As a natural-born Texan, I find it very difficult to understand how people can condone discrimination. Texas was founded on freedom, not discrimination.
The whites, blacks, and Hispanics all fought together to gain freedom from tyranny. At this time in our great history, slavery was outlawed by the Mexican government, yet that very government persecuted the pioneers who came to seek their fortunes, family security and a place in history.
William Travis came to Texas from Alabama where he fled from debts and his wife. James Bowie came to Texas to further his fraudulent land deals and gain wealth in land grants. David Crockett came to Texas to get away from the outrageous politics in the United States.
These three men are embedded into our history as great men. These were the undesirables from the United States, yet they understood the importance of freedom.
As a Texan, I am deeply influenced by these three men. They sacrificed their lives so that we could live as respected humans. We all remember the phrase, “Remember the Alamo.”
Today, too many politicians are garnering forces to create a society of hate through discrimination. Enlightened people in Texas have made great advances to ensure Texans a safe and respectful future. Current legislative efforts to curtail freedom through discriminatory laws are an insult to the history of our great State of Texas.
Instead of working toward freedom and respect for all Texans, our political leaders are openly defying the dignity of a select minority group: lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, intersex people and our allies.
We, as citizens of this great state, need to make our voices heard loud and clear. Stop the hate and endorse love. This should be our anthem for freedom under these circumstances.
We can find common ground to work through our differences. No matter how impossible everything may seem to be, when faced with an impenetrable barrier of religious beliefs, personal commitments, freedoms, class status, socioeconomic status or family standards, we can overcome our differences. That barrier, regardless of its basis, can be torn down just as the Berlin Wall was torn down after decades of righteous social justice attacks against inhuman rights.
We, as Texans, are strong and willing to claim our rights to freedom and justice. We are a very proud people, justly earned.
Our legislative session in Texas begins in January 2017. Legislators have submitted numerous bills to curtail the rights of Texans. Even though only minorities are primarily impacted directly with discriminatory legislation, eventually all Texans will carry the burden of wrongly persecuting small groups of people for personal prejudices and discrimination.
We encourage all people to step forward and let your voices for social justice be heard loudly and clearly. Today, we fight for “Freedom Cause” against myths, stereotyping, misinformation, unfounded propaganda and any form of injustice that hurts our neighbors and neighborhoods.
The Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit (501c3) stands for justice along with the National Association of Social Workers Texas Chapter and Equality Texas.
Josephine P. Tittsworth, ABD, LMSW, BSW, AA is a UH graduate and executive director of Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit. She can be reached at [email protected]
If anyone was crying election night … it was Jo(seph)ine.
And other times, when of course … Jo is not comparing hisher hardships to the hardships that the Founders of Texas endured, hesheit and the other 1% of 1% of 1% of Trannies are planning on thrusting their lives in our face without recrimination.
Yes … with HeSheIt …. the needs of the few … the microscopic few … outweigh the needs of the many.
Instead of Jo consulting a psychiatrist for a nasty cross-dressing habit … businesses now must consult with contractors and lawyers to accommodate Jo’s bathroom needs and wants.
Yes by Jo … the 1% of the 1% of the 1%, who are fighting for their Tranny Freedom … just like our Texas forefathers … who were searching for those “must-have” pumps at the roadside markets on their way to San Jacinto. They want to force us to accept their five-o’clock shadows with matching lipstick, along with their awkward gaits from those antique TexRev pumps they found at a garage sale.