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Aug. 5th, 2018 01:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dolari"You're brave to drive through some of the places you so as a Mexican Transwoman."
Maybe. Here's the thing...
There's a common sterotype that Texans are gun-toting homophobic hicks that will assault a transwoman at a glance. Well...I'm Texan. This is not me. Nor is it the people I grew up with. Or the people I lived alongside in the Hill Country. With few exceptions, the people I've met are more curious than angry. It may not be in their world-sphere, but when confronted by it, tend to use the right pronouns, treat me as a woman, and have (sometimes very squishy) questions about what I'm doing.
But there's something more they do, in common with the ones that aren't as accepting. They may not like me, agree with what I'm doing, even yell at me. But when an emergency happens, they tend do the right thing. I've seen the most conservative people help the most liberal people in emergencies in Texas. I've seen people go against their "better judgement" to help people. I myself have helped people, for better or worse, who I may disagree with or have no idea what their intentions are after the help is done.
Some will say I'm incredibly lucky. I probably am, honestly. But I like to think that if I assume good faith with someone, they'll do the same for me. This isn't always going to be the case. But it's a chance I'm willing to take when things go bad.
I've been known to say "That Texan you see walking down the street, wearing a ten gallon hat, possibly hiding a pistol under a mud-stained duster that says 'Come And Take It' on the back may have voted Republican in the last election...but if you smile at him, he'll smile back."
That isn't to say I'm completely running through these places arms open saying "HI I'M TRANS." I do tend to dress more conservatively, I always have keys in my hands, and often I don't even turn off the car if I feel oogy about where I am. But I'm going to assume good faith in the people I meet, because I hear the stories about Texans. And I am a Texan. And the stories don't often match.
My dad's a truck driver. His family came from a rural Texas background (some became ranchers, some also truck drivers). And they accept me and my trans friends, (well, with one or two exceptions in my family). I broke down in Fossil, OR. Eastern Oregon isn't known for being the most accepting of areas. The townsfolk there didn't know what to make of me, but they did know one thing: I needed help. And they gave it to me without hesitation.
The downside to all this? If I'm wrong about someone - there's a pretty darned good chance I'll be dead. So there is that. But I'll take the chance that most of them are going to be good people who will help when things go bad.
Maybe. Here's the thing...
There's a common sterotype that Texans are gun-toting homophobic hicks that will assault a transwoman at a glance. Well...I'm Texan. This is not me. Nor is it the people I grew up with. Or the people I lived alongside in the Hill Country. With few exceptions, the people I've met are more curious than angry. It may not be in their world-sphere, but when confronted by it, tend to use the right pronouns, treat me as a woman, and have (sometimes very squishy) questions about what I'm doing.
But there's something more they do, in common with the ones that aren't as accepting. They may not like me, agree with what I'm doing, even yell at me. But when an emergency happens, they tend do the right thing. I've seen the most conservative people help the most liberal people in emergencies in Texas. I've seen people go against their "better judgement" to help people. I myself have helped people, for better or worse, who I may disagree with or have no idea what their intentions are after the help is done.
Some will say I'm incredibly lucky. I probably am, honestly. But I like to think that if I assume good faith with someone, they'll do the same for me. This isn't always going to be the case. But it's a chance I'm willing to take when things go bad.
I've been known to say "That Texan you see walking down the street, wearing a ten gallon hat, possibly hiding a pistol under a mud-stained duster that says 'Come And Take It' on the back may have voted Republican in the last election...but if you smile at him, he'll smile back."
That isn't to say I'm completely running through these places arms open saying "HI I'M TRANS." I do tend to dress more conservatively, I always have keys in my hands, and often I don't even turn off the car if I feel oogy about where I am. But I'm going to assume good faith in the people I meet, because I hear the stories about Texans. And I am a Texan. And the stories don't often match.
My dad's a truck driver. His family came from a rural Texas background (some became ranchers, some also truck drivers). And they accept me and my trans friends, (well, with one or two exceptions in my family). I broke down in Fossil, OR. Eastern Oregon isn't known for being the most accepting of areas. The townsfolk there didn't know what to make of me, but they did know one thing: I needed help. And they gave it to me without hesitation.
The downside to all this? If I'm wrong about someone - there's a pretty darned good chance I'll be dead. So there is that. But I'll take the chance that most of them are going to be good people who will help when things go bad.
