Friday, June 12, 2015

Not the same at all

I recently saw the following image on social media:



It bothered me when I saw it, but I couldn't pinpoint why. So I did some thinking and some reading, and now I've got it figured out. They're simply not the same at all.

Tim Tebow is a Christian. America is a (by far) majority Christian country. What he did took little to no courage, because there is simply nothing all that special about coming out as a member of the majority (if Tebow was in a country where Christians are actually persecuted, such as a number of Middle Eastern countries, then it would be a different story).

Caitlyn Jenner -- oh yea, the picture says Bruce Jenner. That's just one more reason to find the picture wrong: Bruce has changed her name to Caitlyn, and if it isn't a legal change yet, I'm sure it will be soon. People who change their names should be called by the new name, regardless of why the change occurs. And while we're at it, what's with using the pronoun "himself"? Caitlyn Jenner is a woman, plain and simple, who just happens to have been born with male sex parts. Anyway, moving on.

Caitlyn Jenner required courage to come out as her authentic self in large part because we live in a country that is a majority Christian country, and generally none too friendly to transgender people. Jenner is risking a great deal by coming out, including abuse and murder. I applaud her for her courage. I hope everything goes well for her, and others like her who aren't celebrities.


3 comments:

  1. I agree that they're very different, although I would include one more reason why.

    As you say, what Jenner did is much more difficult than what Tebow did. But also, what Tebow did was *against NFL rules.* You're not allowed to have slogans on your uniform or eyeblack. And all the people who applauded Tebow for breaking the rules would have lost their shit if a Muslim did the same thing.

    Personally, I don't really care if an NFL player has slogans on their uniform. But the support for Tebow was hypocritical.

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  3. Excellent point, Timothy. I wasn't aware of that NFL rule.

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