Wasn't I Born With These Rights?

Years ago a friend of mine told me that so often I took these ideas for granted. He was right I gave very little forethought as to how new in history these ideas are. Those ideas were also written for white, male, land, owners. I, as a transwoman, was not born with these rights at least not the year of my birth. I gave that up when I gave up my white male privilege the day I came out. I am so thankful for all who have lost their lives, freedom, families, home, and jobs in the struggle for me to have the same rights as everyone else.

I refuse to lay down any rights.  I may run in to obstacles, but I know how to jump a hedgegow, bulldoze a closet, politely ask to be treated respectfully.

I caught myself in violation of my own rules, I am not here to change your perception of your reality but seeking others to help me understand more about myself. So what this means to me

preservation of life, & liberty , & the pursuit of happiness;

Preservation of life: to keep alive or in existence; make lasting

Liberty: the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views

Pursuit of happiness: fundamental right mentioned in the Declaration of Independence to freely pursue joy and live life in a way that makes you happy, as long as you don't do anything illegal or violate the rights of others

I want to stay alive, and to make lasting, I want to be able to be myself, though I know many people out there will try to discourage me from making the changes in my life that would that would  make me lasting. While I stay silent, I put on a mask to appease those that would make it harder for me to pursue a life of happiness, and now I feel they are oppressing me by me living with restrictions, cause obviously I am live in self preservation mode, cause I need to be able to take care of myself, since being me has already cost me a marriage.

Clearly throughout the history of the United States of America,  those Rights were interpreted very narrowly, thus the Bill of Rights has expanded and clarified the meaning of those rights.

I believe that we need to continue to expand what those rights actually mean.  As it is very difficult to add to the Bill of Rights, the next best way is via Case Law.  What my spouse and I have done personally is to contribute a small amount each month to Basic Rights Oregon (BRO) and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) to help increase the volume of our voice.

I believe that the most powerful thing we can do simply requires us to live our lives with kindness to ourselves and to others and be out in the world and visible.

By being active in the world and being my authentic self, that is by it's nature making a difference. I can't be in public and be invisible or "blend in" due to my physical size (at over 6' 4" and over 300 lbs). I dress in a way that brings joy to me (for me that means a Dress or Skirt - no pants except when doing outdoor chores).  I believe most people will see me as a Transgender Woman (and not just a Women) due to my physical size and my voice (I am working on that).

I will not hide, I will "vote" with my wallet and I will ask to speak to a manager if I'm not being shown respect by employees. I am still the same polite, respectful and pleasant person I was before going full time.

-Cindi

Girls........you are absolutely correct. In my travels I have seen absolutely horrible treatment of women and children. Our trials here in North America pale by comparison to a lot of other countries. When you consider history and the fact we are all basically immigrants from oppressive areas, our ancestors brought all these habits with them. We are relatively a role model for the world with the progress we have made. But......there is a long way to go. The Governments in North America are allowing all kinds of refugees into the countries and sadly some of them are just trouble makers and it is causing our peaceful and accepting population a lot of grief. It can be seen around the world. I am not against immigration and welcome those who want to escape the barbarism that has taken over the world. Even our own people have these traits and it must be stamped out before all is lost.

Well....there I go...soap boxing it again. I am sorry....do get carried away. What I have seen in my lifetime and my time in Vietnam has made me very critical and depressed over life. It is no pun when I say....Thank Heaven for Cross Dress and Transgender Heaven sites. If we all walked a mile in each others shoes....the world and life would be a much better place for us all.

Dame Veronica

There’s many US Laws to remedy. Here in MN we’ve been working on the Conversion Therapy Ban, which is pretty much viewed as fraud, in order to make better law against discrimination towards the GSM. I don’t think I’ve had freedom or rights in US as in our founding documents. I do my best to make my life right everyday by supporting justice and restorative justice efforts for the GSM. I hope someday soon we’ll get them and reparations will be paid to us all.

Hello all, yes we should all have these rights. The documents are old and written from a time when white men owned the country. Hence things like all men are created equal was a slight in and of itself, the term all people were and are created equal is what we should be striving for. Lets not forget either, that being created equal does not equate to being treated equally or fairly. We have a long ways to go on that front. I served 20 years in the military. For those of you who have served you know that you gave up some of your rights to freely express yourself just to do that in itself. I was born a white male, and while i choose to be transgender i realize that i am choosing a path that is not going to be socially acceptable to all and can only say that all things worth doing come with a price and that freedom is an ever upwards fight. So be proud, and carry your beliefs forward and try to encourage change for everyone.