How's the Water?

Thanks Paula for sending a couple comments from England about transgender swimming groups being formed which are quite popular,

 Paula GoodwinJune 2, 2016 at 5:10 AM

Here in the UK we have a wonderful group of people who organize special trans swimming session in local pools, I have been to a few and it is quite liberating, but even better for the trans men

Plus as I understand it, that includes access to the changing rooms and showers...

I'm afraid the  situation in the states is so tender right now...the pickets would be forming even for a private event but give it awhile and it is an incredible idea.

The UK is always ahead of us in so many ways and much more civilized.

Plus:

"Over here in the UK we have a movement starting for safe spaces for exercise, led by TAGS who arrange with Local Authorities to provide swimming pool time and changing facilities specifically for trans people. This is great since it means that whatever point we are at we can get changed, shower and swim with no worry about how the people will react."

We Got Mail

From Connie "It most certainly would be a brave soldier who would volunteer to have the spotlight put on her or him for being a trans person in the military today. This may be just the thing to tip the scales toward acceptance, though!" From my time in the service, I can't believe the pressure the very few "out" transgender military troops feel. They must find pockets of acceptance from superiors is all I can figure.

From Pat:  "Thank you Cyrsti and all the veterans who served the greatest country the world has known. I was at a very moving Memorial Day Ceremony yesterday. After it broke up it was interesting to watch the vets from the various services get together with the Marines dissing on the Navy, the Navy on the Army and everyone dissing on the Coast Guard. These were all contemps of mine who spend time in Vietnam...Who served at DaNang...who was on a vessel support the Tet...etc. I did not see any of the Vietnam era folks happy with the Obama apology tour stopping to disparage America in Hanoi and the former Saigon. Many wondered why he could not stop AF 1 on the way back home in Hawaii to honor the Americans who were killed during the sneak attack at Pearl Harbor. Others wondered why, during his annual visits to vacation in Hawaii he could not find the time to lay a wreath at Pearl Harbor like he did at Hiroshima.
While some may talk about his kind words about LGBT others question his value as CIC".

Thanks to you Pat! Obama indeed will have a "curious" legacy at the least. 

Back to Connie:  "My brother-in-law was a Vietnam vet. He suffered from the effects of agent orange his whole adult life, including the cancer that ultimately killed him just last year. It wasn't until his mid-sixties that he finally even wanted to say or hear anything about his stint in the service, although I know it haunted him on a regular basis. I told him once that I was sorry I didn't do my part, and he said, "Why the hell should you be sorry; consider yourself lucky." I suppose that I was lucky enough to narrowly miss the draft with a lottery number of 122, which is right where they stopped taking draftees. Now, for me it's a "there but for the grace of God" attitude that I have. 

On a lighter note: If the BBQ bitch ever joined in with the LGBTQ community, would we have to make it the LGBBQT community!!"

Yes, my draft number was the only thing I ever won with a "27" my ex brother scored in the upper 200's. Looking back, I got the better end of things. He still lives within a mile from where we grew up and married a neighbor girl. Uncle Sam sent me to three continents on his Dime in three years. I'm still alive, wiser and not allowed in his house!!!

Moving Picture Show

The TransMilitary Project is running a Kickstarter campaign for a documentary on trans troops who have come out despite the armed forces' ban.

From the Advocate:

"While the U.S. military moves slowly in reviewing the ban on service by transgender people, some filmmakers hope to put a spotlight on trans troops who are serving honorably and sometimes risking discharge by being open about their status.

Director Gabe Silverman and producers Fiona Dawson and Jamie Coughlin have initiated a Kickstarter campaign seeking to raise $89,500 to produce a documentary about those troops as part of the TransMilitary Project."

Go here for more!