The Abomination of Joy

This is the picture I posted on Facebook of my family today. It is a really good capture of us and how happy we are. Winter is such a vibrant, curious little kid. Ginny is a loving partner to me. We are so grateful for each other. We are blessed by our family and life together.

Yet, I have two brothers who reject my family just because my wife is trans. I was told by my brother Joe that my marriage is wrong and my lifestyle is evil, and my wife and I are a corrupting influence on his kids. I have three nephews that I'm not allowed to know. Neither Joe nor Chris even reached out to me to congratulate me on my pregnancy or Winter's birth or acknowledged my kid as their family. Because, somehow, they've convinced themselves that the joy in that picture I posted today is an abomination.

Joe not only misgendered my wife and called her my husband and a "man in a dress," but he also corrected my own language that I use for Ginny. Then, in the same breath, Joe told me he wanted me to be a Christian woman again. Intolerance, condemnation, rejection, and judgment brings people to Christ, right? I told him who I was and, with absolute authority, he told me everything I know about myself is invalid and wrong. He hadn't had a meaningful conversation with me in six years, yet he apparently knows me better than I know myself. He's never even met my wife, and already, he has condemned her as "evil."

Evil. How can anyone look at my family and see evil? The dehumanization against trans people is so bad in this country that it has turned away two of my brothers from wanting to know their family. My family. This gorgeous, brilliant woman that I married and our kid that, so far, is funny and sweet and beautiful. Think about that, and the profound sadness of that ignorance and fear of something so lovely and sacred.

The Poop Knife

Weird cultural shit about other humans has been discovered through the uniquely fucked experiment that is social media, specifically Reddit, and I am here for it.

Recently, someone did not believe me that poop knives exist. They not only exist, the people who use them think nothing of sharing this information on reddit. Casually, too, like a knife that one uses to cut one's shit, so that it will flush properly, is a sign of common sense instead a serious lack of fiber and dehydration.

Poop knives exist, my friend. They exist and can be purchased on Amazon.

Now you tell me about something you grew up with that you found out was weird, that maybe only your immediate or extended family did.

I'll go first.

Growing up, whenever we would run out of napkins or paper towels, we would get a clean dish towel out of the drawer and put it at the table at dinner for everyone to pass around when they needed a napkin. We called it the "family towel." Like "Hey, can you pass me the family towel?" I only realized this was weird when new friends came over and were totally horrified at this custom.