Transgender people are probably the most misunderstood group of people in human history. Unfortunately, what most people have to go by as far as knowledge of transgender issues go are decades of vilification, misinformation and ugly stereotyping. It is up to us to educate people. Until recently we have mostly failed to do this, and let's face it, nobody is going to do it for us.
The fact remains that most people have still never (knowingly) met a transgender person and have never given our growing community a second thought. We have come a very long way in the last ten years, and we still have a very long way to go before we are generally accepted in society.
Jon Stewart is no exception. He is a bit more progressive than most, but like most Americans, he was apparently completely ignorant about trans issues. In 2004, we were nothing more than joke fodder to him because it was still generally acceptable, even amongst liberals and LGBs to joke about transfolk. Let's face it, we are still the low-hanging fruit, easy targets for a cheap laugh and we can only fix this by getting the word out that this attitude is unacceptable.
I have personally removed plenty of heads from asses in the last couple of years and even made allies out of former haters. I think that if we all made an effort in this regard, we, as a community would see progress made even faster. I forgive Jon Stewart because he likely didn't know any better at the time and that I am a firm believer in rectocranial extraction and redemption. Perhaps one day we will all hear a resounding *POP* when this happens nationwide, but it will not happen unless we fight the pervasive ignorance that has plagued us from the beginning.
I believe that Jon Stewart's cheap shot at us was a symptom of the underlying problem- our systemic subjugation and subsequent silence.
This cycle must be broken, and it is up to us.
