I was surprised to see Simon McCormack’s column, “Transgender Transfixion," in the Dec. 6 issue of the Alibi [Thin Line]. While I lived in Arizona from 2001 to 2005 I had numerous media stories published concerning the transgender community. Yet after I moved to New Mexico in 2006, not one newspaper has paid any attention to my queries. This includes the Alibi , which I’ve contacted at least three times during the past two years with offers to provide an inside perspective on this community.I’ve at least twice offered to do stories about the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance noting that two people are murdered each month (including several in New Mexico) because of their gender presentation. A few bigoted remarks in the mainstream dailies about our local transgendered murder victims, and silence from the Alibi .So the media fascination with the transgender community noted by McCormack seems to be almost entirely absent in New Mexico. Well, maybe no news is good news. Even silence is better than the narrow-minded misinformation too often presented about transgendered people. It really is too bad, though, that in this case at least the Alibi doesn’t offer an alternative viewpoint, after all. I guess maybe we’ll have to wait until my next book comes out.
Under Denim And Cotton
[RE: Thin Line, “Transgender Transfixion ,” Dec. 6-12] This author is right on track. As a transsexual myself, I wonder why people feel they are entitled to know what is in my pants. Why, unless they have a strong interest in sleeping with me, would they want to know? My standing as to my chosen gender, I assure you, is not defined by the current construction of my genitals. The fact that I have battled dysphoria, self-loathing, I have risked romantic and familial relationships to be who I am, I have poured money into my body, suffered untold pain and suffering, and battled workplace discrimination should have a larger effect on how I am seen than what is hidden beneath layers of denim and cotton.
Hidden Debt
I really enjoyed the article on how the United States has become a nation of debtors [Feature, “Plastic People,” Dec. 6-12]. The article contained a lot of useful information and didn’t take a knee-jerk, pro-government regulation position.That said, there is a hidden debt that each American owes that is no less real and has developed for many of the same reasons as consumer debt. That debt, of course, is owed by the federal government and now amounts to more than $9 trillion, with each and every American owing more than $30,000.The reasons for government debt are similar to those behind consumer debt. It is human nature to want something for nothing and deferring the cost of something while reaping the benefits immediately is extremely tempting.There is no silver bullet to solve either the consumer or the government debt problems. Only when individuals take the time to educate themselves on rudimentary economics and the reality that there is no such thing as a free lunch will Americans get out from under their avalanche of debt.
The Greener Side
[RE: Commentary, “You’re Getting Warmer,” Dec. 6-12] This is a wonderful article, showcasing some of the pitfalls ahead on the global climate and pollution fronts, but your solution is flawed—and dangerously so. What this country needs, as well as the entire world, is for the people to take the state out of the equation. Given the obvious concern for the health of the planet, most people would naturally gravitate, in a free market stripped of state interference, to those businesses that were greener or more ecologically conscious than their competitors. Money talks, and businesses would listen—and fast. Please, don’t advocate more of the same rhetoric about those in government (who have a great hand in our current climate crisis already!) "solving" our problems. They are ours to solve, as you pointed out. Let us decide what the solution is, so we can carry it out instead of just troweling another layer of bureaucracy onto our troubles in the vain hope they will be eliminated. Peace!
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