Dirty low-down ... The F-word online and other vulgarities.

Chester-cat-ton

Where to start?

Recently I watched some deleted scenes from Seth Rogen's film, The Interview, one of the worst films ever made BTW.  The scenes contained a constant use of the F-word and other vulgarities - much worse than some Catholic blogs ...

Which prompts me to ask:  Why do you people have to use the F-word when you write your egregious posts?

What?

Transgender issues.

I think I am as repelled by transvestite/transgender stories - including transgender celebrities - as most ordinary men and women are repelled by the very notion of homosexual sex.  (I too regard homosexual acts as repellent.)  I guess what I'm trying to say, without any self-righteousness, is that transgender-ism is completely foreign to me - and literally disgusting.  Hence my inability to discuss intelligently the Bruce Jenner story, which aired last Friday evening.  Jenner did not impress me as someone sane - in fact, if he hadn't stressed how serious he is, I would have thought the interview was a stunt.

Nevertheless, I can't speak to the issue because I honestly don't understand it and I find it repulsive.  Trans-stuff has been around for a long time - I've known men who became women.  I went to school with one guy.  I never hung out with these people.  I always viewed drag as a joke - the serious drag queens I considered as freaks.  I simply had nothing to do with them.  When I heard that some of the guys I knew went in for the surgery, I thought it was a gross deception.  When I heard their stories discussed in documentaries, my visceral reaction was that their life stories were creepy - like a Steven King novel.

Self-referential trans-analysis.

Yesterday I came upon an analysis of Jenner's psychological state.  The person writing seemed to rely on some sort of gay diagnostic system purporting to explain what happened in Jenner's childhood to make him this way.  One can't do that without all the facts; medical, pharmaceutical, therapeutic and psychological analysis, the subject's diagnosis history, and so on, are necessary to discover what may have happened to cause him to choose such a drastic life-style change.  Not even a professional therapist, psychologist-psychiatrist, who never met Jenner could do that.  We can't diagnose or judge a person based upon our limited personal experience - be it gay or straight - nor can we compassionate another based solely on clinical research and diagnostics from a biased source.

That said, I came upon a transsexual story written by Walt Heyer, a man who underwent transgender surgery early on, yet lived to regret it, and warn others about it.  If you want to know more about transgender - read a person's account who actually went through the process.  He was not a gay man - like Jenner - he was never attracted to men - hence the diagnostics used in the post I read yesterday, based on homosexual experience, behavior, etc., can't automatically be overlaid onto the pathology of a transgender person.

Heyer's story begins like this:

The dark and troubling history of the contemporary transgender movement, with its enthusiastic approval of gender-reassignment surgery, has left a trail of misery in its wake.

Bruce Jenner and Diane Sawyer could benefit from a history lesson. I know, because I suffered through “sex change” surgery and lived as a woman for eight years. The surgery fixed nothing—it only masked and exacerbated deeper psychological problems.

The beginnings of the transgender movement have gotten lost today in the push for transgender rights, acceptance, and tolerance. If more people were aware of the dark and troubled history of sex-reassignment surgery, perhaps we wouldn’t be so quick to push people toward it. - Finish reading here.

Mr. Heyer's story is deeply unsettling.  His experience of childhood abuse - dressed in grandma's clothes - is just plain creepy.  His photos - then and now creep me out.  Like Bruce Jenner's or Chaz Bono's current photos creep me out.  Transgender creeps me out.  I sincerely apologize for having made fun of transgenders - their stories are horror stories on several levels.  Without doubt, the person needs to be accepted and compassionated - a spiritual act of mercy which is very difficult without charity.  I need to pray for charity.

When you write your story, your conversion story online, in a book, on EWTN ...

Try being discreet.  There is an SSA blogger who writes about stuff I never even heard of before - really creepy porno stuff.  Maybe that helps others - but maybe it's like another variation of porn?

Likewise, there's a woman online who had a nearly unbelievable sinful life, she claims she was a pole dancer and slut, had a few kids, put herself through school, married a wonderful man and lives happily ever after as a Catholic notable.  She has kids - I left a comment once on being careful about going into details about her sordid past - because some day the kids will go online and read that mommy was a slut.  I may be mistaken, but the last time I checked, her profile-bio changed - she appears to have cleaned it up.

Pornified lives.

I think people have to practice discretion and not make their blogs into some trashy novel or 'B' movie screenplay - even when it may be an underlying motive for writing.  Many times we write and speak using foul language that is out of place on a Catholic blog.  The following from St. Paul may shed light on what I'm trying to say here:

As for lewd conduct or promiscuousness or lust of any sort, let them not even be mentioned among you; your holiness forbids this. Nor should there be any obscene, silly, or suggestive talk; all that is out of place. Instead, give thanks. Make no mistake about this: no fornicator, no unclean or lustful person--in effect an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with worthless arguments. These are sins that bring God's wrath down on the disobedient; therefore have nothing to do with them. - (Eph 5:3-7)

Clean up your act.

When I read such disingenuous twaddle on your blogs I mistrust your judgement, I question your sincerity, I don't trust your 'witness' and fidelity, and I remind myself that none of us have any authority over the lives of others - and none of us really know what the 'real' problem is - even though we make claims that we do.  Hence, advice bloggers seem to me to be more like snake oil salesmen - with a Donate button.

And I laugh out loud.  I react with nonsensical posts - twaddle of my own - about all the topics you write about with such vigor, hoping to keep your imaginary Henry VIII title of Defender of the Faith.


Song for this post here.