Thursday 1 March 2012

A Responsible Voice

When parking your car you will often see a sign that states something along the lines of "The owners of this car park accept no responsibility for the car or it's belongings whilst it is parked in these premises".
I would like to echo that sentiment to anyone reading this blog:
As author of this blog, I do not accept responsibility for anyone or their actions that arise during or after reading this blog.
The reasons are thus:
  1. I am not omnipresent, so I am therefore not responsible for what happens to you during or after reading my blog. 
  2. Whether it be mine or someone elses, I am not responsible for whose opinion you happen to believe and thus not responsible for your actions during or after reading my blog. 
So it's no good holding my blog or the opinions expressed within it against me. You must take responsiblity for yourself.
Please do not blame me for having an opinion that disagrees with yours. After all, I hope you're reading this to improve your knowledge not reinforce your ignorance!
And it is through knowledge that we can all become stronger. So why not embrace those opportunities to learn from one another instead of moaning about having your prior knowledge challenged!
Ignorance is not bliss. If we went through the whole of our lives learning nothing, we would all quickly perish. So the more we know the better!
So it's no good taking shortcuts either. Do not seek out one opinion and claim that opinion represents others - even if that opinion claims to do just that!
For example, I can not judge all Roman Catholics by the opinion of The Pope even though he claims to be their representative. There are many different opinions and personalities that claim to be Roman Catholic and The Pope's is just one (albeit the one with most gravitas).
And the same applies to this blog:
Just because I am a trans woman, do not think my opinion - or my way of life - is in any way typical or representative of others.
Just because I have a civil partnership with a gay man do not think all trans women do.
Just because I am unemployed does not mean all trans women are.
Just because I came to realise my gender identity at 37 years of age do not think that is in any way typical. It is not!
To think otherwise would be like claiming that every car is red; ignoring the fact that they come in many other colours and that, even then, the colour can change over time according to it's environment and age.
So please do not assume that this blog is a trans voice or a LGBT voice or any other kind of voice other than mine and mine alone.
And, remember, I am responsible for expressing my voice but I am not responsible for when or how it is received.