Here's Maureen Dowd's column on the beating of a TS in a Baltimore McDonalds and on the larger issues of being a transgender.  The Comments about her column are worth reading, too.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/opinion/27dowd.html?ref=todayspaper

The people that beat this woman up or the ones who just stood by and watched?  I only wish the bystanders could be charged with crimes too.  My heros are the lone employee and the lady in the pantsuit who come to Chrissy's rescue.  Hpefully they will throw the book at these two perps but I doubt if they will be "rehabilitated".  Be sure to watch the video in the article below - you will be impressed with Chrissy and her ability to speak rationally about this incident so soon afterward.

Suspects in beating of transgender woman Chrissy Lee Polis could face hate crime charges
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20057422-504083.html


Take care out there,


TS Tempted

sorry if this has already been posted here...

http://www.change.org/petitions/demand-that-the-employees-on-duty-at-mcdonalds-be-held-responsible-in-the-beating-of-a-trans-woman

You're looking from the inside out, dear Melissa.  Sad to say, TG's really are still a strange unknown breed to a majority of people, so Renee Richards remains their prototype.  Even I, nearing my dotage, have never (knowingly) met a TG who wasn't a sex worker.

On the other hand, the pace of acceptance is picking up, and poor Chrissy -- bless her heart -- has probably helped accelerate it.

Maureen Dowd won her Pulitzer for Commentary, by the way.

Both. How could you stand by and watch anyone get beat.

I did get to know one female-to-male TG when we were both in a volunteer training program.  That was about 12 years ago.  We never discussed gender issues, but I have met a non-provider TG.  Sorry for the mistake.

I couldn't agree more on all your points.  I do think, however, that Maureen Dowd's ability to reach a major audience -- even with a substandard column -- is a net gain for awareness and tolerance.

I'll agree with Melissa that it is a poor article and not up to Ms. Dowd's usual caliber of writing.  The segue to Renee Richards is wrenching and the two are never really tied together.  The whole article misses the opportunity to make a point with impact.  It seems like Ms. Dowd's article about Chrissy was short of her contractual word count for the day and she was grasping for filler and lost her way by the time she got to the required length.  

I do think Ms. Dowd got the point across that it is a shame that Maryland's Senate failed to pass legislation extending antidiscrimination protection to transgendered people.  However, she missed the chance to make the point that it is a shame that such a specific law was even necessary.  Aren't we supposed to be the country that supports these basic human rights and equality for all?  What is most missing from this article is the outrage that we should all feel when we see a fellow human being treated in such a callaous way by such animals.

hate crime charges, assault, and once they get out of their ankle bracelets, shitty, low paying jobs with no futures.