Stop being a jerk to transgender/gender fluid people
It’s not outrageous to be expected to behave with empathy and consideration
(Yes, I’m not transgender, gender fluid or anything else. But that doesn’t mean I get to ignore you being jerks.)
When you were 4, or maybe a bit younger, you probably got told that it is wrong to be mean to other children. Being mean makes people feel sad. Being mean is not nice. Being a bully is bad.
Do you remember that? Even if you don’t, try and live with that principle in your life. Trust me it is a pretty good rule of thumb.
When you were a bit older, maybe 5 or 6, you probably got told by a teacher, parent or guardian not to be mean to people who were different. Being mean makes people feel sad. Being mean is not nice. Being a bully is bad.
If that didn’t happen, you definitely had a weird up bringing. In fact, I’d say most children, globally, get taught not to be a fucking jerk.
MIRACULOUSLY, as an adult, people seem to have forgotten this age old bit of advice. I see people being racist, people being homophobic, and most commonly, people being transphobic AF. Call me triggered, call me an SJW, call me whatever the hell you like but
Being mean makes people feel sad. Being mean is not nice. Being a bully is bad.
So why the hell do you spend your breath being nasty about people who are not any threat to you, or just getting on with what makes them happy? So what if that guy likes wearing dresses? So what if Titania used to be a boy? Does it kill you to be told that Sanjay loves Hamid? Are you really, really so damn nasty that you’d let your own social norms stand in the way of someone’s completely non-harmful identity or sexuality? Grow up and stop being a bully.
Because you are a bully. You are the overgrown kid making fun of the fat girl for wanting a boyfriend. You are the brat who punched the boy who played with barbies. You are the boy who refused to let girls join in with football. You are the girl who didn’t let Susan come to your pool party because ‘she’s so totally gay’. You haven’t grown up and you are a cowardly, nasty little bully.
So when your friend says they now want you to call them Jemima and not Jeremy, don’t ignore them and call them freaks. When you get asked to respect someone’s choice of pronouns - if you called me ‘he’ I’d be pissed off too, even as a cisgendered person - don’t howl in outrage at how hipster they are. When someone tells you they are gay, don’t immediately assume they are a sexual predator.
It’s 2017. Don’t be on the wrong side of history.
Stop being a jerk.
