As much as I hate to jump on any bandwagon and spoute stupid shit at others, I may have to do that today. For the past week or so, the person in the media everywhere is the new and improved and happy with themselves, Catilyn Jenner. Personally, I couldn't care less about this person, or what they are doing. However, I think that in order for others to see what I am talking about, I have to put this out there.
From the time I was a little girl, I had three heroes. One, my dad. He's just awesome and he's a fun guy and he's someone that I use to compare men to. If they have a sense of humor, if they are polite, if they are kind to others, that kind of thing. My next one, Joe Montana. He was my favorite football player and his actions off the field were more of what makes me like him. He's not in the tabloids, he's not under investigation ever, he was a team player and gave credit for other people's greatness. I really liked him. Last, Harrison Ford. I still like him. I still go see his movies, I still love the thought of him being Han Solo one more time. He was someone who, to me, embodied the Great American Hero kind of idea. Not everyone will agree with me, most don't know my dad, but he's really cool.
As a grown woman, I now have more heroes for different reasons and for different kind of things. The reason they have become my hero is because they have stood up for what they believed in. Every one of the LESS THAN 1% of American's who have signed a contract giving all over to the government are my heroes. They have given up what most wouldn't. They are my friends, they are people whom I love and trust and I know lots of them. For me, a hero is someone who is inspiring to others. Someone who gives hope for other people, someone who paves the way for others to come up next. They may not all be the same, and there are reason why I admire some and not others, but, that's how I define a hero.
I have seen a lot of my friends say that there is no way that this person can be a hero. She didn't sign up for the military or give her life or limbs for the betterment of the country, she can't be a hero. Heroes are only military, or firemen, or policemen, those who put themselves in the way of harm to protect others. Well, of course these people are heroes, and they all deserve to be treated with respect (so if you think that policemen are pigs and don't deserve respect because they are always harassing you, perhaps you should think about not breaking the law then). With that being said, Gandhi is a hero who wasn't a military person or policeman or fireman, and I think of Gandhi as a hero.
A hero can be anyone. It could me, it could be you. It could be the guy down the street from you who did something extraordinary in a moment of selfless devotion. It could be the guy who ran in the touchdown on 4th and goal to have their team take the state title. It could be the kid at school who stands up to the bully and gets their ass handed to them, but, they did what was right and stood up when no one else did. Heroes can be skinny or fat or short or tall. They can have small breasts or no breasts. They could be someone who was on their way home and stopped to help an old homeless man have a warm fabulous meal. To say that Ms. Jenner isn't a hero is totally negating what kind of courage it takes to be true.
Being true to ourselves is one of the hardest things we do. We want others to like us and see the potential that we have. Yet we all wear these masks that hide who we truly are from the world. Only a few of us every take them off long enough to see who we really are. And the majority of people are afraid of themselves. What if they aren't nice to others and people don't like them anymore? What if I think badly of others, does that make me a bad person? If I have a bad day and scream and shout at people that I love because of my anger, am I bad parent? What if I have thoughts of doing harm, to myself or others? Am I a bad person because of it? No. The answer to all of these questions is no. Thinking about others when they anger you doesn't make you a bad person. Road rage that ends in the death of someone who didn't see you and cut you off makes you a bad person. Our thoughts alone don't make us one way or the other. What we do, how we react to our situations is what makes us good or bad.
The fact remains that, not everyone will view what Bruce Jenner did as heroic. Not everyone wants to see it either. But for this person, they have brought to light what only some want to understand. There is a population of people out there who are transgender who have taken who they are at one point and become who they are now. It takes a great deal of courage to be able to look at ones self in the mirror and know that, that's not who they are, and they will change what they see in the mirror to match who they are on the inside. There is a population of people who have taken their own lives, because they couldn't accept who they were, or those they loved couldn't accept them for it.
So, the next time you are scrolling through your news feed and see something that says that only military are true heroes, consider what a hero is. Not everyone believes in the same thing, so naturally, not everyone will have the same kind of heroes. Please stop bashing this person. I can't imagine what it was like living a lie for that many years. I can't imagine what life had to be like to go along with what others expected because it's not normal. I can only hope that eventually, this shit will die down and I won't have to see it at all. Good For Her! Welcome to being a girl :)
