Trans-itioning Through Hate

Too little purple and too much hate

Earlier this year, I was involved with gay & lesbian and feminist groups on my campus to raise awareness about trans issues. Admittedly, prior to this I had little knowledge of these issues myself. Although I have been relatively active in gay and lesbian issues in my community and on campus, I had never researched trans issues, because I did not feel like they related to me. I felt that it was not my battle; however, I've come to realize that the discrimination that trans people suffer are very parallel to anyone who is not a heterosexual male.

The suicide rate for transgender people is 50%. If you know two transgender people, then one of them has more than likely attempted suicide, perhaps even both. Depending on which website you read, gay and lesbian youth are five times more likely to commit suicide. They are three times more likely as adults. And, collectively, almost  non-heterosexual people suffer from discrimination.

Not only do transgender people (and GLBTQ individuals as well) suffer from suicide and discrimination, they are often the victims of violence and sexual harassment.

If you find these statistics appalling or what to know more about Trans issues, click "TranSouth". This is a digital version of the zine created last semester to raise awareness about transgender issues and learn more about transgender individuals

Bad Etiquette for Zombie Enthusiasts

On May 26th, police killed a man who was nakedly eating another man's face. The man who was attacked is recouping at a Miami hospital with obvious wounds to his head and also to his legs.

Because of the zombie-like behavior of the man, this Huffington post article has been shared almost 60,000 times with as many as 250,000 likes. What is scarier than the drugged out, disturbed individual in is article is the compassion, common decency, and humanism missing from my Facebook feed and from comments on the article itself. It seems this article has spurred zombie enthusiasts into their own feeding frenzy, clogging up their posts with jokes about melee weapons, guns, and other supplies necessary for a zombie apocalypse.

Now, before someone starts whining about me "ruining all their fun" and "it was only a joke" let me say that I am a huge fan of the zombie entertainment industry; however, you can be damn well sure I don't want a zombie apocalypse to happen even if it could (in the way portrayed by Hollywood anyways).Putting the joking about a man's death aside, there is nothing appealing about a zombie apocalypse. 

I highly doubt these will be your post-apocalyptic procreation choices

Besides being hunted every day of your life until you eventually die (sooner rather than later), your time will consist of foraging for food, learning weapons, contending for alpha(fe)male, building fortresses, tearing down fortresses, moving....in other words, think about that History Channel special about prehistoric men who may have lived during the dinosaurs and multiple that by your lucky number.

This isn't a joke, kids. This is a man's life. If you actually read the article and/or watch the video, you will notice that they say that the man was likely coked out of his mind. This is a very sad story, and I don't think the family of the man who almost died would appreciate the zombie nonsense.

Thoughts on a Side Story: J. Edgar

No plot spoilers that aren't in history

Last night I watched J. Edgar with some friends, and it turned out to be a better movie than expected. I'll shed some historic light on it, so you won't have to refer to Wikipedia constantly after the movie to understand what's going on. J. Edgar Hoover (no relation to Herbert Hoover, 31st president) is famous  for having started and directed the FBI. So, the movie is pretty much how the FBI comes to life, what J. Edgar has to do to make that happen, the crimes that take place, backlashes, adversity, etc. 

What I am more interested in are the side stories. This movie takes into account the rumor that J. Edgar was a closeted homosexual and had a relationship with Clyde Tolson, the associate director of the FBI. I believe that albeit this was a rumor which  could have exploited, it was actually represented very tastefully. It shows a confused J. Edgar who seems extremely tormented by his sexuality. And this story, which is gingerly touched on, is what truly affected me from the movie.

Tolson and Hoover in 1939

It affected me to think of how tormented poor J. Edgar was and how he lived his life the truest he could with Tolson and with apparently little to no physical contact. Of course, this movie focuses on Hoover, but what about Tolson, the man who reportedly loved Edgar for the rest of his life? He stayed his companion to the very end, so much so that he was Hoover's heir and inherited all he had. I'm sure Tolson would have traded that inheritance for one moment when they could have been true to themselves without fear.