In reading both mainstream and alternative media, one has to understand there was context to these deplorable tweets. At the time, a budget bill that included, among many other things, funding for Trump’s proposed wall along the Mexican border, was being hashed out. Some of the ultra-conservatives were not willing to approve the funding for the wall without the proviso that transpeople may not serve in the military. It was a trade-off wherein Trump denied otherwise qualified Americans to serve in the military in order to get funding for his promised wall.

It should also be noted that, while the military might spend money on transpeople’s medical care, the military already spends much, much more on Viagra. (I cannot recall the exact numbers at the moment.)

What people who do not know anyone who is a transperson do not understand is that the process they undergo — which starts with psychotherapy, then hormone therapy, and only then sexual reassignment surgery — makes them some of the mentally healthiest people who could serve. They have questioned who they are, made certain of it through psychotherapy, and begin only with hormone therapy (usually combined with living as the gender with which they identify). How many others have been through such a process of self-questioning and certainty in who they are?

I would rather see a transperson serve to defend me rather than someone who’s never questioned who they are, never questioned why they are who they are, and committed fully to who they are.

Annie Stith (aka Spiritual Annie)

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Spiritual Activist; Writer who "paints pictures with words"; Currently working on an autobiography that focuses on healing tools. Soon: Website!