So many moments so many experiences Sam, - it's difficult to put my finger on the pivotal moment. Stepping out of what my parents expected/wanted me to be and embracing my mosaic non-binary status that was the terrible secret that the medical profession told my parents that nobody (including me) must never find out about didn't help any. Memories of sitting on a footpath picking cigarette butts out of the gutter and being called disgusting by passers by is one abiding memory. But fortunately at some point I found out about a free government initiative to offer training to those who needed a hand up and I studied to become a social worker. Friends were horrified when I went to work for a district hospital's adult mental health service. They had me down as being murdered inside a week. As it happened I soon discovered that 'normal' people were far more dangerous than the people I was working with. Eventually though the job burned me out and I had to take early retirement on medical grounds. Absolutely no regrets though.
It was when I realized there is some truth in the old saying: “No good deed goes unpunished.” And yet, for some reason I keep trying! On the plus side, I no longer fear death, so I suppose that’s something.
I was radicalized by moving out of my parents’ house and getting married. The low salaries in the US (even though I have a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree), combined the 40 year move from a people centric economy to a wealthy centric economy, eventually caused my radicalization.
The moment I was radicalized was when I learned that tRump won the Presidency the first time. I had started getting involved with causes to do with environment and women. After tRump I started paying attention to politics local and federal.
My first awakening moment came when I went to basic training at age 18 and learned I had access to foods I had never heard of before and I could eat all they would put on my tray. I learned that there were other people around the United States that were radically different than the ones I had gone to school with. I soon got over it but I never forgot.
My last real awakening was when I was deployed to Afghanistan in 2002 and learned just how loving and caring Muslims could be, despite their third world existence, and how bigoted American soldiers were towards these same people. And how badly the American main stream media is being censored by the federal government. I've been fighting against it ever since.
So many moments so many experiences Sam, - it's difficult to put my finger on the pivotal moment. Stepping out of what my parents expected/wanted me to be and embracing my mosaic non-binary status that was the terrible secret that the medical profession told my parents that nobody (including me) must never find out about didn't help any. Memories of sitting on a footpath picking cigarette butts out of the gutter and being called disgusting by passers by is one abiding memory. But fortunately at some point I found out about a free government initiative to offer training to those who needed a hand up and I studied to become a social worker. Friends were horrified when I went to work for a district hospital's adult mental health service. They had me down as being murdered inside a week. As it happened I soon discovered that 'normal' people were far more dangerous than the people I was working with. Eventually though the job burned me out and I had to take early retirement on medical grounds. Absolutely no regrets though.
It was when I realized there is some truth in the old saying: “No good deed goes unpunished.” And yet, for some reason I keep trying! On the plus side, I no longer fear death, so I suppose that’s something.
I was radicalized by moving out of my parents’ house and getting married. The low salaries in the US (even though I have a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree), combined the 40 year move from a people centric economy to a wealthy centric economy, eventually caused my radicalization.
The moment I was radicalized was when I learned that tRump won the Presidency the first time. I had started getting involved with causes to do with environment and women. After tRump I started paying attention to politics local and federal.
My first awakening moment came when I went to basic training at age 18 and learned I had access to foods I had never heard of before and I could eat all they would put on my tray. I learned that there were other people around the United States that were radically different than the ones I had gone to school with. I soon got over it but I never forgot.
My last real awakening was when I was deployed to Afghanistan in 2002 and learned just how loving and caring Muslims could be, despite their third world existence, and how bigoted American soldiers were towards these same people. And how badly the American main stream media is being censored by the federal government. I've been fighting against it ever since.