THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
(apologies to Keith Olbermann)
Jennifer Bradford
There were hopeful signs in the public reaction to the coming out of Caitlyn Jenner as transgender, particularly how she outpaced even President Obama in Twitter followers. The initial reaction seemed much more positive than expected. But we all suspected the negative blowback was lying in wait, mumbling and grumbling and plotting the slinging of transphobic mud. Timbaland and Drake Bell attacked Caitlyn on Twitter. Tom Cruise’s twenty-year-old son Connor Cruise, complained she didn’t deserve the Arthur Ashe Courage award. And a Fort Hood, Texas, woman named Jennifer Bradford, has started a Change.org petition asking the International Olympic Committee to revoke the gold medal Bruce Jenner won in the men’s decathlon at the 1976 Montreal Olympics…Ms. Bradford reasons that because Caitlyn Jenner says she always felt like a woman, the competition was unfair to the other male athletes.
By placing herself front and center on the cover of Vanity Fair Caitlyn Jenner undoubtedly knew she was opening herself up to all manner of reaction- from sweetly supportive to judgmental, hateful invective from knuckle-dragging troglodytes possessed of more righteous hatred than brain cells and simple human decency. What I can’t quite wrap my head around is why her decision would be such a controversy and flash point for so many. Would not the just and compassionate thing be celebrating that’s she finally living in a way allows her to feel real and authentic? Must we rush to categorize and degrade her? She’s a human being struggling to deal with life in the best, most authentic way she can muster. Would that all of us could see our way clear to doing the same; the world would be a much better place for it. Instead, where a reasonable person would consider compassion and understanding to be appropriate responses, too many are endeavoring to tear Jenner down. People can’t understand her struggle…so they default to judging her by their personal moral rule book. Truth be told, it’s no one’s g———-d business. Certainly, Jenner, by making her story public, bears some responsibility. She had to be aware of the potential blowback and wide range of reactions that would (and did) surely follow. That said, no one else should get to decide how someone else lives their life. It’s not their concern…and if they believe otherwise, that says far more about them that it does Jenner.
No reasonable and compassionate person could think Bradford’s hateful, quixotic letter to the IOC requesting Jenner’s gold medal from the 1976 Montreal Olympics decathlon be revoked is representative of anything but a woman consumed by hatred and self-righteous judgment. I consider myself fortunate for not having to wake up next to her every morning.
Dear International Olympic Committee,
It has recently come to light that gold medalist Bruce Jenner is in fact transgender, and therefore, identifies as a woman. We congratulate Ms. Jenner on these new developments and wish her the best. However, this creates somewhat of a problem as Ms. Jenner (as talented as she is) claims that she has always believed herself to be truly female, and therefore, was in violation of committee rules regarding women competing in men’s sports and vice versa. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that we must ask whether or not it is proper that Ms. Jenner should retain her olympic records in light of this, as we must now either claim that Bruce Jenner and Caitlyn Jenner are two entirely different people (which we know is not true), or that Bruce Jenner was, in fact, a woman participating in a men’s event. It is only fair to all involved that women receive their credit as champions of the Decathalon and that the men racing Ms. Jenner are not expected to compete with a superior, streamlined being such as herself.
We urge Ms. Jenner to support the transgender community by giving up the medals earned by competing against the wrong gender.
Thank you, and congratulations to Ms. Jenner for her courage!
Each of us comes fully equipped with our own particular agenda; it’s what helps us negotiate our day to day existence and make sense of the Universe. As with any issue, particularly hot-button social/moral/religious/ideological ones, we generally react to events and dilemmas based on our own personal moral framework. There’s certainly nothing wrong with having an opinion on a subject…but when that opinion defaults to judgment and condemnation, a line fairly screams to be drawn. Good and decent people need to stand up to bullies. You don’t have to like how Jenner has decided to live her life, but no one possesses the right to pass judgment or condemn her as if they’re some sort of superior moral being. Until or unless you’ve walked a mile in Jenner’s pumps, you don’t get to hold yourself above her, nor do you get to determine how to “punish” her…if for no other reason than she’s done nothing wrong.
Jennifer Bradford, besides being a poor excuse for a human being, has no business interjecting herself into anything involving Jenner’s life or her past. Jenner has done nothing to violate IOC rules retroactively, and “feeling like a woman” hardly seems something that could be held to have placed the other male decathletes in the 1976 Olympics at a competitive disadvantage. The fact is that Jenner was male in 1976 and competed as a male. “Feeling like a woman” is no crime, much less one worthy of taking away a gold medal. Bradford’s crusade represents yet another heartless, mean-spirited attempt for someone to gain their 15 minutes of fame as they endeavor to tear Jenner down; it doesn’t get much more pathetic.
Couched in language implying support for Jenner’s decision and motives though her letter may be, Bradford’s intent couldn’t be more clear. It’s a free country, and she has the right to her opinion and to do with it what she feels to be correct and moral. Conversely, others have a right (and, I would contend, an obligation) to call her out for being as dishonest as she is disingenuous.
Here’s an idea: instead of trying to label Jenner, and thereby judging her, how accepting her as a human being merely trying to negotiate her way through life in the most real and authentic manner she’s able? Most humanoids wouldn’t be able to muster the courage to act similarly, yet far too many believe themselves justified in passing judgment and condemning her for a choice that affects her and her alone. Instead of judging Jenner for the decision she made, humanity would be far better served by turning that focus inward and concentrating on being the best version of ourselves we can be. How about concentrating on being real and authentic, instead of wasting time and energy focusing on someone else’s journey…if for no other reason than how someone chooses to express their sexuality is no one’s g——-n business?
As I was writing this, Bradford’s petition had just topped 15,000 signatures. 15,000 judgmental busybodies with too much time on their hands and more holier-than-thou self-ascribed moral authority than compassion. It seems hatred is one of the few things that never goes out of style.
