Speaking of Hope and Possibility, I'd also like to add a rant addendum to what I just posted above. I'm posting this HERE because if I post it on Facebook, my mom (hi, Mom!) is going to call me and go, "Amy! STOP embarrassing me on social media! I want to go to family reunions and look people in the eyes!" And then my mom and I are probably going to get into a political discussion about other things we disagree on, and I'm going to have to add a sad chapter to my Mommy Dearest book. (I'm joking, Mom.) At any rate, I'm putting it here to vent my spleen, because I think the only family members who read this blog are my Mom, my sister in law, and some of my dad's relatives. (Hi everybody!) Who may or may not agree with me, but don't post crazy ass things on their social media all the time that make me say out loud: WTF?! This is incredibly the OPPOSITE of what you just said about yourself! And it's hurtful. And prejudiced. (I made a promise to myself a long time ago to always, ALWAYS speak up when I see or read prejudice, no matter who it's from.)
Caitlyn Jenner (formerly known as Bruce). Is she freaky? I don't think so. I don't think anyone who's figured themselves out after half their life has passed is freakish at all; I think they're simply a human being. Can we at least agree that ALL human beings deserve our love, compassion, and understanding, whether or not you agree or understand them? Can we agree that judging someone else's choices as "freakish" or "sinful" or "disgusting," and spewing that negativity out into the Ethos is incredibly harmful to their souls, and therefore yours as well? What you do to one of us, you do to all. I think this would be a good starting point to building world peace, to agree to that. At the very least.
I also think that Caitlyn Jenner is incredibly brave. Caitlyn Jenner could have just quietly faded off into a faraway tropical island to transform into her Real Self, never to be seen or heard from again. Instead, she chose to stay in her life, and be proud, and take the flogging from a media and a public that just loooooves to judge, condemn, and generally be dickheads.
More than that, I think science and medicine and technology are gifts to us from the Ethos, the Great Spirit, YHWH, God, Allah, Osiris, Poseidon, Ganesha, or Humanity...whatever you choose to insist is driving this gigantic ship we're all navigating through the cosmos on. Together. Completely dependent upon one another, for kindness, love, food, health care, entertainment, parenting, financial aid, compassion. And if science, medicine, and technology have found a way to change a human body to a form that fits the one who dwells within it more comfortably, then your opinion(s) about that matter this much in the grand scheme of things: 0. Oh, you're very welcome to your opinions (as always), but then that makes you open to being welcome to my opinions about your opinions. And so on and so forth. We can do this all day if you'd like. Because when you're out of breath, and I'm out of breath, and we've exhausted ourselves into a fit of self-righteous, indignant exhaustion? Your opinion and my opinion about what ANYBODY does with their life still only matters exactly this much: 0. It's been this way to the Universe since the dawn of time, and it will continue long after you and I and ten generations of our descendants are little more than ashes and dust.
Also, and further, I think that whenever (EVERY TIME) someone starts a sentence with a phrase like the following:
"I'm not prejudiced, but..." or "I'm open minded, but..." or "I believe in equality, but..." or "I don't hate anyone, but..." (so on and so forth), then that someone is about to say something the very opposite of whatever they just said they are or aren't. Right? It's the "but" that gives them away. Followed of course by their prejudiced, narrow-minded, unequal, hateful viewpoints. The negativity they choose to evacuate from their insides to our world. If you have to let people know you're not prejudiced, guess what? You're probably prejudiced. If you feel compelled to make sure people know you're open-minded, guess what? You probably aren't. Whatever you want to make sure people know you are or aren't, if you tag on the word "but" to it, then guess what? You aren't. Or you are. You're actually whatever it is that follows the word "but." (I have heard the opposite of this from people, and it's always delightful: "I'm a Christian, but..." or "I'm usually angry, but..." or "I don't like homosexuality, but..." Because these are honest people, who are acknowledging another's right to just BE. In this instance the word "but" is a good thing.)
So have your opinions about whatever you like (I'm giving you mine right now), but just know: in the grand scheme of things, we are mere specks of dust in a Universe that could be just one of many Universes. There are stars out there in Outer Space that are bigger than our entire galaxy...we are tiny fractions of what the Universe has had to deal with for gabillions of mind blowing millenia. And yet It puts up with us. Probably for the sheer entertainment value.
Think about that next time you want to judge someone for who they want to sleep with or marry. Think about that next time you want to pass judgement on someone else for being freakish (to YOU). We're all freaks, babies. Just yesterday, for example, I googled "zero gravity sex in a time warp." Just because I'm going to be reviewing The Expanse in December, this is part of the show (one teensy tinsy part of the show), and I'm freakishly consumed with learning more about it. So I can be obsessed with it. God knows, what would I be without a few freakish obsessions? Don't judge--you know you've got yours. And if you don't? That's freakish, too.
We are ALL freaks.
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