This second week of June greeted us with the smoggy haze delivered by the Northern forests in Canada. Initially, I was unable to really understand why the haze appeared (I just thought it was mountain fog). How could smoke from wild fires in Canada affect us in West Virginia, let alone DC, NYC, Philly, Cleveland and so many other major cities in the region?! The weather pattern was confusing, and at first, I just thought one guy was joking with me about the haze originating in Canada. I did not think it fully impossible, since I have seen "June Gloom" in Los
Angeles. The fog from the cool Pacific waters mix with the pollution in LA and creates weeks-long thick haze. Then, I spoke with Drew, who had shared how terrible the air quality was in Baltimore, and how the air almost had a chemical taste to it. Masks were being mandated again! He confirmed that the inmate was telling the truth, an the haze was really from Canada. Many of the pictures that I saw the following days of NYC and DC reminded me some Armageddon movie. I'm glad that the smog eventually dissipated for a routine weekend of pickleballing!
Changing subjects - One of the members from 2-Point Enhancement had just left Morgantown to return to his family in Cleveland, and so we played a concert on Sunday in celebration of his release. The concert went really well, and we played 16 songs which only took about 90 minutes. Thankfully, we have another bassist to replace him, so the band will still be together and hopefully will be playing an outdoor concert this summer. We are waiting on approval from the powers to be.
On Saturday, my parents visited for the 5th time (well my mom's 6th). It was a delightful visit. During our routine conversation, my mom shared some news that my second cousin had just transitioned FTM. I realize the lingo
and transgenderism can be confusing for so many people! FTM means a person identifies as a male who was born a female, and I'm sure you are able to figure out what MTF means 🙂 The confusion often comes with some political, cultural agendas from both ends of the radical spectrum. Many people have a foundation approach that your gender is the sex that you are born with. Yet, much confusion exists between transgenderism and gender theory. For example, Pope Francis often refers to the gender theory as a major concern for Catholics in Europe.
Many Catholics misunderstand gender theory for transgender. Gender theory is an ideology, like socialism is an ideology. Pope Francis is condemning an ideology, not a person, which often causes confusion for people to incorrectly judge individuals. Extreme transgender agendas intensify confusion, creating even hazier than it has been outside this past week.
June is the national month for celebrating diversity known as Pride, especially within the LGBTQ+ communities. So many people struggle with their self-identity. The daily struggles of not feeling accepted, being psychologically tormented, and overall feeling an internal rejection of the self creates havoc. Individuals who identify as transgender may change their name, pronouns, and physical appearance, but each and everyone is still a child of God. I am happy that my cousin feels at peace with himself, especially since I vividly recall some critical moments of incredible difficulty throughout the years. It may be challenging to suddenly start calling someone by a different name or using different pronoun, but imagine how difficult it was for that person to come to terms with their self-identity...the years of pure struggle and unhappiness of not feeling like they belong to their own body. It is a difficult concept for someone who has never experienced such existential questions. Over the past few months, the media has certainly highlighted this polarized subject...but it is more than a subject - these
are individual lives.
During 2015 and 2016, I worked on an LGBTQ+ policy for the Catholic schools in DC. Primarily, the focus was on students who identified as female but were born male and vice versa (for the most part). The question of bathroom and locker/changing room accommodations, the use of pronouns, the change of names, and much more were considered. I served on the committee that was trying to decide whether there should be a policy. It turns out a very conservative priest made a few substantial changes to the policy before final approval, which
caused the policy to be denied. Thank goodness the policy was not passed since the priest was really trying to push an agenda without pastorally considering the ramifications the a different policy would have. The Archdiocese of Baltimore had an all male school enroll a student who identified as male but was female by birth. The archbishop even approved the admission of the student. Actually this news came as a shock since Baltimore was much more conservative than the DC schools. Sadly, our committee worked hard on a really good policy which aligned with Catholic teaching and appropriately addressed students who identified as LGBTQ+. But that one priest pushed his own agenda undoing years of work and preparation. We do not have to agree with agendas or even have to fully understand transgenderism, but the pronouns and use of another name is simply respecting (and loving) that person with the same dignity that we always have. We are not changing our beliefs because someone wants you to refer to them with a different pronoun or name. That person just made a public statement that they truly struggled with their identity and have found some peace with expressing how they would like to be addressed...how they want to be respected...how they want to feel loved. As a society, we genderfied this issue with women changing their names. Commonly, men don't change their names
to their wives names (traditionally speaking). We have maiden names not other names that refer to a guy before he was married. We understand these name changes from weddings to be respectful. Someone may argue that it
is not the same, but it doesn't matter...someone changed their name! Heck, I seriously considered how to change my name to prevent confusion from all the court-related matters...to a have a fresh start. While these situations do not exemplify the need of a someone who would like to be acknowledged and respected by changing a name or preference of pronouns, we love them for who they are! We celebrate them for at least finding some internal peace with themselves.
Okay, I've preached enough lol. I just hope that we are able to really respect those individuals who are truly vulnerable and show them that we support their struggle and acknowledge their struggle and journey to find internal peace as they work through their self-identity. Suicide is tremendously high among transgender men and women, so please, please treat them with respect and show them the love and dignity as children of God, as beloved relatives, as fond friends, as loved ones. You do not have to agree and may even have very strong beliefs, but please be respectful and loving to those individuals who do make the smallest request to have a different pronoun or be called by a preferred name. Thank you for giving me a moment to share this reflection and even considering a different perspective! Please have a wonderful week and continue to look for the little miracles in your life!