Laughter
Friday, May 6th, 2005One of the things that one constantly hears about being “trans in the open” is violence. I have not begun to see this violence in terms of psychological and spiritual violence until recently. Though I do take note of it, I just assume that it’s someone exercising their freedom of expression as I am mine. It is true, that one can be seen as destructive and the other creative, but no one ever wrote the rules on what expression is. Civility is, at best, an option in a democratic world.
Sometimes I watch colleagues prepare to go out, and the lonesome ritual of getting ready strikes a humane chord within me. Nobody who put what she sees as her best foot forward should give an anonymous person on the street the pleasure of taking her down.
So in the interest of this particular concern, I will attempt to explain why laughter is only as potent as you allow it to be.
Let’s begin with the cliche: “You laugh at me because I’m different, I laugh at you because you are all the same.” It’s so 2002 I can’t deny that, but there’s some truth to this when you give a glance to what is usually taking place.
1) Nobody, I mean NOBODY, ever snickers or laughs at you when they are alone. They are always in company, in a group, with friends. If you
divide these people up into individuals, not only will they keep their mouth firmly shut, but they would not have half the courage to venture into the path less traveled.
2) When in company, they dress exactly like their peers. We, as a group, know the implications and the bulwark of costume, so the party who is really the most vulnerable here, is only apparent after a bit of reconsideration.
3) I equate the iron will of the “trans in the open” with an unrelentless drive. Laughter shouldn’t stop you from doing what pleases you, nor should it put a damper on your lifestyle. It is always advisable to be in the company of friends when being out and about in the open, but just don’t let the weakest form of street culture get to ya.
To all this, I ask simply: Why let strangers run your life?
