Toward the end of his life, Martin Luther King Jr. realized that even though laws against discrimination had been passed and that some people who weren't victimized by inequality had at least begun to realize that it exists, the struggle for human rights was nowhere near being won. He said, in essence, that winning the right to sit at the same lunch counters as everyone else doesn't matter if you can't afford a hamburger and a cup of coffee once you're there.
That, in essence, remains the problem. Even though I am lower middle-class by American standards (Perhaps I'd be simply middle-class in another part of the country.), I am still doing better than many other transgender (whether pre- or post-op) people. And, for all of the wealth in the gay community portrayed in the media, they actually suffer with the same levels of povertyas the population in general.
Actually, the worst thing for trans people is that so many of us can't get jobs, period, and that we--particularly the young among us--suffer from disproportionate levels of homelessness.
We still have to fight the same fight MLK was fighting more than four decades ago. The difference is, the economy is much worse now than it was then.
That, in essence, remains the problem. Even though I am lower middle-class by American standards (Perhaps I'd be simply middle-class in another part of the country.), I am still doing better than many other transgender (whether pre- or post-op) people. And, for all of the wealth in the gay community portrayed in the media, they actually suffer with the same levels of povertyas the population in general.
Actually, the worst thing for trans people is that so many of us can't get jobs, period, and that we--particularly the young among us--suffer from disproportionate levels of homelessness.
We still have to fight the same fight MLK was fighting more than four decades ago. The difference is, the economy is much worse now than it was then.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment