I credit it to the company I keep. I had no idea that anyone, anywhere had objected to FREAKY as somehow offensive to the trans community and the crossdressing community. I suppose it’s just that none of my friends are stupid, and none of *their* friends are stupid, either, not the ones I have come into contact with. Chances are some of the friends of *those* friends, the friends of friends, are stupid—hopefully not a lot of them, as I wouldn’t want to be even three degrees separated from stupid friends—but if any of them were making such stupid pronouncements about FREAKY being anti-trans/anti-transvestite, I had no knowledge of it. Again, I keep good company, and I avoid, both by deliberate action and by instinct, stupid people on social media, the place where all stupid people go to rant and rave. I only learned that some of the So-called Justice Wannabes were suffering twisted knickers over the matter when I saw this thoughtful but angsty editorial.
No, FREAKY is not anti-trans or anti-transvestite. If you think it is, well, at the risk of being unkind, you’re kind of a dumbass.
I really do believe we should be kind to one another and not make any deliberate attempt to offend just for the sake of offending. And make no mistakes, I fully support trans/transvestite rights; I support equal rights for all people and I hold that trans/transvestite people are just as good, just as valid, just as worthy as any other kind of people. (Incidentally, my beloved creative idol, Mr. Ed Wood, was a proud transvestite.) I would be considered a “woke” individual by those who know me personally (although I hate the faux-word), a guy who strives to be politically correct (although I hate what this phrase has come to mean). And no, I shouldn’t paint with too broad a brush. Concern over trans rights is a totally valid concern, and I shouldn’t assume that *all* the people worried about FREAKY being anti-trans are dumbasses, even if I think it’s a dumbass position to hold to.
Still, there’s a point I refer to as the “Dumbass Line”. If something is so egregiously absurd, so patently ridiculous that it crosses over the Dumbass Line, I no longer pay any attention to the complaint. Call it a a character flaw, but I just don’t. Trying to argue that FREAKY is somehow anti-trans/anti-transvestite, or that THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is, is Alt-Left overly PC nonsense. FREAKY isn’t about trans ANYthing, and Buffalo Bill in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS *would* be anti-trans, but only if the character was meant to portray *all* trans people instead of just one deranged individual, and I don’t think such was ever the intent. Such postulations, in my opinion, diminish actual, genuine instances of transphobia. It’s toxic wokeness. And it crosses the Dumbass Line.
Well said!