr. Lucas proves that common wisdom is wrong.
Tonight I am going to a meeting by the NASW for marco social workers and then I have the weekend off.
Why This Cisgender Man Totally Changed His Mind About Trans PeopleMost people would not do this; most people have a hard time admitting that they were wrong. Once in a while somebody steps above the crowd.
Huffington Gay Voice
By Richard Lucas
Posted: 12/02/2015
A few years ago, in response to an article I read regarding transgender children being able to use the bathroom of the gender they identified with, I wrote a very ill informed piece. Piece of garbage, that is. When I read the article it enraged me. I thought it was wrong, and potentially dangerous, but I would soon learn that I had no idea what I was talking about.
When the responses started rolling in, I began to actually take the time to learn about the transgender community, and what I found completely redefined my perspective and challenged me to examine how I really felt about many issues facing the world.
[…]
Since having this awakening of sorts, I have paid close attention to issues that have arisen in this community. I have to say, without a doubt, every time I see a relative story or article, it absolutely breaks my heart. It's not typically the story content that is so painful to read, but the responses. The foul, outrageous, cruel and flat out disgusting comments. I read a piece yesterday that demonstrated this so poignantly that I felt compelled to write this.
He wrote “I had no idea what I was talking about” and if you read the comments on any article about trans people you will know that is true. The comments that always get me are the ones that write something like “a man has XY chromosomes and a woman XX chromosomes” and I think they are living in the 50’s and don’t want to learn anything new.
When I was in grad school and learning about activism; one of the things that the was there were three types of those people on an issue, there are those who are fixed in their ways and will not change on both sides of the issue and then there is the movable middle. You thank your supporters, you let the who disagree with the issue that you think they are wrong and then go for the movable middle. Those are the minds that you have to change, but once in a while a person like Mr. Lucas proves that common wisdom is wrong.
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Tonight I am going to a meeting by the NASW for marco social workers and then I have the weekend off.
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