Why Does This Happen?

[Sally]

I read Laura's post on Doctor Zucker and his plans to rewrite the DSM V about transgendered - this is just as intelligent as turning over the economic recovery to the people who got us into this mess.

We gave money to the CEOs to bail out their companies and they used it for parties and trips, big surprise!

The auto manufacturers flew to DC in their private jets to beg for money.

We are in a depression while they still debate if we are heading into one.

We have soldiers dying in foreign countries with no real plan for getting them back.

And the Congress of the United States is spending all of its time and resources to examine Steroid use in Major League Baseball.

With this kind of attention to priorities and doing the right thing, how naive must we be to assume that anyone would care what happens to a bunch of 'drag queens and kings'.

We aren't human because we don't have a huge political lobby with unlimited cash to buy some 'elected' officials and force legislation that could stop this sort of thing.

We are at the mercy of the Psychiatric profession that doesn't want to let go of their control over us and turn it over to the medical profession.

If Transgendered were considered to be a medical condition changes in the Standards of Care would reduce the Psychiatric requirements while the new DSM V will no doubt increase them and probably require an attempt at "Reperative Therapy" - his personal favorite.

It is of little concern to people who are supposed to be looking out for our best interest that the suicide rate might actually be higher among transgendered who have undergone his therapy, I haven't seen any surveys but it is only logical that if you retrain someone to believe that they are not who they are, when the feelings come back, and they will, that the depression will be deeper - they have two choices, go back for more therapy (Cha- Ching!) either reparitive or not it's still bucks, or suicide and that can be used in statistics to prove that it is a mental disorder.

He is in the perfect win-win situation everything he does sends more people streaming to the couches - I have had such little respect for the psychiatric profession for a long time and that made it very difficult for me to go to a therapist, but you have to prove that you are 'nuts' to be allowed to have the SRS - I would prefer to be proven 'sane' before being allowed to have the surgery.

Therapy carries with it a stigma among the group of narrow minded, fear driven paranoid individuals who could most benefit from it.

Do we really need to add another strike against us? (To keep Congress interested I will continue with Baseball analogies - people losing their homes is too trivial - but Baseball!)

Really, it's the bottom of the ninth, we're down by three runs, the bases are loaded, their 'ace reliever' (Doctor Zucker) is on the mound and we step to the plate with two strikes having been called while we walked from the on deck circle!

When will we as American Citizens (and this is true for other countries as well) rise up and remind these rich and oh so out of touch politicians that they are working for us!

So are the Medical and Psychiatric Professions, but we can't really control them - Congress can, they can over ride the control of the medical and psychiatric organizations by instituting a national health care policy - not even having to actually start National Health Care just control over policies.

Then our care would be jointly under this over seeing body not either one of the other sub groups, it could then sort out the medical and psychiatric studies on a level field and determine the best means to help the Transgendered - would they?

No, because we still lack the funds!

How about asking our GBL friends for help in this, Oh wait I forgot, they want our help but it doesn't seem to be a reciprocal agreement most of the time.

In short, How does this happen?

Because we let it!

Love ya,

Slightly Steamed Sally

[Guest leo]

doesnt know what to say

but agrees

[Guest michelle.butterfly]

To me the problem is the fundamental problem with state--that of allowing the government to have so much control over our lives to begin with--especially centralized control of licensing and medical treatment by the Federal Government in the first place.

Although I suspect I'm in the minority here on this issue, the fact is that due to the monopoly of licensing of doctors and psychiatrists by the state, those who would treat the transgendered (or anyone else for that matter) in a way contrary to prevailing opinion risk the loss of their licenses to practice. If, instead, there were competing organizations for licensure there would be the opportunity for other organization to offer licensing and put out different standards, and we would be free to choose doctors and psychiatrists that followed the rules that we felt were proper.

By asking the Federal Government to take over policy you are just as much risking that they would choose the *wrong* policy, as should be evidenced by so many past decisions it has put in place. While it is tempting to ask for the ruling elites to put out the rules that we favor, the fact is (borne out by history) all decisions made at that level will be made on the basis of where the money and power flow from, rather than the decisions we would have them make.

Better to wish for freedom, in this girl's (not so) humble opinion.

Michelle

[Sally]

A lack of any form of regulatory comission brought us the HMO or liscense to refuse treatment if it is not profitable, I have a friend who almost went blind waiting for his eye problems to qualify for treatment.

It is all a question of which selfish and self serving group you want to be in control - money mad or power mad neither is a good choice but money people will not allow SRS the 'risks' outweight the reward - for them.

Cynical Sally

[Guest RainBird]

Money and power, essentailly the two as one, will always be the priorities of those in charge unfortunately, a simple request or a cry for help often comes with the inevitable reply "What do we get out of it?"

It's quite strange really, we as transgendered people have to work our hands to the bone just to become free women and men in this world.

When will they learn that it's not the same as setting goals for cosmetic changes, flat screen tv, a boat or a house, these are luxury items I do believe we have to earn but all we are ask for is to be granted the rights and freedom to live where most people with biologically gendered harmony take it for granted.

I believe SRS should be government funded unlike cosmetic augmentations, what will the government get back from this they may ask.. I'll tell you, decreases in psychiatric conditions and mental health treatment expenses to be required in regards to the hundreds of thousands of gender dysphoric people (not exactly a minority if you think about it), a decrease in suicidal deaths or 'statictics' as they call it. Also to point out people who are given the chance and the right to live their life in harmony within themselves will have a higher success rate, employment opportunity and healthy well being to put back in to the country and be proud of it.

I cannot see why the well being of ALL people that the government bodies represent couldn't be a priority, being rather selective according to selfish throes of creed or thirst for benifit, power and popularity. All in all, the ones in charge need to remember that without us, 'The People', they are nothing nore would they have any purpose at all, even for their own power and wealth.

So with the reply '"What do we get out of it" there simple existance and purpose as the countries government is the answer!

[Guest SuperFlyGal]

The TG community is in no way a threat to the government at all.

The people who don't believe a person can be a TG are the ones who have money and power and often times the government is fine taking their side in order to gain that money and power. In all truth, the only way anyone would care about us is if some group began to mass-murder Transgender people and a week later the world will have moved onto something else. Nobody knows about what we have to go through and often times they don't understand or even care how difficult it really is. It's out problem, not their problem, and until it becomes everyone's problem nothing will happen.

Eventually though, as history proves, men like Zucker will lead to their own misery. He is a fool and an idiot, someone who has decided he believes in something firmly so it must be true and everyone else should think the way he does. Eventually our community will grow in some way, shape, or form and when we begin to rock the boat a little people will begin to pay attention.

As far as I see it, things will work out, but who knows when.