I'm open minded BUT.......

[azsnowman]

Growing up on the rez, living on the mountain, has shown that I lead a very sheltered life......nuthin' really bothers me THAT bad, I'm a very easy going, very open minded person BUT...........what I witnessed today in Super Wal Mart made me SICK This is still a *redneck* community, very family oriented based community, predominantly Mormon (LDS), almost everyone owns at least 2 horses, raises their own beef for winter, and to see a *cross dressing* couple....(they were men, I'll use that term loosely thank you!) made my stomach turn..........I'm sorry, I can't handle that! I've honestly NEVER seen this display in public in all my life.........see, I told you I've lead a very sheltered life but dang it......this mountain, just like the rest of the world, is changing at a pace no one likes. "YUCK!" I need to go wash my eyes out!

Dennis

[GulfBreezer]

Hey Dennis, just don't use soap when you wash your eyes! It might burn!! It is not like washing your mouth out, the same rules don't apply!

[OtherHD]

Oh c'mon Dennis...





















It may have been Janet Reno

[Guest]

Seems like the BIG CITY is coming to the mountain Dennis. Living so close to Houston - I see that sort of stuff all the time. I am also a "redneck" lol! Trust me it doesn't get easier seeing that sort of stuff either.

[coriolis]

Yeah, I hate to see that too. They never get the makeup right.

[JetMaxx]

It's truly a sad day when going to the local Wal-Mart is as outrageous as watching the Jerry Springer show live

Here in metro Atlanta, I've almost gotten used to all the "human freak shows" I sometimes see in the store. Unless they are buck naked, I don't usually pay too much attention (because if I did, I'd likely lose my lunch

[Stephanie]

Obviously, working in Atlantic City you see ALL SORTS of sights! It can be a shock when you've first seen it, but for me my first time was so long ago that it's old hat now.

[Lindaloo]

Dennis... if you want to see some real cross dressers you need to take a vacation down to New Orleans and walk down Bourbon St. in the French Quarter. They are on every corner down there.

[breeze]

LOL @ coriolis!

[Southernmost Weather]

Dennis... if you want to see some real cross dressers you need to take a vacation down to New Orleans and walk down Bourbon St. in the French Quarter. They are on every corner down there.

Or visit Key West. We have an area of town that's been dubbed "The Pink Triangle." The alternate lifestyle folks (I refuse to use the term "gay" because to me that means happy) came up with the name. It has some "fabulous" bars along with some equally "fabulous" stores.

Different strokes for different folks.

[Stormsfury]

Charleston also has several places for alternative lifestyles as well ... there's been, let's say, some battles, even some billboard advertisements both for and against the alternative lifestyles, as, after all, home of many Traditional Southern Baptists.

Most of the alternative lifestyle people that I know are just another face in the crowd. Everyday people just like you and I, and for the most part you'd never know it. Just like any circumstance, there will always be a bad apple or two in every bunch. I try my best not to judge the taste of a person, but the person themself. A good person is a good person, and a bad person is just that, a bad person, no matter what his/her preference is.

SF

[GalvestonDuck]

And that completes the top 3 of my list of stuff that doesn't make sense:

1) That school in NY
2) The song MacArthur Park
3) Cross-dressers, transgenders, and transsexuals

I believe you're born gay or straight. But altering your body like that IS a choice. And I for one just don't quite understand why anyone would choose...ouch...to do that.

Aren't there any storms to watch??? I'm getting acrophobic up here on my soapbox.

[mf_dolphin]

Don't go to San Francisco Dennis! LOL I guess I'm just numb to it by now.

[Aslkahuna]

definitely do NOT go to San Francisco if alternative lifestyles bother you. The most embarassing incident I had was in the Philippines when a "crosser" try to hit on me while I was walking down the street with my girlfriend (now my wife)-she thought it was hilarious (she also looked infinitely better and more sexy than the cross dresser).

Steve

[Miss Mary]

Well, I for one was chuckling at this topic. But to get serious , I thought Stormsfury summed up my opinion on the matter, quite nicely I might add. I try very hard not to judge. I'm a very traditional person - by style/dress/lifestyle but I *try* to be open-minded to alternative lifestyles. As long as the people involved are good people.

Most of the alternative lifestyle people that I know are just another face in the crowd. Everyday people just like you and I, and for the most part you'd never know it. Just like any circumstance, there will always be a bad apple or two in every bunch. I try my best not to judge the taste of a person, but the person themself. A good person is a good person, and a bad person is just that, a bad person, no matter what his/her preference is.

SF

[vbhoutex]

Dennis... if you want to see some real cross dressers you need to take a vacation down to New Orleans and walk down Bourbon St. in the French Quarter. They are on every corner down there.

I will never forget the first time I saw cross dressers or transvestites. It was in Nawlins on Bourbon St. My wife and I were walking down the street behind 3 good looking(well 2 good looking and 1 not so good looking)women. They were moving slower than we were and about the time we caught up with them, the two prettiest ones burst out with an uproarius laugh and it was all male!!! Yep, the prettier ones were the guys!! This, by the way, happened in the early 1970's.

SF, I must agree fully with you and Miss Mary!

[Miss Mary]

David - thanks! To compare one situation to this one, different but nonetheless foreign to me: A young, teen-age clerk waited on me at Drug Emporium a few years ago. She was so pretty and sweet. You just couldn't help but notice. I was then watching the items she was ringing up to make sure the prices were correct. Then I noticed her arms. Cuts up and down, on each arm, starting at her wrists and going up to beyond where I could see. Spaced an inch apart, raised now since some were quite old. Very noticeable scars. Yes she was a cutter. I tried to pretend I didn't see that. She could have chosen to wear a long sleeved blouse but didn't. In a matter of seconds I switched gears from slightly repulsed to sympathy for another human being. Why was she doing this? What was so awful in her young life that she felt compelled to do that? It was my first and only encounter with this problem. I prayed for her, of course. Thought about her for a long time. I think it was then and there I decided to smile and treat teens/young people the same as always - no matter if they had a zillion tatto's, multiple body piercings, were wearing all black, or their hair was very different from mine. It's their choice of expressions, not what I would have chosen. But theirs. I've not come across cross dressers Dennis. And after I posted yesterday, I thought my response might have sounded judgemental. So if it came across that way - I'm apologizing. Some situations just shock us to our core. Animal cruelty will get me every time. You want to see me sobbing like a baby - show me an expose of behind scenes at the circus or a tape of bear-baiting, and I'm a royal mess. Not that you cried, you know. I just didn't want you to think I was making light of your reaction at Wal-Mart.

[Lindaloo]

David... back in the 80's my cousin and I were down on Bourbon with our boyfriends. There was a beautiful girl with long blonde hair walking down the street too. MY boyfriend was ga ga and looking, until she approached my cousin and they hugged because they went to school together. Come to find out she was a he and my boyfriend looked like an idiot!! LOL!!! I dumped him soon after. hee hee.

Mike... you are so right in your post. I second that!!

[azsnowman]

No problem Mary......

Now.....I too, like Mike said so well, try NOT to be judgemental, the way I look at it, if that's what you want to do with your life, "go for it!" BUT.....don't push your beliefs, life styles on those of us who believe in the *traditional* way of life, a man is a man, a woman is a woman, do I sound like a *redneck* or what? "LOL!"

Yes indeed, the face of the mountain is changing with each and every passing minute, call me old fashion I guess......I like things the way they *use to be*, I know this will never happen, I mean, look at the world since Sept 11th.........while I haven't witnessed the change at airports etc first hand, I see it everyday on the news. Yes......I lead a very sheltered life....but ya know what, I like it like that!

Dennis

[azskyman]

We have good friends of all persuasions. Some are quirky. Some are straight as an arrow. Some are gay or lesbian. Some are loners. Some are outgoing overachievers. Some live in a dream world. Others are forever victims. Some have never grown up. Some are old before their time. Some give up on the world. Some give up on themselves. Some see me as strong. Some see me as weak.

Our real friends are good people regardless of who they are and how they relate in the world. Nevertheless, I do have, and am entitled to opinions about all those things.

Ellen Degeneres has a wonderful and fun perspective on life. But in my opinion, by forcing her lifestyle on others through the venues she had at her disposal, she diluted her message and took something of value away from her person.

I would say Dennis that the first thing I always do in situations such as yours is to wonder just what the heck these people think they are trying to do...especially in a conservative environment. What people do, how they act, and who they are in their lives is entirely up to them...and they can be wonderful loving people who I could deeply appreciate. But forcing those around them to be part of their identity issues is more comical than serious.

I'm sure I'd be laughing (as I have in the past with such situations) at them, while wondering all the while what in their past might have taken them to this place on this day.