People today...

   I took my car to the dealership to see about getting a part I needed for my car and the guy told me I would need to wait while they looked it over to assess the supposed "damage", pfft!  Anyway, I went to go look for a seat outside as I figured the wait shouldn't be too long and there was an older woman sitting there already. I got a phone call as I approached her and the bench and asked her if I could sit down, she obliged.  I sat down next to the older woman and got into my phone conversation, making sure not to be that obnoxious loud, ridiculous person on a cellphone.  I was on my phone, telling my friend about me and my daughter watching RuPaul's Drag Race and blah blah blah.  I noticed that the woman next to me gave me a "look".  I looked over at her and she rolled her eyes at me... I asked her if there was something I could do for her.  She asked me how old my daughter was, I told her 6, she told me that I should be a more responsible parent.  It was at this point that I told my caller I would have to call them back.  It took all the strength in the world for me to not flip out on this woman, instead I thought rationally and decided to see where this was going.

   I took a deep breath and asked the woman to continue.  She explained to me that "good, normal" men do not walk around in women's clothing, especially on TV and good parents do not allow their children to watch such nonsense.  It's bad enough that I, myself, would buy into such disgusting behavior, but to allow my child to do so as well at such a young age, is just dangerous.  As politely as I could, I went in on this older woman.  I explained to her that unfortunately, I do not know any "good, normal" men, and neither would I want to.  I do not want to expose my daughter to "good, normal" men either.  I am raising my children not to be like people such as her, I teach my children that there is nothing wrong with just being you.  I teach my children not to judge other people for who they are.  I also remind my children that it wasn't so long ago that our ancestors were discriminated against as well for something they could not control, and still happens to this day.  I asked her why she thought that men who did drag were disgusting?  She of course told me it wasn't Christian-like.  I simply looked at her and sighed.  I asked her about the part of the Bible where it says to love everyone as Jesus has loved us?  I asked her if she had done some things in her life that weren't exactly "Christian-like",  I asked her how horrible would it be if everyone were to go through life ganging up on people only because of what they see, never to actually know people as people but as broad unjustified generalizations...  I told her it has happened before, happens today in fact, every single day.  I asked her what if people were to judge her without ever knowing her.  She stared at me blankly through all of my questions and was still just staring at me, trying to find the words when the guy came up to me and told me that they were ready.

   I got up and the woman watched me as I stood up, still contemplating what she should say, and I turned to her, told her my name and that it was nice to talk to her.  I left her with: I didn't assume that you were racist because you were white.  You shouldn't assume that men who dress up as women are anything less than people who deserve common courtesy just like you and everybody else.  Nobody wants to be written off because of who we are, just think about that, please.  Have a great day.

    People ask me if I am obsessed with gay people or drag queens.  I wouldn't call it obsessed, I just enjoy and admire people who are true to themselves, it's just a bonus if they're fabulous! :D  I am an admirer of people who are different, people who are fun, (this list can go on and on), and I live for the opportunity to stand up for what's right and have an intelligent conversation.