Good Bye Old Friend

Good Bye Old Friend, a photo by pdecell on Flickr.

This is what's left of the old boardwalk at Baker Wetlands, south of 31st St in Lawrence. It is being dismantled to make way for the east leg of the South Lawrence Trafficway.

My son and I spent much time here when he was growing up and it was one of my favorite photo areas. Sure there is a new fancy board walk in the mitigation area but it is not as intimate, being higher above the wetlands. Maybe when the new wetland areas are better established it won't seem so out of place. Maybe other parents and children will make find it a friend as we found the old boardwalk.

Good bye old friend.

Friendship Garden

Friendship Garden, a set on Flickr.

Today I went to the Sister Cities Friendship Garden in Lawrence KS. This is a pocket park at 11th and Mass dedicated in the year 2000. Lawrence has several sister cities, this park dedicated to Hiratsuka City Japan. See the plaque for more details.

Oddly enough I had never taken photos here until today; the redbud and cherries in full bloom.

03-19-2-13 Unexpected Snow

03-19-2-13 Unexpected Snow, a photo by pdecell on Flickr.

We had some unexpected snow today. It started around 10:30 as we were going out for breakfast. Fortunately it continued until around 3:30-long enough for me to get back home and grab the camera. Good thing too since the snow is melted. Supposed to snow again on Thursday unless those pesky butterflies on the other side of the world flapped their wings again.

Gender identity forum in Lawrence

Lawrence is currently considering adding gender identity to its nondiscrimination ordinance and today the City's human rights commission held a public forum to discuss the issue.

I went as part of a group of people representing different aspects of the transgender spectrum. Most of the people there were supporters adding of gender identity. The committee seemed focused at first about protecting people that were going to transition or had transitioned.

But I and others pointed out the issue is a bit more complex than that. For instance, there are people such as myself who don't fit the gender binary. Are we not to be protected against loss of job? Not to be protected against discrimination in housing?

The sticky wicket in at least one of the commission members minds seemed to be the issue of locker rooms, gyms and bathrooms. What if a man goes in to the woman's bathroom? Well first of all. if some one is transitioned entirely, likely you wouldn't spot them unless you have some thing about carefully scrutinizing the other people in the rest room or locker room. Even some one as myself-strongly transgendered but not planning on transitioning would probably be hard to spot, well OK in a rest room- and we certainly wouldn't go into an all woman's facility; the genitals don't match.

Not only that-quite frankly where ever possible I look either for unisex bathrooms or places with single stalls and a locking door, but on occasion I have gone into a crowded woman's room if absolutely have to. Go in, do my thing sitting down like a genetic woman, wash hands, check hair and leave.

One of the speakers at the forum was a lesbian whom I suppose might be construed as mannish or at least androgyne in appearance. She related how she was harassed by a woman in the women's rooms for being in the wrong rest room. Well I know, having done it accidentally, you don't go into a men's room dressed en femme because there is a fantasy about umm making it with a transgendered or transsexual person and this one man was not going to take no for an answer. I was concerned enough that I had a male friend in the group I was with, walk me to my car when I was ready to leave just in case.

So when it comes to rest rooms creeps are creeps even if they are in the "right" rest room.

As for showers and places where there is nudity involved, those are sex segregated places, and a transgendered person in the middle of transitioning or some one such as myself who's not transitioning can be excluded pretty easily I would think.

One speaker brought up work place issues and the example of a construction worker whose transitioning complaining because she can't wear high heels to do some sort of construction job. Well it is already settled law that workplaces have the right to enforce work related equipment rules. Another speaker felt that it might be difficult to pass a law that is precise enough to be enforceable, and granted courts do throw out laws because of vagueness to the point of unenforceability but it seems there you are trying to prohibit something (Like loud parties).

Here is a relevant counter example. There are a number of definitions of religion-and yet we don't say well that's too vague to enforce. Who would you exclude? Atheists? Granted some on the religious right might want to do that but in our society we define these classes of protected people in the broadest way possible.

I hope seeing a broad spectrum of transgendered people gave the committee a little bit more to go on. They hope to have a recommendation ready by November and a forum related to that before taking something to the City Commission. That is probably where the real opposition will emerge and all kinds of red herrings and bizarre hypotheticals will just pop from the sky.

Link to LJWORLD article.

Other links from The Force:

http://theforcethat.blogspot.com/2009/03/proposal-in-lawrence.html

Now It's Showers!

Sex in Humans: It's a delicate balance

Secrets of Bug Person Exposed!

The Tyranny of the Dichotomous Mind

Oh Really?

Well it is either Loonie Toons time or time for another school board race in Lawrence Kansas. If you really want quality schools then check out Michael Riley and consider carefully what he says:
"

Those beliefs lead him to maintain that parents should have a primary say in the public school system before the teachers, district, state and federal government.

“I think when I say decentralized, I feel that our primary responsibility is to the parents and then up from there,” Riley said."

Sounds good until you really think about it. After education involves more than just the parents.

And consider this tidbit:

"He says he does know some issues are on the minds of parents and Lawrence residents.

“Sex education and science standards have come up repeatedly,” Riley said. “These are issues that they’re concerned about and they’re concerned to know what school board members feel about these things.” " Oh oh.

Really he must hang out with a different crowd than I do.

He might really be OK, after all his kids did go to public school. But really do you want some of the parents you've met to be the ones that have primary say about running of local schools? Does my stake in the school system stop because my kids are grown and married? Doesn't business have a say here as well?

Come on Mr. Riley. Get real.

Check out the Journal World forums where yours truly has been accused of:

"Pdecell: Way to come out and bluntly tell us that public education is State indoctrination 100%. I'm sure we all want to line up for your brand of brainwashing for each and every one of our children. As a parent, I want you to keep your taxpayer opinions out of my child's easily manipulated mind."

Notice the nice scary rhetorical touches-"state indoctrination", "manipulated mind" oh yes and "brainwashing". Kind of reminds me of an old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon.

Proposal in Lawrence

The Lawrence City Commission has been asked by the Douglas County Chapter of the Kansas Equality Coalition to amend its non discrimination ordinance to include gender identity. Right now the request has been forwarded to the city's human rights commission for study. So we shall see. Watch for the typical fear mongering from the AFA and other opponents of any one who doesn't fit into simple little boxes.

A copy of the proposal is here.


Lawrence Journal World Coverage is here.