Please indulge me. I usually read the New York Times every day, and yesterday I could not resist juxtaposing two interesting and weird stories.
This one is a Ripley “Believe It or Not” story about a woman born to a royal family in Burma who was a cross-dresser and left her family to become a warlord and major drug runner, commanding her own private army.
Then there was a story about the Texas State Senate’s determination to pass a law prohibiting transgender people from using the bathroom of his/her choice. Led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the Rush Limbaugh of Texas, the state senate is ignoring what happened to North Carolina when it passed a similar bill. Major events were canceled, and corporations suspended their plans to expand. Texas has been warned, but the crazies in the senate are hell-bent on keeping transgender people out of the ladies’ rooms. They haven’t expressed concern about the mens’ bathrooms. And they have not brought forward their plan to enforce this law. Will they require everyone to carry a replica of their birth certificate? Will they post a guard at every public restroom, in every school, every airport, every movie theater, every hotel, to check birth certificates?
So this leads me to the question: Which bathroom would Burmese drug runner Olive Yang use if Dan Patrick gets his way and passes his bathroom bill?
And how many major corporations will leave Texas until the bill is withdrawn?
And what are the chances that Republican Speaker of the House Joe Straus will let whacko Dan Patrick have his way?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Diane, we are trying with everything we’ve got to stop Dan Patrick’s ridiculous schemes down here in Texas. We are testifying against the vile payroll deduction ban right now. This bullying must stop!
“Diane, we are trying with everything we’ve got to stop Dan Patrick’s ridiculous RELIGIOUS schemes down here in Texas.”
Minor correction.
What Dan Patrick does is use religion for his own purposes. Like Trump, who is not religious
Well, one can only hope that corporations will be fleeing Texas if this is passed. Not to mention any national sports stuff, like Bowl games, Super Bowls, World Series, etc.
Actually, the latter might mean more to Texans than the loss of corporations. Just sayin’.
Texas has one of the most robust economies in the nation. I find it hard to believe that business leaders will stand by and allow Patrick to shut it all down while they lose money.
By the way Texas is already starting to feel the economic impact as Abbott and Patrick have decided to vigorously enforce Trump’s immigration policy. Many Latinos are leaving the state to find a safer place to live for the next three and a half years. This will also harm the economy.
On one of the innumerable articles about this issue a few months ago, on another site whose comments are frequented by, shall we say, a somewhat less progressive group than here, someone said transsexuals made him feel uncomfortable & asked, “How would you feel if you were in a men’s room with your grandson, & one of [them] walked in?” I responded:
How comfortable would you feel if you’re in a men’s room with your young grandson, &:
1) 3 other people enter, each enters a stall with a toilet. Do you examine them that closely as they walk past quietly, hunting for whatever telltale signs you may have on a mental checklist, or do you both just mind your own business, as they do?
2) 3 other people enter wearing face makeup, dresses, & high heels, walk up to urinals beside you & hike up their skirts to do their business. Would you really prefer that?
Of course it’s reasonable for you to be concerned for female family members’ safety, but if we’re talking about predatory deranged men, there are also those who prey on boys (which the vast majority of gay men do not). In either case, there are already laws to address that behavior.
I didn’t get any responses.
Lenny,
I love option 2.
Americans are really backwards about anything to do with restrooms, beaches, swimming pools, etc.
I have been to European countries where males and females even (oh gasp!) shared a restroom. Not to mention all the topless beaches.
People in this country need to grow up. Really.
Nice to know someone gets it! 🙂
I just wonder if people who insist on these restrictions have actually thought through the consequences!
People in this country need to travel more, get out of their bubbles, and open their minds.
That’s sort of a Monkey’s Paw result to their wish. It would be fun to watch! Glad I could give you a smile!
Another commenter complained that people like Caitlyn Jenner look “grotesque,” & asked how my wife would explain it to a 7-year-old granddaughter. I told her, “Knowing my wife, she’d probably say something like, ‘She had some medical problems, a doctor gave her an operation, & it’s not polite to stare.'” She was big enough to admitt that seemed a reasonable answer.
The flip side of #2, of course, is that there’s going to be a number of hairy, bearded, heavily muscled people using the ladies’ room, which is, I thought, what they were trying to avoid.
If Olive Yang is ridiculously wealthy, then she (he) should be okay. In 2017, it seems that be wealthy is viewed as virtuous. There has to be some legitimate reason to make an exception for this person.
Olive is dead so it is no longer a problem. Although she was often jailed, she must have been very wealthy as head of the opium trade. So maybe Dan Patrick would make an exception for her.
Burmese (and other) drug runners use whatever restroom they damned well please — or don’t even use a restroom (pee in the open) if they feel like it.
When some is surrounded by bodyguards carrying AK’s, you don’t tell them they can’t use a restroom.
Well,most people wouldn’t, but maybe some folks in Texas would.
Agree, DAM poet.
A drug running cross-dressing warlord uses whatever bathroom s/he chooses.
UNLESS
S/he’s in a hurry, then it’s the men’s room – because the line is always shorter.
“S/he’s in a hurry, then it’s the men’s room – because the line is always shorter.”
Don’t do that to me! Everyone is looking at me wondering what could possibly be that funny on a Monday morning at the office!
Actually, no, thanks, I needed that on a Monday morning.
☺️
Then there was this bit of activism in The Metro Weekly:
thehttp://www.metroweekly.com/2017/07/trans-activist-trolls-texas-governor-selfie-protest-bathroom-bill/