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Comments, comments, comments. The “wonderful” comments found in the comment threads of articles about Amanda Simpson’s appointment as a Senior Technical Advisor at the Department Of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). The message is scattershot, but encapsulates the concept that trans people are hated, as well as how trans people are considered freaks, mentally ill, gay, and nothing but jokes.
So, let’s share some of the comments.
First, via the comment thread of ABC‘s First Transgender Presidential Appointee Fears Being Labeled ‘Token’
• Amanda Simpson. The new face of the democratic party and Obama administration. I love it! A perfect symbol of their choices and decision making. Who gives a hoot what the general public thinks or if its good choice – lets just do what seems popular politically with our liberal base! I wonder what the rest of the world’s government thinks of this idea? Do you think they are giggling a little? Like I said is this Obama’s idea of ‘job creation”?
• Is there going to be a Transgender Restroom?
• He’s a he, not a she. Chromosomes are tough bits of truth to overcome. You can’t turn lead into gold, but you can paint it to look like gold, but it still won’t be gold, no matter what you call it or how much you want it to be gold.
• let’s be honest, this is appointment is cynical and silly.
• Perhaps all the straight, non minority men should don a dress and lipstick…then they might get to work in the white house.
• Calling him a woman, and referring to him as “her” are wrong. He is still a he. Care to put it to a blood test? The XY chromosome will prevail and, yes, he is a he.
• Which public bathroom does he/ she use???
• I love the libs who come in here and make it a race issue. News flash! Its a white person that got hired. Obama could have picked a minority woman or man but he didn’t!!! He picked a transgender. That’s not a race – its a sexual orientation. I guess Obama couldn’t decide on whether to pick a man or woman, black or white and he said I know lets pick a transgender. He had a choice to make and he voted ‘present’ once again!
• Did anyone else notice he/she looks like Janet Reno? LOL
• Everything one does affects the mind. How can a chopped up, sewn back together into something that is not normal figure something out when it can not figure out what it it’s self is? A clear head with a mind that is not loaded up with extra extreme problems is needed with this job.
Via Fox News Transgender Appointee Begins Work at Commerce Department
• Is this administration trying to be fair and diverse: Or just the biggest freak show since John Merick?
Via NewsBusters Obama Appoints ‘Trans Woman’ to Commerce Department; Gays Hail His ‘Rocket Pace’ of Diversity:
[More comments below the fold found on the NewsBusters, ABC News, the New York Daily News, and the New York Post.]
• Amanda Simpson, who used to be test pilot.Makes the term “cockpit” sound more like an either/or decision than a single word.
• This truly harkens the end of our society. Thirty years ago this person would have been hailed a freak – now we provide them a high level government post – likely because of their odd behavior.
I’m not suggesting this person should be ridiculed or hated, but how far out of the mainstream can you get. Our country is being run by a guy left of Castro, he just doesn’t have the military firepower to do what Castro did.
• The ultimate in taking advantage of Affirmative Action: Hacking off his penis to get a better job!
Via ABC‘s: President Obama Names Transgender Appointee to Commerce Department
• The circus has come to the White House to join the Obama’s. Sometime Ms. Obama look’s like a TG.• Mentally ill in places of power. People of power worshipping the mentally ill. And someone is unnerved by sarcastic comedic comments, yep we are going down the tubes fast and some people don’t see the drain hole.
• This is all a part of the left-wing trying to force their perverted morality on the rest of society. The left-wing do not even want people to have a right to representation on issues of sexuality. Transgenderism is a mental illness and in no way should be held up as normal or taught to be so to our children. The left-wing preach that all sexual behavior is sacred as long as it follows the witches creed of doing no harm, but who decides what is corrupt or harmful for society? The left-wing do not even want to give people the freedom to have representation on these issues. This is just another example of how the democrat party promotes corrupting the United States.
• They are no longer politicians they are lunaticians. Why is it Obama has incurred political debts to inmates and asylum patients? Because that is the only types that will go along with his agenda. I hope the youth of America are paying attention and wake up before it is to late.
Via The New York Post: O taps sex-change gal for security post
• some guys will do anything to use the women’s rest room.• Genital mutilation is banned in most civilized countries, but now accepted in the White Hut. In order for this mentally disturbed person to pass as “normal” keep in mind it is entitled to a lifetime supply of injectable steriods [SIC] in order to sustain the deviance. By comparison, that icon of the homophilic [SIC] community, Jeff Dahmer [SIC], was halfway “normal.”
• LOL, every day it’s something else from the pervert POTUS, now we have a Tr@nny Czar to go along with our Gay Pedophile Czar. When’s Barry going to get us a Beastiality Czar? And what about Manchelle? I’m not really sure about her/him.
Via The New York Daily News: Amanda Simpson, formerly test pilot Mitchell Simpson, gets senior post in Commerce department
• I wonder which bathroom it will run to. Yeah, our kids are gonna be so mixed up. Where is Up & down, left or right? We are sooooo S.C.R.W.E.D.• Once a man always a man. Cutting off the ****** and false boobs changes nothing. His mans smell will always remind him he’s a dude.
• some guys will do anything to use the ladies rest room. when she/he goes **** diving, would that be considered gay? I knew an architect who had his d*ick cut off, claimed he was a woman, and was eligible for minority owned business.
I didn’t even have to go to freeperland for these quotes — but if you’re interested in the “enlightened” commentary there, you can read the comments here.
It’s a sad commentary on American society that people who identify as trans, or at any time in their lives could be considered to have identified with community terms that fall under the letter T, are so hated and maligned by social conservatives of many stripes.
In all civil rights movement, most of the trailblazers were subject to hate speech — and sometimes worse — and Amanda Simpson is a trailblazer that has become a target.
Trans people — trans community — needs more folk of strength and courage like Amanda Simpson. Folk like her are difficult to find though, in large part because of the hate and maligning that trailblazers like her are forced to endure just to do the good they do.
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Further reading:
* glaadBLOG: Obama’s Appointment of Transgender Advisor Signals Progress in Policy but Highlights Pitfalls of Some Media Coverage
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Related:
* Amanda Simpson Appointed Senior Technical Advisor For The U.S. Bureau Of Industry And Security
* And Now, For The First Of The Expected “Bad” Coverage On Amanda Simpson’s Appointment To BIS
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26 Comments
Autumn, the comments say negative things about the Rightnot about trans-people.
It says that these members of the Right are ignorant, they know nothing of science, that they lack a basic sense of humanity and that the closest that they get to Christ is their desire to crucify at least three people at a time.
if these yum yums only knewjust how many stealth trans folk are out there.
they would mandate all kinds of tests for everyone.
Just reading the examplesmakes me desire a scalding bath. I’m embarrassed to belong to the same species as these people.
Wow! Honestly, for “news” sites that “moderate” their comments threads (such as ABC,) I’m truly wondering how they got through moderation. Clearly ABC has some issues of their own.
With that said, how many of those people that commented do you think would have even known any different had she not been out about being transgender? Just judging by the photographs, I wouldn’t. Had she (or the adminsitration) kept this a secret from the public, they never would have known the difference.
Many of the comments reflect that they know nothing about her qualifications. I was absolutely disgusted to see some of the comments at the “liberal” Huffington Post yesterday.
I know that she has probably heard it all before, just as the majority of the rest of the trans community has; and I know to a certain extent that you become immune to the snickers and the insults, but it still hurts to a certain degree as well. I know how difficult it is being gay, but to be trans has got to be 10 times (if not more) as difficult (than being gay) when dealing with the public.
Wow!I disagree that being trans is 10 times worse than being gay. It all depends where you are at and who you’re with. I know some people very comfortable with trans people who have had SRS because they’re “normal” men or women now. Homosexuals make these people cringe but a trans person doesn’t.
Horrible.All of it.
I’m appalled, but not terribly surprised, at the comments about Simpson. I admire public figures who are openly trans. The amount of vitriol they have to put up with is horrifying. Openly LBG get a lot, but the ones aimed at trans people are even meaner. LGB people mostly get told to keep it in the bedroom, told we’re gross, going to hell, perverts, or shouldn’t be around children. The freak, mutilation, mentally ill angles seem more destructive. I suppose only someone who identifies as both T and L or G or B could say what feels worse, or that they feel the same, but I find the horrible comments about Simpson worse to read than whatever the yahoos are spouting about say, Barney Frank or Tammy Duckworth or even Kevin Jennings. Or maybe I’ve just become accustomed to the homophobia and since Simpson is the first out trans public servant, this is the first time — but sadly not the last — we get to hear such hate directed at someone doing her government job. After all, there was a time when I was surprised that in 2008 racism would still play an overt and not just a covert role in the Republican presidential campaign.
What does surprise me is the insinuation that Michelle is transsexual or a man. Regardless of how people feel about a president, the first lady, with the exception of Hillary Clinton, has typically gotten a pass. Michelle Obama has been careful to champion non-controversial causes like healthy eating. She has stayed completely out of politics even though she had a high-powered job before Barack won the presidential nomination. She plants a freaking garden and presents herself as First Mom. And because she’s black, or a Democrat, or simply different from them, she must be the worst thing they can think of, which is transsexual.
The hilarious part of that is that only someone insecure about their own sexuality would be freaked out at the insinuation. I might be surprised if someone asked if I’d transitioned MTF (I have a very feminine shape), but not insulted. I think it would be much like when I lost a lot of weight a few years ago and some people thought I had gastric bypass surgery. Not accurate, but no reason to be upset that someone contemplated a variety of possibilities for my appearance.
Shocker!Of course people are going to be idiots on anonymous internet forums, but it doesn’t mean most people are actually like this or that the world is as ugly as they make it out to be.
The biggest message of their views I got……was that they’re desperately trying to police the image presented for so long by the daytime talk show circuit of trans people by demanding that she let her qualifications strictly talk, never letting on that she is a trans woman.
Simpson is the first out trans public servantnot so, Barney Frank has Diego Sanchez on his staff
And Susan Kimberly before that
Not offendedThe comment from FoxNews, comparing trans people to John Merrick, is revealing of the mindset of bigots in general. Funny thing–I’m not the least bit offended by that comparison.
I think she’s beautiful,and I’m proud as hell of Tucson.
Just shows how shallow people can be As a commenter said above about stealth, they just don’t know who is around them. One thing about being stealth is you get to see some of these ID10Ts up close.
Where I work I don’t talk about politics or religion, even if the customer starts. I politely say I make it a policy not to discuss my views on certain issues.
Funny, it is the conservative customers that say,’OH, you must be a Liberal’ and those on the left say.’That is very professional of you’ The conservatives are also the same group that has something to say about people with tattoos and body piercings, dyed hair etc.
What a bunch of narrow minded ID10Ts. I have come to the conclusion that they are so insecure with them selves that they need to put other people down in order to make them feel better about themselves.
I can say, it takes a lot of guts to come out of the closet as transsexual. I came out March of 2005, I used to let the words bother me, the words hurt deeply. It took a bit and I discovered that most who talk bad about LGBT people are such shallow people that their opinions of us should not affect me personally.
The only problem is they vote and they vote in big numbers. And those who claim to be on our side don’t have the guts to stand up for what is right. What a sad statement this country makes when it allows the majority of people vote on the Civil Rights of a minority. You would think in this day and age (2010) this country would know that doing so is called Tyranny.
Bingo, ding, ding, ding…..ding“I have come to the conclusion that they are so insecure with them selves that they need to put other people down in order to make them feel better about themselves”.
By George, I think you have got it…..so simple but somehow hard for most to understand.
Some or most people seem to have to feel superiour to others to feel good about themselves so it is a natural force to discriminate and to put others down….carry this thought with you and you will soon realize if you have not already that this is the basis for ALL discrimination and one upmanship, etc. etc.
And for the record, because I have heard all the bullshit putdowns that I care to read or hear, I want to put a positive on the record here:
HappyCat and Autumn, I absolutely fucking love transsexuals and I love you and yours even more than my luggage! xoxox
P
Mmmm…Luggage.Sorry…for a second there I was channeling Homer Simpson.
The ignorant, the brainless and the mentally defective . . . . . . all seem to be coming out of the woodwork to gang up on Amanda Simpson.
Of course, these are all likely to be people who believe in literal six day young earth creationism, that the Apollo moon landings were a hoax because they believe the world is flat, and that children should be abused by being kept ignorant, rather than innocent. If they had two neurons to rub together, they might try to get an education from somewhere other than a crackerjack box.
i started my new government job mondayive been on hrt for 2 years and full time for 3 months.
it isnt a high-level position like amanda’s, but it is a professional job. they knew i was trans when they interviewed me, because all my military records are in my birth name.
they hired me anyway. yesterday, after orientation, my new boss, who has worked at this agency for over 20 years, called me in to her office.
she cared enough to spend some time researching GID before my start date. apparently in the late 80′s there was another transperson who worked there. suffice it to say that she was not supported.
she cared enough to meet with the 4 other executives, her boss, the branch chief, and her boss’s boss, the deputy director.
she told me she said simply “my new employee is trans. she will not have problems here.” she used some of her political capital to ensure that i would be supported at all levels.
my first day she spent the afternoon taking me around to meet all of these people, letting them see that i wasnt a threat, or anything to be afraid of; but rather because of my education and experience, i would be an asset.
i am assuming (because there are no secrets) that everyone in my division knows. i have been welcomed and have made friends already.
i dont wear a t-shirt that says “kiss me i’m trans” but i’m not ashamed of it either. we’ll have to see how it goes in the long run, but for now its good.
i guess what i am trying to say is that there are good, decent people out there who are willing stand up and do what’s right. here’s hoping the day will come where extraordinary actions like that arent needed.
All of this is disgusting and barf-inducingBut the one comment that particularly struck me was the one on the ABC story that implied the First Lady looks trans, as an insult. The intersection of racism, transbigotry and sexism in that comment is fascinating to me.
That is something that I have heard over and over again, and it’s a slur that is peculiarly specific to high profile black women. The only white ciswoman I have ever heard regularly subjected to that kind of accusation is Ann Coulter. (And, well, Lady Gaga, but she encourages that shit as a publicity stunt and it’s one of the many reasons I despise her.)
All you have to do is Google “Ciara tranny” to see what I’m talking about. TransGriot had an interesting post on that a while back here: http://transgriot.blogspot.com…
I should have said high-level appointee.Obviously there have been rank-and-file public servants, federal, state, and local government employees, teachers, police, firefighters, etc.
I’ve heard it applied quite a bit to white women tooMost notably Lady Gaga of course, who gets it all the time, but not just her. And I don’t see how she encourages that shit as a publicity stunt.
Any woman who doesn’t fit the stereotypical idea of how modern society believes a woman should look, gets tagged with the epithet of “looking like a tranny”.
Female athletes, regardless of race, have to deal with this idiocy quite a bit, and from female non athletes too. And to be fair, some of those athletes, who fit more into the societal ideal, perpetuate the crap against those who fit less.
Just because there bigotedcomments on Huff Post, or any other leftist site, doesn’t make that site not liberal or not leftist.
Just because there are (lots of) bigots on the right, doesn’t mean that there also aren’t bigots on the left, (albeit fewer of them, and their bigotry tends to be subtler).
But everything is politicsHealthy eating, planting a (vegetable) garden, that is politics too, in modern American society.
When Michelle planted a vegetable garden, some industry group representing the huge Agro firms complained.
If you start talking about healthy eating, there will be debates about personal responsibility, there will have to be questions asked why chips and soda are so damn cheap compared to say vegetables, the issue that it is easier for financially comfortable people to eat healthier and live healthier will arise.
Many of usare trans AND gay or lesbian, don’t forget.
Yes, it that ugly.The murder rate amongst our population is only surpassed by the level of violence inflicted upon us by those murdering us. And if they don’t have the will to murder they take it out on us in other ways.
That is why we need the protections we lobby for.
You haven’t been listening thenJanet Reno, Hillary clinton, Bea Arthur have all been accused of being actually “men” or not real women. There are tons more–you just need to look around.
Well…Well not with that attitude! [/Xander Crews] Focus on the negative and of course the world is going to look ugly. Things are getting better every day.