I often think about the Scripture Luke 6:31 – a statement of the golden rule. That Biblical verse states, “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.”
I often think too about the statement made by Martin Luther King Jr. when he said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
Monday, July 29 I spent the day with a peer trans U.S. Navy retiree named Samantha. In an odd bit of coincidence she too spent her 20-years in the Navy as a fire controlman, so we had much in common to talk about in between the errands we ran that day. The errands were related to her accessing, for the first time, health care through the Department of Defense’s Tricare insurance system.
Accessing health care through Tricare is the first medical step for her regarding her transition. She needs a primary care physician to begin her medical transition, and even though Tricare has medical treatment exclusions for health care related to being transsexual she can use her primary care physician to assist her in finding a doctor who’ll sign a letter indicating she is receiving appropriate treatment for gender dysphoria.
When Samantha obtains such a letter, she can use that to change her name and recorded gender in the state of California. From there she can then change her name in DEERS (Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System).
Backing up a step though, once she has coverage from Tricare she’ll be able to obtain health care treatment at a Naval medical facility. Once she’s receiving her health care through that Naval treatment facility she’ll be able to request a copy of her Navy medical record. Once she has her Navy medical record in hand, she’ll have the documentation necessary to apply for a VA (Veterans Affairs) disability rating for her service connected injuries that impact her day-to-day life. Should she receive a VA disability rating for those injuries, she then can access the VA medical system – a medical system that has less restrictive exclusions for health care treatments related to gender dysphoria.
I know where to begin the process at the San Diego Naval Medical Center for enrolling in Tricare and Samantha didn’t know. So, I took her to the medical center and helped her navigate through the offices and the enrollment process – even helping by asking questions about her health care coverage that she hadn’t thought to ask.
In the end it took only about two hours to navigate through the various offices to complete the Tricare enrollment process when it would have taken her weeks on her own. Now her Tricare coverage is set to begin Sept. 1.
I know the process for changing one’s name and gender in the state of California, as well as how to apply for a new driver’s license with an updated gender marker, so I’ll be helping her do those next.
I have a skillset that can help Samantha navigate through the first few months of her transition, especially with regard to accessing health care treatment as a DEERS enrolled military retiree. I would’ve liked to have someone help me navigate the process for obtaining medical treatment related to being trans, as well as obtain appropriate identification documentation related to changing my name and recorded gender, so treating Samantha as I’d like to be treated, I’m assisting her to achieve those things.
Sometimes living up to the golden rule, as well as acting on the belief that life’s most persistent and urgent question is “What are you doing for others?” means that not only can one work to better the lives of classes of people, one can work to better the life of a single individual.
And for me, beyond being a help to this one individual I know, in Samantha, I’ve made a new connection to a peer in my community and I hopefully have entered into a new and wonderful friendship.
And maybe, just maybe, just as I’m paying forward the LGBT activism of those who came before me to help Samantha, maybe Samantha will pay activism forward to others who come after her.
What a wonderful community we would have if we all would consider paying forward the work of those activists who came before us, and acting on that consideration when we have the ability to do so.
That is what I like about you, Autumn. While others may be content being armchair activists, you actually DO things to help those in your community, as well as the greater LGBT community.
Yes, like commit deception in order to get a fraudulent birth certificate.
You mean Fraud, don’t you?
Anne
Well, that is what I thought I was saying….but yeah, Fraud. If they don’t make it clear to the judge, that they still have their penis, then yes, it is fraud. It would be interesting to see what happens if they do make that clear.
Well Jennifer, since it is a well known fact that you have never undergone SRS, I guess that makes you both a fraud and a hypocrite.
Funny, but I don’t know that, nor do my surgeons, my primary care doctor, my former coworkers, or the other friends who visited me in the hospital. And you know it is not true as well…
Hey, Jenna, give me the link for the troll’s blog!
Funny, it won’t let me post it. Just search for Just Jennifer. It’s no secret,
justjenniferblog dot blogspot dot com
I just finished scanning through Just Jennifer blog and I needed to take a shower right after that. I felt dirty reading it because everything is negative, critical, judgmental and nasty.
Here’s the title of one post: A Whopper of a Lie.
Jennifer wrote in another post “I hated myself, and I admit, I took that self-hatred out on others. I don’t excuse what I did, and I am certainly not proud of it. I felt I had no control over my life, so I tried to control others.”
Alas, that hatred is still being taken out on others and the control issues are rabid.
I’m a gay guy who reads Autumn’s column to educate myself on the community. I’ll continue to do that but I’ll avoid Jennifer like the plague.
Joe, you are entitled to your opinion, as wrong as that may be. No one is trying to force you to accept a position you disagree with. Funny, though, not everyone approaches things in that manner. For example, dismissing me as self-hating is really a lame dodge.
And yes, it really was “a whopper of a lie.” If you think it is not, provide a rational argument, not lame insults. Or, you could simply pretend…
The self-hating words are your own and not a “lame dodge”. I quoted directly from your blog.
Here’s the quote again: ““I hated myself, and I admit, I took that self-hatred out on others. I don’t excuse what I did, and I am certainly not proud of it. I felt I had no control over my life, so I tried to control others.”
Alas, that hatred is still being taken out on others and the control issues are rabid. This much is clear from browsing through your blog.
I won’t comment on Whopper of a Lie because I didn’t read it. You are so negative, critical and nasty that I only glanced at a few posts.
You are clearly an unhappy person.Your writing conveys no joy. I feel sorry for you. Transitioning should lead to a happier life, one filled with good and goodwill. You appear to be a twisted, tortured soul.
I hope someday you find happiness and peace.
Well, actually, what you did was take something I said, and twist it. I have to say, you have learned a lot about how to be a classic transgender extremist, as that is one of their favorite methods of attacking dissent. Go back and read what I said. I WAS miserable, but I no longer am. That is why I transitioned. I grant, a lot of “transgender” people are more miserable after transition (they think that is a sign that they are “really” women) but I am not. I am just fed up with the lies and silliness that they keep spewing. Sorry Joe, but women don’t have and want to keep penises, and certainly one is not a female if one has a penis, so getting a birth certificate that says one is female, while still retaining a penis is fraud. You see, you have no idea what my life is really like. It has improved considerably since I transitioned and had surgery. Just because I object to people trying to undo that, does not mean I am a trusted, tortured soul. It just means I am tired of lies and distortions.
Is there any happiness and joy in your life? Do you have moments of calm and tranquility? Are you ever a good, kind and accepting person? Do you ever have fun (apart from your apparent satisfaction of bloging/posting comments)?
Seriously, I want to know.
Yes, Joe…in spite of what some claim, I have a good life. I have close friends, and a life away from the Internet. In fact I spent Sunday afternoon at an anniversary party for a gay couple I know. Good food, excellent wine, and great conversation. I don’t agree with certain absurd, extremist views and I don’t hesitate to speak out. That may make me unpopular with the kooks, but it does not make me evil.
I just finished scanning through Just Jennifer blog and I needed to take a shower right after that. I felt dirty reading it because everything is negative, critical, judgmental and nasty.
Here’s the title of one post: A Whopper of a Lie.
Jennifer wrote in another post “I hated myself, and I admit, I took that self-hatred out on others. I don’t excuse what I did, and I am certainly not proud of it. I felt I had no control over my life, so I tried to control others.”
Alas, that hatred is still being taken out on others and the control issues are rabid.
I’m a gay guy who reads Autumn’s column to educate myself on the community. I’ll continue to do that but I’ll avoid Jennifer like the plague.