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Post Merge: March 19, 2009, 07:50:29 AM

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Odd, no, how a marvelous video like this gets no responses from anyone? I hope that dosn't mean that it doesn't matter.

Nichole

Really a good video.
Some of those statistics are scary.
Part of the lack of comments is only a few people have even seen this thread. It was at 16 when I looked.

Okay, all of them except Dana. She works for Microsoft! 

Okay, I'm kidding. I really do hate their products and philosophy on computing, but it's more than outweighed by how much Bill Gates (him in particular) has used his influence and power and, well, cash, to make the world a better place. I really respect the man, if not what he sells.

Quote from: Alyssa M. on March 19, 2009, 07:23:10 PM
Okay, I'm kidding. I really do hate their products and philosophy on computing, but it's more than outweighed by how much Bill Gates (him in particular) has used his influence and power and, well, cash, to make the world a better place. I really respect the man, if not what he sells.

If he were truly that interested in helping, he would not be the richest man in the world.

Does anyone, or any family truly need that much money? Think of what he could do if he decided not to be the richest. What he spends on charity is not much more than a tax break for him. On the other hand, at least he does some good with it compared to some of these greedy people.

Quote from: Leslie Ann on March 19, 2009, 09:24:06 PM
Does anyone, or any family truly need that much money?

Quote from: heatherrose on March 19, 2009, 10:05:35 PM

If it took you five minutes to draw a picture
and Bill Gates came along and offered you
a million dollars for it, would you accept it?

I believe she asked about "need" Not "greed" or "desire." The speciousness of your query, as if having a human quality like other humans have that quality somehow makes her statement less true than its opposite may be, really doesn't make a valid point at all. Except that perhaps she would accept $1M if it were offered her.

I don't believe it makes her statement untrue at all. But it might make us feel better if she answers "yes." No?

Nichole

Quote from: Leslie Ann on March 19, 2009, 09:24:06 PM
If he were truly that interested in helping, he would not be the richest man in the world.

Does anyone, or any family truly need that much money? Think of what he could do if he decided not to be the richest. What he spends on charity is not much more than a tax break for him. On the other hand, at least he does some good with it compared to some of these greedy people.

It's a lot more than a tax break. He's given about half his money away, and is on track to meet his goal of giving most of the rest away before he dies; and his money does more good in the world, dollar for dollar, than almost anyone else's.

If anyone is worthy of that wealth, it's him. I'm sure wouldn't be nearly as good a steward as he is. Obviously Bill Gates doesn't need those forty gigabucks, but the world's probably a better place for him having it, which is an extremely rare if not unique situation.

...

Oh, well, I guess I made the thread drift. I'm sorry, Nichole. 
The video was nice, Nichole, but I'm not sure what kind of discussion you were hoping for, since it's kind of preaching to the choir to put it up here, don't you think? I guess I'm just not so excited about giving Trans 101 lectures; I prefer the "teach by example" method. F'rinstance: instead of saying, "Hey, look, we're just folks too," I try to just be folks and hope that people draw the lesson. It's worked reasonably well so far, even with some people I expected to be (or obviously were) rather transphobic.



~Alyssa


p.s. Heather Rose -- nice downstream lenticular cloud in your profile picture! One day I'd like to climb Liberty Ridge or ski Emmons Glacier or something.

Now if we could get the rest of the world to see it and understand, that that is all we want.  Dignity and Safety.

The video was very touching to me.

Janet

Wow!!! I can't believe this thread slipped passed me  Yes, everyone does matter and should feel happy and safe to be who they are.

Discrimination and violent attack need to be confronted in the legal arena's of every venue until there is equality and respect for all

Okay, to avoid further thread drift (sorry Nichole) I will answer the question, but I will refrain from Gates as it is a MAJOR pet peeve of mine.

First off, lets establish something, a million dollars, while a whole a lot to me (and probably you), it's not much in the grand scheme of things these days. When I left California an average 3 bedroom home was $800k and it would be nowhere near the beach (yes, it is a bit cheaper now, but not cheap). Face it $1million does not go that far anymore, it's really not that much money it only sounds like it.

Grab a calculator, subtract taxes (say 30%?), plus a lawyer (needed to keep the sharks away from it) now divide that by say 45 years (estimate of my life remaining). Still think $1million is a lot of money?


Now...
Honestly would I really take it?
It would depend on who was paying. Some rich guy like Gates, yeah I might. Would I feel bad, probably not, he can afford to blow a million like that with no skin off his back, he would not offer if he couldn't afford it. Would I take it from someone less fortunate, no, I would reach a compromise on the price. I do a lot of sliding scale and charity work. Do I make a lot, heck no, but I can sleep at night.

Ignoring the Gates issue, well a bit. He has made a difference to immunisation. His cash will find a cure for malaria. His cash is finding ways to do CD4 couts for HIV in Africa. I'm a scientist and it was amazing to see his response, how he organised truely great minds to guide his efforts. No one else has.

But! I had never seen that video. It was touching and I think the lack of comment is because we all know it's true. One of my TG friends has a philosophy that is similar to Alyssa's. Don't leave a person you meet in any doubt about how nice and normal you are. Talk and joke to the shopkeepers, bar attendants etc. OK the transphobes will still snarl but we have to educate. I remember when Freddy Mercury got AIDS and he couldn't say so because it was a "gay' disease. "Gays" are  increasingly accepted, it's almost a compulsion to have a "gay" character in the sitcom's (which I hate). There are still hate crimes, always will be. No one will accept us, unless WE teach them. No law will make you acceptable, it may or may not protect you, I doubt it. The USA is the only place outside China that uses capital punishment. Has it done anything to slow the rate of murder?
You have to change mind set.

Sorry for the rant

Cindy James

Cindy,

I thought you made a point, not a rant.

But to be fair, I don't think that what I might call "personal evangelism" is really enough; laws that encode equal protection as the will of the people, and thus delegitimatize anti-trans bigotry, are equally if not more important. I don't fight for them in the way that many activists do only because it's not something I really know how to do. Dammit, Jim, I'm a physicist, not a community organizer!

Take the civil rights movement of the '60's: It glorified "normal folks" like Rosa Parks to convince white people that these anrgy black people were just "normal folks like you and me," but the central aim of the movement was a push for legal reform to delegitimize and deinstitutionalize the racism. Presenting "normal folks," the non-violence approach, etc. were tactics to get legal reform, which was the most important step toward the long-term goal of societal change. Our priorities ought to be similar, in my opinion.

Anyway, that's a different way to look at it; I honestly go back and forth on which comes first, acceptance or laws. I'm not sure there's a good answer.

~Alyssa

Hi Alyssa

I'm not saying we don't need legislation but that alone will not help. As you said in the black rights issue it was the courage of the individual to stand before society and say "this is wrong" and get normal people to think and agree. I'm sure there is still discrimination and idiots who think there skin colour is of importance. But hopefully the majority see that discrimination is just wrong. We have sex, religon, disability and age discrimination for ages in South Australia. It is law that discriminating against GLTG is illegal. And transgenedered are mentioned specifically. OK, it's a start, but general society still discriminates more against TG than against G&L. Why? Because G&L look more normal? Because cutting of your balls or breasts appears freakish? I don't know.

Love

Cindy James