"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion,
but not his own facts."
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Recently
Philly police unveiled their updated policy for interacting with Transgender, and nonbinary people. This sparked a bit of a conversation on our Gender Fun
Facebook page. (More on that heated and slightly bigoted comments below)
You may be thinking to yourself "I didn't know that interacting with transgender and nonbinary people is different from interacting with any other folk." It's similar in many ways of course, but there are some differences that matter.
Why train officers on this matter? Because certain folks require a different approach in order for communication to be most effective. We've learned this in regard to communicating with folks who suffer from PTSD and/or who are on the Autism spectrum. Which btw, some Trans folks live with. Officers can greatly benefit from learning these communication techniques.
You may be thinking that this is "Total Liberal Bullshit" which is being shoved down these officer's throats.
If you can put politics aside and do a bit of research you will see that currently there are studies being conducted to figure out the correlation, if any, between Transgenderism, Autism and the number of Trans folks experiencing symptoms of PTSD. Saying that training Police officers on how to better communicate with members of a certain demographic in our community is "Total Liberal Bullshit" is not only an ignorant stance but it is a full-on attack on education itself.
Take for example the following conversation we had with an individual who left comments on our
Facebook page regarding the Philly Police updated policy.
MIKE: Here's how you do it. You treat them just like anyone else. There is no such thing as non binary. And transgender is a fucking attention getting hoax. Stop treating people a certain way based on their fictionalized self identity and start treating them like human beings.
GenderFun: What has your experience been like when you’ve dressed in women’s clothes and were approached by the police?
MIKE: the point is treat others as human beings and not as lavles
GF: calling transgender people a hoax seems disrespectful. So it's hard to focus on your point regarding treating "others as human beings" when you are disrespecting a group of people and overlooking their humanity.
MIKE: good People need a dose of disrespect every now and then. They aren't special just because they choose to mutilate their bodies
GF: Trans people are being murdered every year due to people thinking that they "need to be disrespected every now and then." Their blood is in the hands of [people who subscribe to] your type of ideology.
MIKE: what about all the non transgender people being killed? Wheres your sympathy for them
GF: let’s not get off topic here. This post is about how police can better communicate with members of the trans community. A training I believe you would greatly benefit from since you are doing a very poor job at the moment.
MIKE: training isn't the issue. Throwing the transgender issue in people's face is. If they want normal treatment then stop advertising that they are transgender.
GF: “advertising?” Are you kidding me? A trans person who doesn’t “pass” and walks out the house is not “advertising” that they are transgender, they are simply trying to live their lives.
Your ideology is sick.
I saw your profile pic, it would be like me saying stop advertising that you may have a penis!
You clearly have an issue with trans people and are coming across as a bigot. So your presence on this page is starting to seem like “trolling.” In which case I as the administrator will have to block you and may report you for harassment
MIKE: I was transgender for 15 years. I'm not trolling. I'm stating fact
And any man that goes out dressed as a woman is advertising weather he is aware of it or not
GF: I believe you are confusing your “opinion” with “facts.”
MIKE: no actually I'm not. You just dont wanna accept the fact that transgender is a social construct designed to rob men of their manhood and masculinity.
GF: see how you peppered in your opinion in that statement?
MIKE: I stated fact. None of this was an issue 10 or 12 years ago
GF: You are speculating intention as to why a particular social construct exists. And you may not even be aware that you are doing it.
MIKE: no I'm saying none of this was an issue until it was socially acceptable to get transgender and this non binary crap
GF: ok, since you mentioned you “were” transgender please tell me how you were received in public when you were advertising your transgenderism? Why did you feel the need to throw it in people’s faces at the time?
MIKE: at the time I knew I didn't pass. And it was advertising. However I never gave anyone a reason to disrespect or harass me
GF: because you didn’t pass, you were still throwing it in their faces that you were transgender. isn’t that alone a reason to disrespect you?
MIKE: no. Why would it be. I wasn't hurting anyone
GF: you were throwing it in their face that you were transgender. Isn’t that an attack on someone?
MIKE: no. You want to believe it is so you can play the victim
GF: so are you saying when you walked out of the house looking like a transgender it was not “throwing it in people’s faces” but when other transgender people walk out of the house it is throwing it in people’s faces?
MIKE: yes because they wanna play the victim
GF: again, that’s your opinion. Not every transgender person wants to play the victim. Hence you were transgender and didn’t want to play the victim which proves what I just said.
MIKE: I never said I played the victim. I accept consequences for my actions. Even if the result is bad.
GF: my above statement agrees with you that you didn’t want to play the victim. Read it again.
MIKE: yea but most transgender, or fake women, do play victim
GF: again, that’s your opinion.
MIKE: bottom line is that being transgender or any of the other bullshit made up genders is a fantasy created by social justice warriors and feminists who wanna strip men of their manhood and masculinity thinking its toxic. If you can't handle facts then go ahead and report me to this liberal snowflake site. I can care less
GF: again, that’s your opinion. If you can’t distinguish between facts and opinions then this conversation is over.
MIKE: turn me in and it proves my point. Oh your feelings were hurt. You're the victim. Do it. I fucking dare you. Prove my point
GF: you’re entitled to your opinion as bigoted as it may seem
MIKE: it's not bigoted. That's y'alls go to answer when anyone disagrees with you
GF: again, that’s your opinion.
MIKE: just report me and prove my point
GF: what’s the point you are attempting to make?
MIKE: that you all play the victim
GF: YOU already proved earlier that not all transgender people play the victim. So which one is it? Are you saying that you were playing the victim when you “were” transgender?
MIKE: go ahead and block me and report me. Because the bottom line is that I dont think that transgender people or any of the other made up genders deserve special treatment
GF: again you avoided answering the question and stated your opinion.
MIKE: no I wasn't playing the victim
GF: ok then, so not all transgender people play the victim. We are in agreement on that.
To see the FB post click
HERE
This dear reader is why training Police officers on how to communicate with Trans and Nonbinary people matters. There is a chance that there are Police officers out there, right now, that feel like MIKE. Who believe that Trans people are "attention getting hoax." There may be Police officers who may have a misconception believing that all Trans people play the victim, and that if the individual doesn't "pass" they must be out to advertise to the world that they are Trans or Nonbinary when in reality some Trans and Nonbinary folks want nothing more than to blend in.
Hopefully my above conversation with MIKE is an example on how you may not be able to fully have someone understand the challenges of a marginalized group of people, but in the end, we can agree on at least one thing. We are not all victims. We speak up when we see bigotry, we try to educate others regarding our life experience, and we attempt to make this world a bit more inclusive. That's a start.
