After the sensationalistic, media circus surrounding Thomas Beatie and his 20/20 interview, which revealed he’s pregnant again, I felt compelled to write Barbara Walters a letter. While this is not the formal letter I sent to her (though I mention many of the same things I wrote to her, in this letter), this sums up all of the thoughts I have about Thomas Beatie and his pregnancy, while discussing how he is exploiting not only the transgendered community, but also his children and his pregnancies.
This is an expanded version of what I told Barbara.
Dear Barbara Walters,
After watching part of your interview with the self-proclaimed “pregnant man” Thomas Beatie, I felt compelled to write you. While I am a firm believer in making your own destiny and finding your own happiness, I cannot sit back and watch this man make a mockery of the transgendered community. I cannot sit back and watch him exploit his children for money. I cannot sit back while my transgendered friends and myself have to endure ridicule and face misunderstanding because the general populace is lumping all transgendered people together with him.
I am 27 years old. I came out at age 16, thinking I had to be gay. Though the word lesbian didn’t seem to fit me, it’s the only word I knew to explain my attraction to girls. At age 22, I watched a documentary that changed my life, Southern Comfort. This was a documentary about a transgendered man named Robert, who died of cancer because the hospitals wouldn’t treat a transgendered man. For the first time, I had a word to describe all of those feelings I’d felt for so many years. I realized I was transgendered. For the first time, I felt complete and at peace.
It was then that I took the name Dominick. It was a name I’d used online for a year or so and it meant something to me (I’m pretty sure I used it in a past life). I sat down with my girlfriend, Ashtyn and explained I was transgendered. Coming out to her and finding her unwaveringly supportive meant the world to me. This moment, discovering I was transgendered, changed my life for the better.
I’m not the type to complain much about my disability. I rarely feel sorry for myself for being in a wheelchair. It’s pretty much natural to me. I’ve accepted that and there is nothing that is going to change it until a cure for Spinal Muscular Atrophy is found. I have the motto, why worry.
I know many people get depressed about being in a wheelchair, but I’m not one of them. I mean, sure it sucks, but its like my late father, David Lawniczak used to say. There is no use in crying over spilt milk. I guess I can see how being in a wheelchair can be depressive to some people and frustrating when you want to move, but can’t do it without help. Still this is one of the few things I’ve actually accepted about my life. So, it’s one of the few things I don’t complain about.
What I do complain about is pain. I hate pain. I am pretty sure most people with SMA experience pain a lot different than the average person. I can just bump into something and have it feel like I’m being stabbed. I admit it. I’m a baby about it. Well, pain is why I’m writing this blog. If there is just ONE thing that I could mention that sucks about being in a wheelchair it is experiencing pain.
I’m on a regular regime of pain medication. Tylenol 4 with codeine is my friend. It takes away the pain in my back and my legs most of the time, but rarely touches pain in my hip. If I could trade being in a wheelchair forever for not having pain ever, I’d stay in the wheelchair. It’s not so bad if there is no pain, but when it hurts I just want to cry.
This month, we elected the first non-Caucasian president in the history of the United States. On the same night, four different states passed laws against GLBT individuals. In Arizona and Florida, those states defined marriage as being between one man and one woman thus banning GLBT individuals from being able to exercise the right to marry.
In Arkansas, all unmarried couples (especially GLBT couples) were henceforth banned from adopting children or becoming foster parents. With over 3% of the millions of foster children in the United States living in same sex households, you have to imagine some kids just lost what they believed might become their forever homes.
In the saddest, and most depressing loss of the night, California passed Proposition 8. This is the first time in history, a group of people have had a right given to them by the courts only to have it taken away. If anything is truly unconstitutional, it’s this, because this is the first time people have truly lost a right they once retained. First, we all need to agree that marriage truly is a right. I’ll get into why I believe it is a right a little later in this post.
Many people think that the courts have no right determining what is unconstitutional and what isn’t, but that is exactly why the courts are there. The judicial branch of the government was established because certain minority groups would be denied certain rights by the majority. The minority had to have some protection. In years past, we’ve seen many minority groups be served up similar “unconstitutional” bans on freedom, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The only protection these groups had was through the judicial system who overturned such unconstitutional laws and made it so these groups were given the same rights.
Midway through election night, I had the distinct honor of joining a great group of people; new friends and Obama supporters. Keith Burtis, an artist on my Twitter, invited those on his list to a live blog, chatting event at the Yes but No but Yes web blog. Since I was spending a quiet evening with my family, between the computer (checking election results) and CNN, I thought it’d be a great way to meet new people.
The group of people at the live blog event were amazing folks. I’m truly glad I had the chance to meet them. We celebrated Obama’s victory, listened to McCain speak, and heard Obama’s message of hope and change, together. I had never thought I could feel so speechless concerning a presidential victory, but the election of Obama was surreal. I was not initially for Obama (Clinton supporter here), but I came to respect him and feel like I’ve been a part of something big. I’ve been a part of a historic event that my children’s children can only imagine as they read about this momentous victory in the history books.
This is what I shared with this group, and afterward, I was posed with a question by Keith. It was more of a challenge, and I’m taking it head on.
That’s what Obama spoke of when he mentioned people of all colors, all abilities, differing sexual orientations and his speech truly was all inclusive. As a transgendered man in a wheelchair, I’ve never felt so included in a political speech. I’ve never felt like a politician was truly talking to me, truly reaching out to me to ask for my assistance in building a new and better world.
So, to Keith and everyone out there, I would like to say that unity is the key to true equality and freedom. Unity is the key to building a better world. In our lives, we have so many labels. They label us by gender and biological sex. They label us by color. They label us by who we fall in love with, our religion, our political affiliation, our economic status, our ethnicity, our age, our experience, and everything else you can think of. We all have to fit in “neat little classification boxes” that describe who we are and what our assumed purpose is in life.
I grew up in the 1980s. The 80s were initially progressive, somewhat like the 70s before them, but come the late 80s it almost feels like a strain occurred. This strangulation on what I like to call social freedom continues today and I believe it has gotten progressively worse. I was born in 1980, so I had the unique opportunity to experience the entire decade. I remember from around 1983 onward. I especially remember the toys of the 80s.
Like most little kids back then, I had a Cabbage Patch Kid. We held a contest on our website, LI Kids, offering Cabbage Patch Kids for their 25th anniversary. I can’t tell you how many people left a comment about how their sons, grandsons or brothers had Cabbage Patch Kids. I didn’t know they were so popular with boys. One thing I also learned from this contest was that Xavier Roberts, the creator of the Cabbage Patch Kids, doesn’t like them being called dolls. They aren’t dolls, they’re kids. In fact, they were originally called Little People. Perhaps he thought they’d appeal to all kids regardless of gender whereas most boys don’t like to play with what they perceive to be dolls.
Another popular option when I was a kid, though I was a little too old for this, was the My Buddy doll. My younger cousin had a My Buddy. These dolls were specifically designed for boys. They were advertised as being rough and tumble dolls who could go anywhere little boys went. I always thought My Buddy was a little silly, but always took my Cabbage Patch Doll, Daniel, wherever I went. Perhaps it was My Buddy’s funny design? Whatever it was, I know many little boys who had My Buddy Dolls and it was quite acceptable to have one in the 80s.
You know, I am an avid supporter of voting. People need to get out and vote. Regardless of what party you vote for, voting is one of those rights you don’t want to abuse. While I believe the political system in this country needs to be reformed, and the electoral vote needs to have less say in the election (let the people say who they want to vote for, not the electoral college), I also believe that by not voting, when a dimwitted dunderhead (like Bush) gets elected, you have absolutely no room to complain if you didn’t vote.
The problem is, many people see no point in voting. They have this entire idea that their vote doesn’t count or matter. Typically (as it should be), the electoral college votes for who they believe those in their state will vote for, and that is why most of the time, the popular vote and the electoral vote are the same. Only on rare occasions, or cheating elections, has the electoral college voted otherwise. For example, Al Gore was denied his right to the presidency, despite winning the popular vote. That usually doesn’t happen in elections.
I understand the voting process isn’t perfect. I feel it when people believe their vote is so small that it doesn’t count, but save for the presidency, all other offices are decided by the people. The presidency is decided through the electoral college based off the popular vote, so all of those people that decide not to vote have little say in what the electoral college does.
Though many of the top U.S. bloggers, including internet ‘Rockstar’ Jeremy “Shoemoney” Schoemaker have made it clear that they support Republicans (he’s said he’s a big Bush fan), a slim few, including the self-proclaimed Internet Geek Girl, Stephanie Agresta seem to be thinking about the long term fiscal affects of having a Republican in the White House for another 4-8 years.
I should mention that as a major consensus, these pro-bloggers don’t typically discuss politics all that much (politics is a red herring), but on occasion their comments (or sometimes tweets) give away their true political intentions. I can certainly see why some bloggers might support Republicans. In the past 40 or so years (perhaps even longer), Republicans have largely given tax breaks to those making over $250,000. Most of these bloggers make well over that amount per year. What they don’t seem to be looking at is the long term effects of a Republican president in office.
We can all admit the economy sucks. Maybe not for these bloggers. It’s no slight against them. I’m impressed, enamored and inspired by how much money these bloggers make. They really are remarkable individuals. However, this economy could be better for everyone, regardless of how much they make.
Let’s look at a few facts.
From 1992-2001, gas prices rose from $1.06 to $1.46 (a 40 cent raise) - I can’t even imagine paying less than $2 for gas these days!
From 2001-June 2008 gas prices rose from $1.46 to $4.06 (a $2.60 raise) - This seems about accurate.
We currently have a $9,635,998,970,881.38 national debt as of today.
Amidst rumors that Bristol Palin could possibly be the mother of her little brother Trig, the Palins have stated that Sarah Palin is the mommy and have supported this claim by saying that:
A. Bristol Palin was out of school for the five months leading up to the birth of Trig due to mono not to give birth
B. Bristol is five months pregnant, meaning her child’s conception occurred before Trig was born
That brings up some interesting questions. First of all, if Bristol was sick with mono how could she have gotten pregnant? Mono is a highly infectious disease. Her parents kept her out of school, but let her go out long enough to get pregnant? Doesn’t that raise further questions about how effective the Palins are as parents? Additionally how was she able to get in a car accident and three traffic violations if she was sick at home with mono?
We’ve all seen the pictures of Bristol with young Trig in the hospital after he was born. This was a baby born prematurely. I wouldn’t let a sick person around any baby let alone one with special needs and possible complications from being born nearly a month prematurely. In these same pictures, Bristol does look tired and somewhat worn out. She also looks like she’s wearing an extra large sweatshirt to conceal her waist. Sarah Palin looks happy, thin, and incredibly perky for just having given birth. Of course, she didn’t seem to gain any weight to begin with, so maybe Trig hid in her kidney for those eight months?
Ashtyn and I sat down and made a list of television shows we’ll be watching this fall. CT is going to have one show that actually relates to his school since they filmed all over the world and it looks to be rather educational. He’s about as excited about Fall television as we are. I had a period where I didn’t watch much television. As I’ve been blogging and as I’ve come to review television shows for LI Reviews and LI Kids, I’ve developed an appreciation for the shows that actually are good.
Some of the new shows have already started and some of the returning shows are now on air.
Within this first week of Fall television I’ve come to realize the following things:
-Guys can be addicted to Gossip Girl, too
-The writing for GG is what makes it good
-Blair’s hot
-90210’s premiere wasn’t as great as expected
-the writing wasn’t solid, the dialogue sucked, and so did some of the young actors
-Next week’s 90210 looks more promising
-Sons of Anarchy f’n rocks man! (more…)
I can’t stand Obama. I think Joe Biden is a poor excuse for a politician. Plagiarists don’t sit well with writers, even if I’m only writing until I can get through film school. I don’t think Obama can change anything. I don’t think he has the skill to fix jack shit. He can’t fix what Bush has done and he’s the most inexperienced presidential candidate ever second only to Bush.
But….I hate Sarah Palin. I don’t mean I dislike her. I HATE that stupid bitch. I cannot stand her. She is the biggest hypocrite on the planet. John McCain made a huge mistake in picking her as his running mate. He wanted the “Hillary” supporters and the Evangelicals all in one vote, but seriously, he’s about to alienate both groups thanks to choosing this woman.
I agree that USUALLY a politician’s kids should be off limits, but:
-When a person is trying to force “beliefs” on a nation that do not even work in her own home she is a fuckin’ hypocrite
-Bristol Palin is 17, pregnant and not married - Sarah Palin believes ONLY in abstinence. She wants to remove the teaching about birth control from public schools. Birth control could have HELPED Bristol had she believed in it. Heck, what about condoms? What about AIDS? Shouldn’t kids know to protect themselves?
-Her daughter is also an underage drinker and there are pictures to prove it. How does that sit well with “Republican family values”?
Likewise, Palin wants to censor entertainment, especially books. She wants to ban certain books. How can you ban people from reading? That’s bullshit. Shouldn’t we be encouraging people, especially kids, to read? Maybe if Bristol was busy reading she wouldn’t be off getting knocked up. Just a thought.
She also wants to force creationism into science books and possibly remove evolution. Evolution has NEVER been proven to be wrong. It might not be 100% proven to be true. That’s why its called the “Evolution Theory”. It’s a highly supported theory. No proof has proved it wrong. EVER. All evidence found as of now, in the many years since Darwin lived points to the theory being correct. In fact, it is one of the most thoroughly supported scientific theories EVER.
Creationism has never been proven. Creationism isn’t even a theory. It’s a belief system put into place by a minority of Christians. The only support for it is “faith”. In faith, there is no scientific proof. It isn’t even an educated guess. It’s just believing in something that you can’t see because you want to believe it.
That has NO ROOM being taught in SCIENCE class. SCIENCE is based on facts or proving things that could be backed up factually. Now don’t get me wrong, but unless Jesus and his Heavenly Father sweeps down to speak to all on Earth as a collective whole (even the non-Christians) telling them “Yes, I created all of you”, which has never, ever happened, EVER according to history, there is no way of proving that creationism could be or is real.
