When Michelle Bruce (pictured), a Georgia politician, ran for re-election last year did she mislead voters by allegedly failing to disclose that she used to be a Michael?Yesterday, in a huge victory for Bruce and the transgender community, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that she did not mislead voters by running for office as a woman. The court dismissed a suit filed by two of Bruce’s opponents — Georgia Fuller and Stan Harris, who also lost — alleging that Bruce disguised her sex while seeking re-election last year to the Riverdale Council. The court ruled unanimously that Bruce’s use of the name Michelle on ballots did not “cast doubt on the results of the election.”
Fresh Political Pickins From The Peach State
{ 74 comments }
It?
Really Erick?
You’re bloody side usually contained on RedState and your personal blog is bleeding into Peach Pundit. Careful or you’ll ruin your reputation as a thoughtful Republican.
Careful, Grift. When Macon starts annexing the rest of Georgia, you may have to kiss City Councilman Erick’s behind.
IT?
The question begs to be asked. Erick you are quite the news maker…
http://atlantapublicaffairs.blogspot.com/2008/10/neanderthal-comment-of-day.html
Looks like a man to me. He-she-it looks rather large and manly. I think it is disceptive. Men and women think differently and will govern differently.
Shim? The girl is still a man just as umustbekidding says.
It is not deceptive in the election, as people in these parts named “Tilman” can freely run as “Trip”, but I have to agree with the “it” moniker.
If I wanted to be a bear, would I be one if I had bear body parts sewn onto my body? I would still be a human that looks a little like a bear.
He is not a woman, grift, sorry.
As a fiscal conservative Republican who has abandoned all racial and religious litmus tests, I still reserve the right to be politically incorrect. Not that I have anything offensive to offer at this point.
Uh yeah Bill she is. Whether you want to recognize or not.
And Game Fan. My mama never said the word politically incorrect in her life. But she taught me a lot about the difference between being polite and being rude.
Referring to another human as it is rude.
Grift,
You responded to something you may have THOUGHT I said, but I didn’t.
Grift…
Is asking for someone’s trust/vote while misrepresenting yourself rude..if not disingenuous?? My mother would say yes!
Muffin as far as I can tell, she didn’t misrepresent herself.
And it still does not belie the fact that the insistence of some on this blog to refer to any transgender person as it is in fact rude.
Sorry Bill. I meant Doug.
Grift..
changing your name in conjunction with your sexual identity is indeed a major life event. To say that she/he/it did not misrepresent is a misrepresentation as well. The litmus test is this…would Mr./Mrs. X change their vote now knowing that this person is not able to deal with the hand that is dealt?? What else will they try to radically change? This information is material to their constituents decision, there is no way around that.
Grift,
Don’t worry about Erick. Karma will get him…he’ll get caught cheating on his wife with a Hooters waitress and end-up as a Democrat 20 years from now.
Well the court disagreed.
And it still doesn’t belie the fact that the insistence on some to use the word “it” as a punchline in rude.
hahahaha. Bill, I hear they have good burgers at Hooters.
grift,
Whatever. Women, by and large will not accept this person, no matter what this person claims to be. Why anyone would want to go through the problems just to satisfy the urges of a sexual perversion (and I mean that in the literal non-judgemental sense) is beyond me.
If people want to go through with this, it is their own business, but they don’t have the right to not be looked at like fools.
Michelle can never erase Michael.
Michelle can change the appearance & maybe some functions .
Michelle can never change the fact of Micheal’s birth. (which was not a mistake)
The Ga. Supreme Court has ruled on the lawsuit. Michelle is still in office. Obviously there are reasons why the issue was not raised during the campaign.
My mom & I would want people to be treated nice, but it doesn’t mean we agree with their choices.
It doesn’t mean that we have to accept their choices either.
Politeness does not equal acceptance.
Look, as a gay person I have had my problems over the years with transgendered people trying to hitch a ride on the same train as gay people on the road to equal rights. But to call them “its” and “perverts” shows nothing but ignorance. She identifies as a woman and had her name legally changed to Michelle over 27 years ago. Where is the deception?
Bucky she got voted out of office last time and still had to go all the way to defend herself in the Supreme Court. Try educating yourself next time before commenting.
Doug, you are absolutely right about one thing. If it is simply a “choice” why would some subject themselves to the kind of bigotry demonstrated here on this thread?
“Why anyone would want to go through the problems just to satisfy the urges of a sexual perversion (and I mean that in the literal non-judgemental sense) is beyond me”
Because it is rarely (if ever) done to satisfy a sexual perversion.
Freedom of choice/speech does not equal acceptance, grift.
No one is guarenteed acceptance, and I am quite certain you wouldn’t want to live in such a society. I would have no problems being friends or being a co-worker with someone who has had a sexual-appearance operation, but it would be unlikely that I would want them around my child.
Further, I would not want them to be the “face” of my company (if I had one). People make choices, they need to live with them. Otherwise you are limited everyone else’s choices.
And all I’m saying Doug is that it is rude.
Erick, you and every other person here who gets a giggle out of being rude certainly have the freedom to do so.
If no one is guaranteed acceptance, is it better to be not accepting? And what is it OK to be accepting of?
rugby,
That does not make logical sense. It is definitely a perversion, otherwise it would be normal, and it certainly isn’t that. It is definitely sexual, or it wouldn’t be called a sex change operation.
Just because it may hurt someone’s feelings to call a spade a spade, does not mean we have to destroy our language to accommodate them.
Actually its usually referred to as gender reassignment not sex change.
Decaturguy,
Help educate me.
Do you think that most of the voters knew this information in previous elections that you say I should be educated on?
The same freedom that allows for bigoted statements to be freely spoken in this country also allows for us to call them out as well.
Whether you agree with their “choices” or not, calling another human being an “it” or “pervert” because you don’t agree with them is bigoted.
Just calling a spade a spade, Doug.
grift,
Okay, I agree there, it is rude, and I would definitely not use that term. However, there is really nothing in the english language that fits, as I do not think that “she/her” applies.
Decatur,
Unlike you, I do not ascribe more meaning to perversion than is warranted. A foot-fetish is a perversion, as is trolling for sex in a bathroom, as is a whole host of a number of things. If we knew all the provate details of everyone’s life, most if not all of us would fit into that category to some degree.
Most people have the sense to realize that this is best kept to oneself, and not broadcast to eveyone in the world. Just like I do not want to know the details of a heterosexual’s sex life, I do not want to know about the details of a homosexual’s sex life. Sure, sex is a “natural” part of life, but so is defications, and I do not go to your house to poop quite publically on your lawn.
grift,
By idiots. Gender is a grammtic designation.
Here is why it is logical.
A transgender man was born a woman, but always felt like a man. After having a great deal of therapy he realizes he actually is a man. He has a sex change.
What was the sexual nature of that? Oh wait, there isn’t any.
It is sexual hence the name “sex change”, but it has nothing to do with eroticism or arousal, so it is not sexual in the way you seem to suggest. And before you object that there must be something sexual behind their motives, nothing I’ve read from people who have had sex changes suggest it had anything to do with who they are attracted to.
As for it being a perversion; sure you could call it that, but it would be far more accurate to say it is a defect.
Now, if society doesn’t have to guarantee acceptance to people, how does it determine what is acceptable?
Decatur,
To be called names by you is a badge of honor. I am actually a decent person, you are a troll who can’t hide is rage at people he disagrees with.
How many conservatives do you have as friends?
is = his
“Most people have the sense to realize that this is best kept to oneself, and not broadcast to eveyone in the world. Just like I do not want to know the details of a heterosexual’s sex life, I do not want to know about the details of a homosexual’s sex life. Sure, sex is a “natural” part of life, but so is defications, and I do not go to your house to poop quite publically on your lawn.”
OK but you still don’t know anything about a transgender’s sex life. Do you think they are automatically homosexual or some other universal attraction?
Do you think that most of the voters knew this information in previous elections that you say I should be educated on?
I have no idea, Bucky. To my knowledge Michelle Bruce ran unopposed back in 2003 and lost for re-election in 2007. By the time 2007 rolled around I believe the fact that she is transgendered was a major reason she lost re-election. If so, how were the voters “mislead?”
“By idiots. Gender is a grammtic designation”
???????
Please tell me that was an attempt to be clever.
“However, there is really nothing in the english language that fits”
“Transgendered” perhaps?
rugby,
I said nothing about who they were attracted to. I understand that there is more to things like that that who you want to have sex with, but it is still an urge that is abnormal in pretty much every measure which when fulfilled works against one’s own interests.
We do great harm when we are not honest with ourselves in admitting that a certain behavior is a bit out of the mainstream. We also prolong the problems when we work to pretend they don’t have any impact. If everyone realized they were flawed instead of pretending they are just as perfect as some mythical normal person, we wouldn’t care so much when people insulted us.
I’m a troll? That’s funny Doug …
grift,
We can argue over linguistics, but gender was a linguistic term that refered to non sexual but sex related things about words. Such as using Le Chapeau instead of La Chapeau for a hat in French.
Recently, the term has gained popularity in referencing sex, but it is as awkward as calling hats “head-coverings”.
Rugby,
So this makes since to you? “Transgendered won.”
Okay. That’s just bizarre.
I really have nothing else to add.
Decatur,
I didn’t mean it in the BBS sense, I mean it in the living under a bridge filled with hate sense. For someone who complains as much about not being accepted, you have very little tolerance for those you disagree with. You might have every reason to be angry, but it is better to live your life without the chip on your shoulder.
Also, since = sense in the previous post, caught it as I hit submit.
“but it is still an urge that is abnormal in pretty much every measure which when fulfilled works against one’s own interests.”
Ah, but that is where you are wrong. I have never heard of a transgendered person who has regretted their choice, or not finally felt “normal” and happy. What would be the long term downside be? That people such as yourself cast judgment upon them? Well that only matters if a transgendered tells you that they had a sex change.
“We do great harm when we are not honest with ourselves in admitting that a certain behavior is a bit out of the mainstream.”
No one is doubting that a sex change is not mainstream. Where the difference lies, I believe, is that if someone has a sex change, they have a sex change. I apply no moral value to it. It impacts me in no way, nor does it impact you.
FYI – if he/she were applying for insurance, his/her rate would be based on the gender at birth. Should this apply now?
To answer your question, sure. Although I think that they become a man or woman after the operation.
As for gender, without getting into detail, gender is a very socially controlled concept, so making a linguistic moral claim on something that has changing properties means little.
rugby,
If that is the case, then they shouldn’t complain about people who have a problem with it.
It is hilarious how you say I am casting judgement on them. You are the one making value judgements. I have no personal problem with any of them. Unlike you, apparently, I do not hate people for their flaws.
Then what are you arguing with me for?
Grift and Decatur: Way to fight the good fight. I think you may have actually educated some people, albeit reluctantly.
Anyway,
To head of misquotations later, which will come anyway. I know grift understands, but I am not sure about one of the other participants.
1) I think the person did not mislead voters.
2) There are no good pronouns to use since the person is definitely not a woman and would not be accepted as such by most women.
3) It is probably insulting, and I would not use it, but what can one use?
4) I think the person did something abnormal, and is expected when one does something so “out there” to most people.
5) I think the word “gender” is misused when people mean “sex”.
6) All of us have abnormal traits.
7) Pretending we don’t prolongs the misery.
If that is the case, then they shouldn’t complain about people who have a problem with it.
Yes they should you are saying its not right for someone to be happy and at peace and feel right in a way that infringes upon no one.
“I have no personal problem with any of them. ”
Of all the bullsh*t I’ve read on Peach Pundit, that takes the cake, shall we look above?
If people want to go through with this, it is their own business, but they don’t have the right to not be looked at like fools.
but it would be unlikely that I would want them around my child.
Why not? It must be something personal.
“Then what are you arguing with me for?”
See above. You are openly against people living a free and happy life.
bah,
Correct four as the following:
4) I think the person sis something abnormal, and people will react to it. This is to be expected when one does something so “out there” to most people.
I accidentally deleted a whole line in the original.
Comments on this entry are closed.