"You Brought This on Yourself"

by: "Cyndi Richards" tgcyndi@yahoo.com
Thu Nov 19, 2009




For some of us who are gifted with the ability and the willingness to "say it loud and say it proud" on behalf of ALL of our sisters and brothers in the collective trans community, miracles DO happen.

A few months ago, I participated in an LGBT outreach event at a local junior college. My purpose at this gathering was not a speaking engagement on behalf of Illinois Gender Advocates, which is the most typical reason I am invited to such events.

On this particular night I ventured forth to see, as opposed to being seen. Such was my "miracle, and rare good fortune indeed.

Noticing that there were only a couple of familiar faces present to mingle with, I introduced myself to the organizers, grabbed a cold bottle of water generously provided by the LGBT group ('G.L.O.W." - Gay, Lesbian, Or Whatever: I love that name!) that had sponsored the event, and then receded to "the shadows" in order to observe the interaction of the rest of the room.

Before too many minutes had elapsed, one of the young student organizers stepped up to the mike, made a few perfunctory announcements, and then introduced a somewhat more "mature" gentleman named George Miller who began to speak with a fire in his eyes and an intense energy uncommon to such gatherings.

The brief but impassioned anecdote he proceeded to relate to the room first brought back some disturbing memories from decades ago that I had long since tried to erase, and then struck me between the eyes like a velvet sledgehammer.

Before he was finished, there were tears welling up in those big blue eyes, making a complete mess of what little make-up I do wear when going out in public.

After he concluded this amazing stream of consciousness, I stood silently in the dark corner for a moment in order to regain my composure, and then approached him in order to let him know how deeply I had been moved by his words. Even though he was surrounded by many others who were similarly impressed, he graciously spoke with me for several minutes.

During those moments, we seemed to connect, so I offered him my Illinois Gender Advocates business card and expressed the desire to keep in touch. He reciprocated with a CD, which I felt was unusual, to say the least. What kind of response was this?

It was only then that I realized that this extraordinary display of heartfelt emotion he had just shared with this gathering of presumably kindred spirits was in fact one small example of his chosen media - he was not only a spoken-word performance artist, but also a highly respected academic, in fact, a learned professor of philosophy at another local college.

As fate would have it, fortunately we did manage to stay in touch, despite the distinct challenges of geography and conflicting schedules.

Dr. Miller invited me to give a trans-awareness presentation to his class, which I believe went over well, based on feedback from his students.

I then invited him to be a guest on the IGA television, which is broadcast once a month to a potential 3 million viewers on the Chicago cable-access network. I specifically requested that he share that amazingly moving piece that brought tears to my eyes during our first encounter with our substantial audience "out there in television land". He graciously granted that request.

Thanks to my close personal friend Kimberly (who is, in fact, a "TV pro" in her own right ), Dr. Miller's brief but powerful performance piece, titled "You Brought This on Yourself" is now "in the air" on Youtube, and is linked below for the consideration of any of you who might be interested.

If you are as impressed by George's impassioned message as much as I was, please feel free to PASS IT ON. I know he'd be pleased to share.

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=xSAUFX00P5g