Developing A 'Taste'

Quick thoughts on a piece I heard in a podcast from The Moth. It is from 2003 by Alex Draper, called "You are a Great King". You can find a link to The Moth here:

http://www.themoth.org/

The Moth is normally great - funny, insightful, edgy.....and I still love them and would encourage you to listen. But Alex Draper? No thanks.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Transsexual
• Post-Op
• trans
• tg
• ts

[GenieP]

Sarah: So poetic and profound you are. The "comment," as it obviously was not a real joke, is casually hurtful on so many levels. I wonder what I would have felt sitting in the audience of this performer; or what my mother might have felt had she been there; or what would my husband have felt were he there in the crowd? We TS women, post-op or not, are prejudged as a group by many of those who do not know a TS individual. I am not like anyone else. We are not a group of things, but individuals.

[unmeasuredinstances]

Yes, it was definitely more of a comment - a snippet out of a rambling story - then an actual joke. And somehow that casualness, the way it effortlessly slipped in as a description, almost makes it worst then a consciously joke written to specifically get laughs.And everything else you say is so so true.

Always nice to see you Gene. I hope you are well.

[tarynlynn16]

Thank you for this video...I think the "joke" (I put it in quotations because it is not funny) was abhorrant and demeaning.

Ps I just want you to know that I love you and your thoughts tremendously. I hope you are doing well

[unmeasuredinstances]

And thank you for the love and the thoughtfulness - it means a lot, especially coming from you.

I also got the tag and wanted to let you know it might take me a little while to do anything - but I will, promise. Just didn't want you to think I forgot or had ignored you.

♡ Sarah

[GMPNY]

unbelievable...developed a taste?

[unmeasuredinstances]

I know.....I know.....Wonderful to see you Gail.

[artsyfart66]

*sigh* comments like this upset me but hearing the laughter afterwards made the comment even more painful. I would love to see the day when comments like this and others which are hurtful in in poor taste are no more. Mankind still has much to learn....having compassion & living from the heart with love would be a refreshing change, no? Much love to you Sarah!

[KJohn009]

The laughter at the joke is worst than the joke itself.I can only assume the person telling the joke was simply a "Joker"

[ufo8mykat]

I wrote in (cont'd):

Please do keep in mind the audience's loyalty to your programme, and evaluate the choice of anecdotes to which The Moth gives air time, to make sure that people are free from stereotypes and disrespect.

[ufo8mykat]

I wrote in:

"Respectfully, I have to reject the airing of material such as Alex Draper's "You Are A Great King" because of the slur he makes against transsexuals.

If Mr. Draper had used a racial slur he would have been booed off the stage. Airing Mr. Draper's words posts transsexual people in a negative light, dehumanizing them and marking them as dangerous, brain spoiling entities. The result of enabling these idesa can be violence, or worse."

[ufo8mykat]

What an overwhelming question, which is worse. I took "just a minute" to ponder it carefully. Being labeled a coefficient of cocaine use is another jab. If he had used a racial slur he would have been booed off the stage. Where do people get the idea that just because someone has the floor they deserve to be agreed with?

[1ginger4u2]

What I take away from the phrase is the speaker credits Las Vegas for corrupting his friend with drugs & hot T-Girls , or setting him free. The bad part is equating drugs to the Trans Community......)^B

[KrisMTL]

The last line you said made me freeze and think for like 45 secs after the video ended.