I have some serious work to do to get some new strips up. The nice thing about this storyline, is it allows me to use Rollo and Little Evie a lot… (more coming!) and…. a new character in the subconscious!
It's good that you had that experience, Jase, but it's not entirely the rule. A fellow I knew a few years ago would have gotten the crap beaten out of him if his classmates had found out. He had to go bound all the time and act hyper-masculine to keep under the radar.
It is generally the case though that FtMs don't get as much trouble. After all they're gaining status. Who wouldn't rather be a man, men are about a hundred times more awesome just by being men! (note: sarcasm) At any rate, if people think you're 'really' still a girl it in fact threatens them even less because everyone knows women can't hurt you. (more sarcasm) The public didn't care as much about girls being gay either, we were simply not important enough.
MtFs on the other hand A. have lost status in a move that to many is completely inexplicable (see sarcasm above), B. have become visibly female and therefore a target which is scary enough if you haven't been learning it your whole life and C. invoke the anxiety of people who don't know how to respond, the outrage of women who see it as male appropriation and the homophobia of men who would rather chew off their own balls than compromise in even the slightest imaginary way their heterosexuality.
People who have decided to see you as the gender assigned to your birth-sex will often be confused, and about something they thought it wasn't possible to be confused about. So they'll get angry at you for challenging their view of the world. It's dumb but logical. And there have always been people willing to hang someone for challenging their view of the world. It's not a new thing, just a recent mutation of the mental disease.
As for brushing it off...we see and hear about so many horrors every damn day. That doesn't make it ok. It also doesn't make what happened in Rwanda Ok, or Mathew Shepard's death, or the gas station worker dragged under a car for blocks, or the statistic that one in 3 women will be sexually assaulted in their lives and 1 killed every day, or the kids killed by Karla Homolka. None of it's ok, but there's only so much horror a body can muster. People don't have to be dicks about it but you can't expect everyone to go "OMG!" every time we hear about the latest horrible thing. I'm saddened but not shocked.
It really does suck that such idiots exist, and that they not only exist but feel the need to cause others problems... It's nice to think that they'll get what's coming to them someday though.
In other news: Read through your archive. Good job on the comic. It's really neat, and I've always loved black and white inked comics.
I say, "Put down the chips. Put away the Oui Fit. Take out your machine gun, and let there be hell to pay." Even if it's only in your comic strip.
Hey, it's what I'd do. :)
--TTB
Dear Pinkbatmax,
During W.W.II August Pacific Theather their were some millions of troops who wished we used alot more of those "new fangled A0bombs"
But cooler heads prevailed. In Physics there is "Cause and Effect" Why do some people Hate so much they hurt rape and kill? They learn Hate! They learn from parents primaly, from outside sources, "bias media reports"
friends and peers,and in time of War, Goverment Propaganda.
Divide and Conquor. As long as we fight amongst our selfs nit picking details, Progress will be slower than need be:)
In the bedroom I rather be a woman,with another woman, In public I try to pass as an average guy.In Manhattan, at times,I looked and acted like a drunk mad man ,muggers wouldn't go near me. All the same I adjust to my suroundings:)
Tommy/Tammy
So to extend the "trans equals rape" notion to its full logical conclusion, if a woman (cis- or trans-) dates a guy who says, "Relax, I'll use a condom," and DOESN'T, was that also rape? Or is it OK because the woman was a whore who'd let a guy have sex with her without a condom?
Pardon while I seethe at the idea that someone would say that having sex with a trans woman who doesn't out herself first is morally equivalent to rape.
"Some suffer to the point where they feel numb; others are so numb they deserve to suffer." -- Peccatum, "The Moribund People"
Oh Eve, hhhhooooonnnneeeeeyyyyy!!!! D=
You shouldn't listen to what people say! Expecially when its on the internet! Its just a bunch of people saying shit that they think is cool to say!
WE LOVE YOU EEEVVVVEEEEE!!!!! DX
Yes. The trouble is when I see people argue that Gwen Araujo and others were rapists, and thier murders acts of justifyable self defence.... I just don't know how to respond. Especially when it's an otherwise sane, decent person who comes to that conclusion. I know the RIGHT thing to do is to continue the discussion civillay, use reason and persuasion, and appeal to decency and sanity. Ignorance, unlike evil, can be easily cured with education. Trouble is, I just don't know how to do that. I'm not the best at reasoned, measured arguments. So I had to excuse myself from that particular discussion because at that point I was incapable of civil discussion. I'm sure cooler heads than I provided the education, and persuaded, because I know for a fact that at least one of them only needed that.... Wasn't evil, but didn't know. Alas, there are better people better suited to that than I. I am vulnerable to strong passions. And I do wish I had been able to better help my own point of view be better understood. At any rate, I'm certain cooler heads have prevailed and those who expressed such an opinion have been given food for thought. Sometimes good people have blind spots, and as bad for me as that forum was, there were many good people on it. Quite the majority, I'd say. But surely my bowing out can be excused when all I had at the moment to contribute was venom.
WTH?
Justified?!
No killing is justified!
Especially for someone just being themselves!
Tch, might as well kill them because
they were being jerks, so it's justified in my head. GREH.
It's hard to change people opinions on topics...
Especially since there is such a fine line between what's right and wrong, and that line differs from person to person...
Poor evie :(
Hey,
I'm really loving your comic.
It made me a bit sad that you said you hope you can learn to react to things in an 'entirely appropriate' way. I've always felt the 'appropriate' way to be so disturbingly wrong. That people can sit in front of the news/reading the paper, taking in information about hideous things that are happening that very moment, and then turn round and talk to the person next to them about something completely mundane, as if nothing is wrong. I hate the numbness and the casual interest that people display towards this stuff. I hate how people can be so untouched. That they watch the news to 'keep up with what's going on in the world', but for most people it's just a bit of entertainment and they do f**k-all to try and make any improvements. Because as long as it's not touching them it doesn't really matter. They've got their comfortable existence and that's all they really care about.
So I feel relieved when I come accross someone who seems to respond normally, like you do. I think it's right to be sensitive to these things.
I don't mean you have to let things affect you to the point where you're too depressed to do anything. But please don't aim to numb yourself either. I know it's not easy, but being open and aware and sensitive to your environment is surely a better way to live. I think so anyway. It's only really people like you who bother to try and make a difference in the world, while the rest of the population sit on their bums in front of the TV and are just glad that nothing troubles them.
By the way, the report in question is here: http://www.liminalis.de/project.html#transgender
Satoshi, I appreciate your perspective, and I'd like to learn to share it.... "Yes, shitty things happen, but you can't let that paralyze you.... you have to keep living your life', yes? It really would be helpful for me to be able to focus on taking care of myself first. Dunno why I don't. Quick story: When I was in sixth grade, I had just moved from Massachusetts to Ohio. One day we watched a video in class of a recent news report, and I was dozing off, but came to sharp attention when a bit played about someone being executed in the electric chair. I sat to full attention. "But the death penalty has been outlawed!" I said, shocked. The kids, not predesposed to be kind to the new nerdy kid with odd gender signals in class, broke out in laughter. "No it's not, we execute people all the time. The teacher, annoyed at the outburst, offered a terse explanation that it was outlawed in some states only, and would I please be quiet and let the class watch the video? Anyway, it felt like a kick in the gut. To everyone's amusement, I started to weep, right there in class. What would have been the most beneficial to me? Probably to have kept my composure, stored the info away..... felt what I felt but not let it reduce me to a quivvering mess. But that's not what I did. Whether I'm not wired that way or wasn't brought up that way, I don't know. I still get paralyzed with grief and anger at these things. I hope I can learn to react to bad things in the entirely appropriate way, and yet, be able to take care of myself and function normally. Maybe someday.
@Jase: What you say, although I surely don't wanna minimize the shit that FTM brothers have to go through! Ain't none of us gets a free ride. =p
Satoshi, you're really not "getting it", eh? Yes, there's a lot of hate crimes- but transgenders get more than most people. Given the small percentage of the population that is trans, one every three days is pretty bad.
But that's not the worst of it, really- it's the attitude towards trans people, and how it's "okay" to commit hate crimes against them. That so many people can brush this off- or do it in the first place- is the terrible bit.
Additionally, interestingly enough, it's also a sign of huge gender inequality- a woman can act like a man, and become a man, with very little negative feedback (so far EVERYONE who's known I'm trans, with the exception of my grandmother, were supportive.) But a man can't act like a woman, or become a woman- that's just "wrong". MtFs get a lot more hate crimes directed towards them than FtMs. I have theories as to why that is but this comment is already long enough.
Don't feel so bad. There are alot of murders and hate crims every day. In New York a 16 year old lesbian was killed for no real reason after rejecting his advances and making it apperant that she wasn't into men. A gay man was attacked and brutally beaten by a group of men tied and dragged behind a pick-up truck. A radio shack employee had beaten a deaf man half to death after leaving the store...
Some people are monsters and will use any excuse to be monsters...
queenoftatters at 6:06AM, Oct. 7, 2009
It's good that you had that experience, Jase, but it's not entirely the rule. A fellow I knew a few years ago would have gotten the crap beaten out of him if his classmates had found out. He had to go bound all the time and act hyper-masculine to keep under the radar. It is generally the case though that FtMs don't get as much trouble. After all they're gaining status. Who wouldn't rather be a man, men are about a hundred times more awesome just by being men! (note: sarcasm) At any rate, if people think you're 'really' still a girl it in fact threatens them even less because everyone knows women can't hurt you. (more sarcasm) The public didn't care as much about girls being gay either, we were simply not important enough. MtFs on the other hand A. have lost status in a move that to many is completely inexplicable (see sarcasm above), B. have become visibly female and therefore a target which is scary enough if you haven't been learning it your whole life and C. invoke the anxiety of people who don't know how to respond, the outrage of women who see it as male appropriation and the homophobia of men who would rather chew off their own balls than compromise in even the slightest imaginary way their heterosexuality. People who have decided to see you as the gender assigned to your birth-sex will often be confused, and about something they thought it wasn't possible to be confused about. So they'll get angry at you for challenging their view of the world. It's dumb but logical. And there have always been people willing to hang someone for challenging their view of the world. It's not a new thing, just a recent mutation of the mental disease. As for brushing it off...we see and hear about so many horrors every damn day. That doesn't make it ok. It also doesn't make what happened in Rwanda Ok, or Mathew Shepard's death, or the gas station worker dragged under a car for blocks, or the statistic that one in 3 women will be sexually assaulted in their lives and 1 killed every day, or the kids killed by Karla Homolka. None of it's ok, but there's only so much horror a body can muster. People don't have to be dicks about it but you can't expect everyone to go "OMG!" every time we hear about the latest horrible thing. I'm saddened but not shocked.
Steampunkish at 1:45PM, Sept. 19, 2009
It really does suck that such idiots exist, and that they not only exist but feel the need to cause others problems... It's nice to think that they'll get what's coming to them someday though. In other news: Read through your archive. Good job on the comic. It's really neat, and I've always loved black and white inked comics.
TickTickBOOM at 6:03PM, Sept. 18, 2009
PBM: I've SEEN your Ballet Of Death. And I wouldn't want to be caught in the middle. EVER. --TTB
pinkbatmax at 4:03PM, Sept. 13, 2009
@ticktickboom: That, of course, is what I call the 'Freebie & The Bean' option.
TickTickBOOM at 3:06PM, Sept. 13, 2009
I say, "Put down the chips. Put away the Oui Fit. Take out your machine gun, and let there be hell to pay." Even if it's only in your comic strip. Hey, it's what I'd do. :) --TTB
tommym at 10:55AM, Sept. 13, 2009
Dear Pinkbatmax, During W.W.II August Pacific Theather their were some millions of troops who wished we used alot more of those "new fangled A0bombs" But cooler heads prevailed. In Physics there is "Cause and Effect" Why do some people Hate so much they hurt rape and kill? They learn Hate! They learn from parents primaly, from outside sources, "bias media reports" friends and peers,and in time of War, Goverment Propaganda. Divide and Conquor. As long as we fight amongst our selfs nit picking details, Progress will be slower than need be:) In the bedroom I rather be a woman,with another woman, In public I try to pass as an average guy.In Manhattan, at times,I looked and acted like a drunk mad man ,muggers wouldn't go near me. All the same I adjust to my suroundings:) Tommy/Tammy
lilithvf1998 at 12:40AM, Sept. 12, 2009
So to extend the "trans equals rape" notion to its full logical conclusion, if a woman (cis- or trans-) dates a guy who says, "Relax, I'll use a condom," and DOESN'T, was that also rape? Or is it OK because the woman was a whore who'd let a guy have sex with her without a condom? Pardon while I seethe at the idea that someone would say that having sex with a trans woman who doesn't out herself first is morally equivalent to rape. "Some suffer to the point where they feel numb; others are so numb they deserve to suffer." -- Peccatum, "The Moribund People"
crazyninny at 9:01PM, Sept. 11, 2009
Oh Eve, hhhhooooonnnneeeeeyyyyy!!!! D= You shouldn't listen to what people say! Expecially when its on the internet! Its just a bunch of people saying shit that they think is cool to say! WE LOVE YOU EEEVVVVEEEEE!!!!! DX
pinkbatmax at 7:06PM, Sept. 11, 2009
Yes. The trouble is when I see people argue that Gwen Araujo and others were rapists, and thier murders acts of justifyable self defence.... I just don't know how to respond. Especially when it's an otherwise sane, decent person who comes to that conclusion. I know the RIGHT thing to do is to continue the discussion civillay, use reason and persuasion, and appeal to decency and sanity. Ignorance, unlike evil, can be easily cured with education. Trouble is, I just don't know how to do that. I'm not the best at reasoned, measured arguments. So I had to excuse myself from that particular discussion because at that point I was incapable of civil discussion. I'm sure cooler heads than I provided the education, and persuaded, because I know for a fact that at least one of them only needed that.... Wasn't evil, but didn't know. Alas, there are better people better suited to that than I. I am vulnerable to strong passions. And I do wish I had been able to better help my own point of view be better understood. At any rate, I'm certain cooler heads have prevailed and those who expressed such an opinion have been given food for thought. Sometimes good people have blind spots, and as bad for me as that forum was, there were many good people on it. Quite the majority, I'd say. But surely my bowing out can be excused when all I had at the moment to contribute was venom.
nekeko at 5:25PM, Sept. 11, 2009
WTH? Justified?! No killing is justified! Especially for someone just being themselves! Tch, might as well kill them because they were being jerks, so it's justified in my head. GREH. It's hard to change people opinions on topics... Especially since there is such a fine line between what's right and wrong, and that line differs from person to person... Poor evie :(
Xenny at 9:34AM, Sept. 11, 2009
Hey, I'm really loving your comic. It made me a bit sad that you said you hope you can learn to react to things in an 'entirely appropriate' way. I've always felt the 'appropriate' way to be so disturbingly wrong. That people can sit in front of the news/reading the paper, taking in information about hideous things that are happening that very moment, and then turn round and talk to the person next to them about something completely mundane, as if nothing is wrong. I hate the numbness and the casual interest that people display towards this stuff. I hate how people can be so untouched. That they watch the news to 'keep up with what's going on in the world', but for most people it's just a bit of entertainment and they do f**k-all to try and make any improvements. Because as long as it's not touching them it doesn't really matter. They've got their comfortable existence and that's all they really care about. So I feel relieved when I come accross someone who seems to respond normally, like you do. I think it's right to be sensitive to these things. I don't mean you have to let things affect you to the point where you're too depressed to do anything. But please don't aim to numb yourself either. I know it's not easy, but being open and aware and sensitive to your environment is surely a better way to live. I think so anyway. It's only really people like you who bother to try and make a difference in the world, while the rest of the population sit on their bums in front of the TV and are just glad that nothing troubles them.
JinxMinx at 8:08AM, Sept. 11, 2009
She can have chips while playing the Wii :3. And nothing wrong with being more sensitive than most to the human condition.
pinkbatmax at 5:48AM, Sept. 11, 2009
By the way, the report in question is here: http://www.liminalis.de/project.html#transgender Satoshi, I appreciate your perspective, and I'd like to learn to share it.... "Yes, shitty things happen, but you can't let that paralyze you.... you have to keep living your life', yes? It really would be helpful for me to be able to focus on taking care of myself first. Dunno why I don't. Quick story: When I was in sixth grade, I had just moved from Massachusetts to Ohio. One day we watched a video in class of a recent news report, and I was dozing off, but came to sharp attention when a bit played about someone being executed in the electric chair. I sat to full attention. "But the death penalty has been outlawed!" I said, shocked. The kids, not predesposed to be kind to the new nerdy kid with odd gender signals in class, broke out in laughter. "No it's not, we execute people all the time. The teacher, annoyed at the outburst, offered a terse explanation that it was outlawed in some states only, and would I please be quiet and let the class watch the video? Anyway, it felt like a kick in the gut. To everyone's amusement, I started to weep, right there in class. What would have been the most beneficial to me? Probably to have kept my composure, stored the info away..... felt what I felt but not let it reduce me to a quivvering mess. But that's not what I did. Whether I'm not wired that way or wasn't brought up that way, I don't know. I still get paralyzed with grief and anger at these things. I hope I can learn to react to bad things in the entirely appropriate way, and yet, be able to take care of myself and function normally. Maybe someday. @Jase: What you say, although I surely don't wanna minimize the shit that FTM brothers have to go through! Ain't none of us gets a free ride. =p
Jase at 4:42AM, Sept. 11, 2009
Satoshi, you're really not "getting it", eh? Yes, there's a lot of hate crimes- but transgenders get more than most people. Given the small percentage of the population that is trans, one every three days is pretty bad. But that's not the worst of it, really- it's the attitude towards trans people, and how it's "okay" to commit hate crimes against them. That so many people can brush this off- or do it in the first place- is the terrible bit. Additionally, interestingly enough, it's also a sign of huge gender inequality- a woman can act like a man, and become a man, with very little negative feedback (so far EVERYONE who's known I'm trans, with the exception of my grandmother, were supportive.) But a man can't act like a woman, or become a woman- that's just "wrong". MtFs get a lot more hate crimes directed towards them than FtMs. I have theories as to why that is but this comment is already long enough.
The Satoshi at 10:28PM, Sept. 10, 2009
Don't feel so bad. There are alot of murders and hate crims every day. In New York a 16 year old lesbian was killed for no real reason after rejecting his advances and making it apperant that she wasn't into men. A gay man was attacked and brutally beaten by a group of men tied and dragged behind a pick-up truck. A radio shack employee had beaten a deaf man half to death after leaving the store... Some people are monsters and will use any excuse to be monsters...