here is a bio, from the Largo website, for Mary Gray Black, the commissioner who introduced the resolution to fire Stanton.
Yep, after seeing this, I believe my previous post was right on.
How much integrity does it take for a person to announce that she is transgendered, considering the likely result of such an announcement. In my mind, it takes a boatload.
Okay, it’s true confession time…
I had a good friend. I’ll call him Peter. Peter was a decorated constable in the Metro Toronto Police. He was, among other things, a mounted constable, and could wade his well-trained horse into crowds, without any injuries to the people in the crowd while breaking up the crowd. Most importantly to me, Peter was my friend.
Peter was a good friend. More than a few times, we had fun watching football games on TV while drinking beer (well, Peter’s preference was for rum-and-Cokes). Still, Peter was one of the boys.
When Peter announced to the world at large that he was becoming Cynthia, we all reeled. Some of his friends left him, and his wife left him. Some friends stood by. I was one of the ones who stood by, and I got to know Cynthia and her friends. I didn’t care what the outside looked like and what the name was; on the inside, he was still Peter, my friend. That never changed.
I went with it. Peter went for the beard electrolysis, and eventually, the surgery. Sadly, I left the area, and now, live elsewhere. But from what I understand, Peter–or how he (she) is now known, Cynthia–has been instrumental in helping police forces understand transgendered people and their special needs.
Good for you, Cynthia. Now, if you could only tell other jurisdictions about your experience, and how they have nothing to fear. The Largo committee has little to fear. If only they could understand that!
Or she might already be a lesbian, and has just had a few too many bad experiences with the Funky Cold Medina.
I just want to say that I love the three simulposts 
And TAER to the “Little Boxes” people like Mary Gray Black.
You’re right, Black should step down if her personal life is so distracted by what Stanton is doing.
Hey, I was first – and pithiest too!
Ahhhhh. Thanks for that link Klaatu. It has her email listed and I feel it’s only fair that I send her a note that says I agree with Sublight…
Now I’ll just have to find a way to be civil, etc.
::: sigh :::
Lack of integrity, trust, respect, or confidence my ass. Seems to me, he’s got those things covered in spades. Integrity for telling everyone. Trust that he kept his personal life separate from his personal life at the detriment to himself rather than his job. Respect appears obvious if one of the only two dissenting votes came from the mayor and the confidence just soars that he had more belief in these people to do the right thing than they could even fathom. Prejudiced fuckers. I hope he goes on to national public office or something and they’d have to answer to President Stanton. 
I forget who was the other dissenting vote. Also, apparently the email addy is the same for all commissioners, so be sure you address it to Mary by name.
My email also will be on the way.
Isn’t it possible that the opposition comes from ignorance rather than true bigotry? A lot of people are just not used to the transgendered, and may feel threatened. Whilst this doesn’t excuse bigotry, it does explain it, and a combative, defensive position is unlikely to be the best way to fight it.
I don’t see Stanton adopting a combative and defensive position.
“It’s just painful to know seven days ago I was a good guy and now … I have no integrity,” Stanton told the commission Tuesday. “My challenge here has always been that someday I was going to leave this organization. So I am going to do it with a smile on my face.”
$DEITY, I love the Dope 
. You won’t find this geekiness on $GENERIC_MESSAGE_BOARD.
This is such an important issue to some of you that a response should be inscribed and gold and hung on the side of the Chicago Reader building.
Yet, to others. . .having the procedure seems to amount to nothing more than having a mole removed. . .
Is this a procedure of such importance that it’s fair to say that the city council didn’t get what it bargained for, or it is pretty much analogous to getting a little knee cartilage removed, and having to sit on the couch for a couple days to recover?
What they “bargain for” is tied up in someone’s gender?
Vaginoplasty is major surgery with a long recovery time. It involves severing muscle right through the middle and then afterwards it needs years of daily maintenance to keep the two sides from growing back together. Mole removal my ass.
This procedure is of huge import to Ms. Stanton. How did the council not get what they bargained for? They hired a competent employee, they still had a competent employee. If he had lost his dick in a horrible dick-losing accident, sympathy would abound. If he need to have his testes removed because of cancer, he’d still be a fine individual. But because he needs to become a she, she no longer has integrity? Fuck that.
Yes, the change from MTF will take a lot longer than knee surgery. But that wouldn’t be time away from work except for medical appointments and treatments. And people could damn well get used to her growing boobs and changing her name, just like they could get used to not say “That took balls” after he had them removed due to cancer. Fuck these idiots.
*yes, I’m aware that I can’t create an analogy for shit–it’s one of my biggest failings.
Tell it to the poster who wrote, “How is it any more a distraction than any other surgery?”
Well, all I’m saying is that if this is such a monumental topic that we should inscribe something about it gold, it sounds to me like someone might be going through something that alters their perspective on a few things.
Beats me. Ask the person who wrote “inscribe it in gold”.
Does it say which direction the progress is in?
FOR ANYBODY ELSE, cockrash.
What a ridiculous response.
First of all, that’s NOT what he was saying. He was saying it’s not a distraction to the person having the surgery.
Second of all. . .I’ve said NOTHING about the transgendered in this thread that should have elicited that kind of yelling and namecalling.