Quote from: tekla on September 28, 2009, 03:51:19 PM
I bet the more open and tolerant they are, the higher the average income, with the reverse being true, the the least tolerant places, some of the extremely rural areas, are the poorest.

Look at the occupations where transitioning people are most accepted and you will find a higher education level prevalent.  Now look at the occupations where we are most discriminated against and you only need a high school education (or less) to apply.  Higher education usually means higher earnings. 

But there's also a spiritual belief factor that has a similar trend.  Belief systems that are open to nature and/or the natural world that is ever changing (Buddhism, Taoism) are more accepting of those who are different than belief systems that are stuck in ancient traditions that are more focused on man.

It boils down to one's ability to accept change and it seems those who resist change the most are the uneducated.  They have a phobia regarding change. 

And there are people who take advantage of this and feed their fears, typically to gain power and wealth.  Educated, intelligent predators preying on the uneducated for personal gain.  And in the process innocent people are thrown to the lions so as to create the "evil we must fight".  Right now that fantasy evil is the LGBT community.

Julie

Quote from: Julie Marie on September 28, 2009, 05:19:06 PM
Right now that fantasy evil is the LGBT community.

Julie

One of the best places to be an activist, is where you work.  BECAUSE.....your coworkers get to interact with you  not just once, or twice, but on a daily basis, and after a long enough time, see that you are as they, striving to make ends meet, having many of the same workplace issues, family issues.  You become a human being that loves, plays, contributes.
There are plenty of GLB's where I work.  Most were closeted, but now some are not. 
I talk openly about my family, about my love...my partner Marcy.....even to customers.  I display a 'Safe Spaces' sticker on my sales book for all to see.
How does this impact my sales?  Well, I DO seem to get the lioness' share of the LGBT business, often by word of mouth.  Also though, my sales to the straight couples and singles of all ages have increased.
SO.....it's not so terrible to be an activist in a small way, and help to normalize a huge misunderstood part of the population.

I wear my lesbian jewelry, and behave as who I am.....an openly, happy gay woman.
Try it.




Bev

All politics are local - Tip O'Neil

Bev, I looked up this topic from last winter. I'm sorry that you had your experience go sour. This was what I heard then, but I haven't gone to donate since:

Quote from: Alyssa M. on February 05, 2009, 10:44:22 PM
I emailed the local blood donation center, and they responded saying I should ask my doctor. If my doctor thinks it's okay, then they are fine with it. So I'll do that.

~Alyssa

So I don't think that there is some uniform edict, just that they don't know what to do. I sort of don't want to donate blood until I change my name, probably early next year, for reasons like this.

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Quote from: tekla on September 28, 2009, 05:51:41 PM
All politics are is local - Tip O'Neil

FIFY

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Bev, your last post reminded me of a conversation I had last night. I was talking to a friend last night (I'll call her "Ann") who is in a committed relationship with a trans woman (I'll call her "Betty"). Ann was talking about the lack of privilege and discrimination she feels as a lesbian, the way she is concerned about holding hands in public, talking about her home life, etc. She's pretty "out and proud," but she feels reservations about it. I suggested that Betty doesn't share her reservations, which Ann confirmed. It's a strange thing that gay and lesbian trans people often don't experience the same acculturation against our sexuality, since we appear normative before transition. I have sometimes observed a similar effect with black immigrants, who haven't had the same acculturation to American racism.

So Betty ends up being a more effective activist for lesbians, by exploiting the straight privilege she inherited from her upbringing; similarly, Ann ends up being a better activist for trans people by exploiting her cis privilege.

True, but the trouble with education is that you just can't bring yourself to murder the English language.  Since 'politics' is plural, you have to use 'are' and not 'is'.  I'd tell old Tip that, but he's dead and not much of a listener anymore.

Politics might be plural, but the phrase all politics can be construed as singular. This is a fairly common idiomatic useage of all in its noun (or pronoun) form; there is an implied of, as in, all of politics. Furthermore, there is good reason to construe as singular words that started out as plural. As an American, you probably do this with the word mathematics (as do I), which is why we say "math" rather than "maths." Unless you are the ghost of William Safire, you might do this with the word media as well. It's not education, it's idiom.

All rock bands is good.  All restaurants is expensive?

Somehow that's not correct. All politics is a plural, not singular, just as 'all' of everything/anything are plural, as all, will almost always refer to more than one.

     What an odd turn of topic(s)


Bev

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Post Merge: September 29, 2009, 04:47:38 PM

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Quote from: Alyssa M. on September 29, 2009, 02:36:16 PM

.....Betty ends up being a more effective activist for lesbians, by exploiting the straight privilege she inherited from her upbringing; similarly, Ann ends up being a better activist for trans people by exploiting her cis privilege.

This is a conclusion I came to myself, after some time of not "getting it".......duh...


Bev

Well, rock band and restaurant are discrete nouns. I have seen a rock band I have never come across a politic. So all of rock bands doesn't make any sense. How about, "All mathematics is summed up in the equation 1+1=2."? Or would you insist upon "are"? At some point, you start sounding a bit stuffy. Especially for someone who frequently uses who rather than whom in objetive cases. 

Besides, we don't have a King, so we don't have the King's English. We just have the Speaker's English. When Tip Spoke, he said, "All politics is local."