Does Homophobia Go With That Hate?

The latest in my ongoing series of song rewrites was motivated by the recent instances in Kansas and New Jersey of alleged 'christians' stiffing their wait staff out of their tips because of their bigoted perceptions they were gay. 

So y'all know the drill, break out the iPods and sing along to Moni's remixed lyrics

Does Homophobia Go With That Hate?
Sung to the tune of 'Do Fries Go With That Shake' by George Clinton.

Oh oh
Oh ohh
Oww oww

Oh, I see the damndest things
Working in the restaurant game
On duty, my feet are tired and ache
Then a big party comes my way
I had a big tip coming today
Instead all I received was hate.
Making my blood boil again

(chorus)
Does homophobia go with that hate?
Does homophobia go with that hate?
Does homophobia go with that hate?
Does homophobia go with that hate?

They said my gayness they could see
And that means there's no tip for me
A Christian?
That's a big fat lie
All that means is I got stiffed
Less cash for me at the end of my shift
Don't even try it

Does homophobia go with that hate?  (does homophobia go with that hate? X4)
Does homophobia go with that hate?
Does homophobia go with that hate?
Does homophobia go with that hate?

You know homophobia isn't marvelous (x2)

I'm working hard
Don't need this shyt
Judgmental christophobes  
Make me sick
So don't try it
Ooohh, this homophobic bigotry isn't sweet
Its got me and my peeps ready to riot

Ohh, Does homophobia go with that hate?  Does homophobia go with that hate? X4)
Does homophobia go with that hate?
Does homophobia go with that hate?
Does homophobia go with that hate?

Oh oh, oh oh

With LGBT peeps you got beef
So don't blame it on Christian beliefs
You need to stop telling that big lie

Does homophobia go with that hate?
Does homophobia go with that hate?
(fade to end)

Transpeople of Color Don't Get The Luxury of Ignoring Race And Class

Sigh.  Once again, Moni's gonna have to break it down for the wallowing in white privilege clueless. 

And this clueless youngling had the nerve to claim in the subsequent comment thread that she's 'anti-racist'.

Peep this comment posted by Jocelynn Veleta on the mixed company Facebook Transgender Alliance FB page.

It was posted on a comment from Black Transmen Resources ironically posted to promote their upcoming BTAC 2014 conference in Dallas April-May 2014.

At first I was going to be nice and not embarrass her in cyberspace until she deleted her initial comments before I had a chance to copy them, ran, called me 'stupid', said I was 'playing the victim'  and cried the usual 'white women's tears' before I got tired of her mouth and unleashed the 50 megatons of knowledge on her azz.  

im offended when ppl add race, ethnicity, or gender restrictions to anything, Trans in itself is enough of a minority i personally don't feel we need to break up anymore... hey maybe its just me; im not trying to be rude.

No, you weren't rude, you were white privileged clueless.

As I've said on multiple posts here on this blog and on countless discussion threads inside and outside the trans community for over a decade in various ways, race matters, even in the trans community..

We transpeople of color do not have the luxury of separating our race and ethnicity from our trans status. They are inextricably part of us.   And as part of the Black community, we still get whacked by the microaggressive and macroaggressive ways whiteness and white supremacy deleteriously affects us.

Your lived experience as a solitary white trans person doesn't trump (and never will) the lived experience of someone who has taken the brunt of the white supremacist attitudes since birth, much less her people's 400 year history of living in the Americas.

Jocelynn, you may not like the fact that we have Black, Latina and Asian trans groups, organizations and conventions, but they didn't come out of a vacuum.

As Kwame Ture said, 'in order to become a part of the greater society, you must first close ranks.'

People of color face anti POC hatred whether we are trans or not and being trans only magnifies that. And some of the worst manifestations of that anti-POC hatred are in our own TBLG ranks.

What we do have, if the trans community will seize that opportunity, is to lead by example in eradicating racism in its subset of society.

Our little subset of society is infected by the same isms and ills of the parent society, and just because you transitioned doesn't mean you nor transpeople of color are free of that baggage.  Race and ethnicity add to our trans status as bigotry multipliers in terms of the anti-trans hate directed at us inside and outside the TBLG community.   Black trans women have to deal with the same 'ugly black woman' meme and destruction of our images that our cis sisters have had to grapple with for four centuries.  Black trans men when they transition step into being just as hated by society as their cis Black masculine counterparts do and the transmasculine discussion being disproportionately centered on white trans men. 

And when the Teapublicans seek to block the vote of the Black community at the polls, I don't get a pass from that because I'm trans.    

Jocelynn, you aren't even close to being anti-racist if you can't openly acknowledge the point that racist attitudes permeates American society, still affects POC's in the second decade of the 21st century, can't see past your own unacknowledged white privilege and how it has shaped your thinking (as the playing the victim conservacomment demonstrates) and that racism= prejudice plus systemic power.

And before you even part your lips to ever try to bring up the word 'anti-racist' in a conversation, better hit Google and learn the word 'intersectionality'. 

I'm offended Jocelynn when you make such a knee jerk reactive clueless statement on the comment of a Black trans group promoting their upcoming Dallas trans conference open to all, you failing to see how problematic that statement of yours was, and then running when you get called on it.

And you getting your vanillacentric privileged back up, accusing me of 'attacking you' for schooling your barely out of zygote stage behind and you running from the truth isn't going to change one syllable of what I posted about race still mattering in the trans community.     

We do have the opportunity in the trans community to build a society better than the one we left behind but it's going to take honest communication about race relations in our community to do so. 

Honest communications that obviously you're not even close to being ready for or intelligently discuss.
 

I Welcome Your Hatred, Robyn

Because I call crap out, ain't 'scurred' to talk about whiteness, white privilege and how it deleteriously affects this community and call out the TS separatists (and others) for their racism and bigotry I have more than a few white sheet wearing detractors who straight up hate me.

Ho hum, Robyn Carolyn Montague is still bitter because I won't add her to the now 1800 people on my Facebook page.  All I have to say to you and the people that share your opinion of moi is I welcome your hatred.

And yeah, bear in mind that I've been active in this community for 15 years and contrary to your jacked up vanillacentric perspective, my friends in it who have my back don't always share my ethnic background.

The TS separatist ranks that you'd fit in quite nicely with because they are in the 'I Hate Moni' club ranks with you are chock full of bitter, rancor filled selfish idiots like you who are pissed off because they assumed they would hold the same level of white male privilege they used to have in their new femme bodies and society said otherwise.


And yeah, I sure am getting off my fine behind to help do my part to organize the next Creating Change conference coming to my hometown. I'm four videotaped hours and counting into an enjoyable oral history project at Rice University that will preserve my thoughts for posterity.  My seven year old blog is approaching 5 million hits and is archived.   I was honored by BTMI last March with an advocacy award named after me. 

And oh yeah, did you see who made the inaugural Trans100 List?   Sure wasn't you.

As I told your trifling, bitter butt back in February, my Facebook page, my rules.  Your continued nekulturny antics make that decision I made then to NOT add you to it look even wiser in the four months since I made that call. 

And you are still role modeling what I said about you four months ago. 

You're not a lady, you're another late transitioning asshole that still is carrying around that WMPesque attitude you spent much of your life marinating in.

So if you're going to post a derogatory comment about moi making an allegation about what I said, at least make it accurate.  Take the time to cut and paste what I said about you down to the syllable

On that note, I've wasted enough bandwith playing with you.  I have trans human rights I have to help our community get, stories I need to shine a bright spotlight on, trans people I need to inteview who are actually doing something to make a difference, speeches to write and a presentation to finish.

And naw, I'm still not adding you to my Facebook page
  .

Moni's Greatest Song Rewrite Hits-Volume 2

One of the things I like to do on this blog that people tell me they enjoy are my song rewrites.   I have a Volume 1 compilation post for many of them, but the rewrites just kept on coming until I had enough for a Volume 2 post.

And now, for you to peruse at your leisure is Moni's Greatest Song Rewrites-Volume 2.  

And at the rate I'm going there probably will be a Volume 3 in the near future.


Texas Bathrooms Have Transsexual In 'Em

Texas Has Transpeeps Marrying In It

Mama's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Conservative

Parents Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

You Are A Jerk

T-E-R-F's Hate

All The Sabre Ladies

Show Up & Sell Us Out

The Candidates Of The GOP

Please Leave The Abuser

My Name Is Not Steven

The Greed Of Texas

Stop Hating Us On Christmas Day

Shut Up Fool Awards-Moni's Birthday Week Edition

Tomorrow is Cuatro de Mayo, which means I've managed to go through another 366 days of life on this space rock  (2012 was a leap year).

I may have inadvertently (or deliberately) started some of it, but for the most part I got through 2012 without encountering a lot of major drama.  And yes, there was evolution toward becoming a better person during those 366 days. 

Today is my birthday on the western side of the International Date Line, and I thank all my friends on that side of the world for all the birthday wishes you've sent me so far.   Looking forward to the day that I can finally meet y'all

So enough jibber-jabber about my rapidly approaching birthday tomorrow, let's get to why y'all surf over here every Friday at noon central time in the first place.   Y'all want to see what fool, fools or group of fools I put on blast for this week's TransGriot Shut Up Fool Awards and it's time to give you loyal readers what you want.

First up, the honorable mentions. 

Honorable mention number one goes to former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who expressed regrets over the 2000 Bush v. Gore SCOTUS decision that installed Junior in the White House and negatively changed the course of US history.  

Gee, too late now.  Tell the families of over 5000 American military war dead and the 100,000 dead Iraqis that.  Those of us who voted for Vice President Al Gore know you made a partisan mistake that cost this country dearly in treasure and people.  We all knew Gore was the better man for the job and he won the election.  The 8 embarrassingly sorry years of the Bush mispresidency sadly proved to the rest of the country and the world what everyone already knew in Texas (except delusional Republifools) that Junior was not fit to be the POTUS.

Honorable mention number two goes to Sen. Kelly Ayotte (Teabagger-NH)  who admitted in a NH town hall meeting she voted against equal pay for women because 'we have enough laws on the books to enforce it'.




Yeah right, Kelly.   Okay New Hampshire, hope y'all are kicking this conservafool's butt to the curb when you get the opportunity to do so in 2016.

Honorable mention number three is a tie because its related to the same subject of NBA baller Jason Collins coming out.  It goes to former NBA player Larry Johnson and Chris Broussard.   While discussing the coming out story with L.Z. Granderson on Outside The Lines Broussard let his Christobigot flag fly and insinuated that Collins was 'not a Christian for being gay'.    LZ, I would have tore him a new anus for that one, .but we'll hopefully get a chance to discuss that at OUT on the Hill in September.    

Johnson opened his mouth and inserted foot in it by letting fly on Twitter with tweets stating 'homosexuality doesn't belong in a men's  locker room' and he'd be 'uncomfortable' with a gay teammate.

Dude, you put on a dress and a gray wig to sell Converse sneakers back in the day.   I'm just sayin'.

Honorable mention number four goes to The Cleveland Plain Dealer for their unrepentant journalistic hate crime they performed on Cemia Dove Acoff.

Honorable mention number five goes to Rep. Paul Broun (Teabagger-GA) who is now running for the US senate seat of the retiring Saxby Chambliss and decided to use transpeeps as a wedge issue.

This week's Shut Up Fool winner takes us north of the border..

Renee of Womanist Musings has told me a few times about conservafool Toronto Star columnist Christie Blatchford.   She's written a column that has set off many women in the Great White North in a case in which 17 year old Rehtaeh Parsons of Halifax was raped by four boys at a party and subsequently cyberbullied to the point she committed suicide last month  

To quote Renee on this one:

Claiming that it's questionable that a young girl who committed suicide was raped because she was naked with her rapist before hand is pure rape culture. 

Rehtaeh's father also put her on blast for victim blaming and I agree with him and Renee. 
No means no Christie Blatchford.  And shut up fool, eh?.  

2012 Out On The Hill-Moni's Panels

As the days get closer to September 19-22 I get more excited about the third annual Out On The Hill that will happen in Washington DC and being part of the star studded lineup for OOTH 2012..  

While there will be some outstanding panels, lobbying on Capitol Hill, policy discussion, the opportunity to attend the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation-Annual Legislative Conference at the Convention Center during Out On The Hill in addition to opportunities to meet and network with outstanding Black LGBT leaders from all over the country, I am looking forward to the two panels I'm involved with. 

One of the panels I'm taking part in happens on Friday, September 21, 2012, 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDT and its entitled ' The System, The Reality, The Solution: Honoring and Protecting the Lives of Black Trans Women.”

Here's the synopsis of it..

“The System, The Reality, The Solution: Honoring and Protecting the Lives of Black Trans Women” -- For some of the most likely targets of hate crimes – Black lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people – the options for survival are slim. For transgender women of color, in particular, the odds are even less in their favor. The Black and civil rights communities are shamefully silent when victims of violence are both Black and transgender. Stories like CeCe McDonald’s represent a larger system of violence and institutional biases. Her case is part of an ongoing string of attacks and mass murders against trans women of color. But even in the mist of adversity, this community of resilient, powerful sisters has managed to come together and demand a seat at the table. The purpose of this town hall is to discuss the current state of the Black trans community – specifically as it reflects the current policies of our government, the social climate of our nation and the lived experiences of Black trans women. Attendees will leave with an understanding of the systems in place as well as resources available and actions to take in order to see substantial progress in this community. This town hall meeting will feature an unprecedented briefing of prominent Black trans women who are activists, media personalities and experts as they discuss why it is important to be intentional about including the “T” as we develop the national Black LBGT agenda.

The invited panelists for it include Rev. Carmarion Anderson, Kokumo Kinetic, Danielle King, Valerie Spencer, Bali White with our moderator for it being Laverne Cox 


On Saturday, September 22, 2012, 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM. EDT I'll be part of the session “Bloggers' Roundtable: How the LGBT Equality Movement Has Impacted Black America and the Media Landscape."

“Bloggers' Roundtable: How the LGBT Equality Movement Has Impacted Black America and the Media Landscape” -- Since the president’s historic endorsement of marriage equality, civil rights leaders and celebrities—from the NAACP to Jay Z—have come out in support of marriage for gay and lesbian couples. Recent opinion polls suggest a record shift in support of marriage equality among people of color. But despite the prevailing media narrative, research has long shown that the Black community isn’t monolithically homophobic or transphobic. In fact, polling of African Americans has previously indicated that when it comes to issues of harassment and violence (hate crimes, bullying in schools, etc.) more than 50 percent feel that it’s a very big problem for gay and lesbian people. This session will feature a fishbowl style discussion where prominent Black LGBT bloggers discuss how the conversation has changed in new media. Attendees will leave with a more nuanced understanding of media representation and public opinion of African Americans as it pertains to LGBT equality.

Still not too late to register for the third annual edition of Out On The Hill.

Why I STILL Won't Vote For Conservafools

I have a diverse collection of people in my life who encompass a wide variety of political thought up to and including conservatives. 

The country club ones, not the batturd crazy wing.

But lately I've been getting pushback on my Facebook page from a few of them who have objected to my scathing critiques of the conservafool movement and tried to challenge me using Fox Noise talking points that are awash in vanillacentric privilege they continue to fail to acknowledge.

This post is the result of a series of conversations and response to one of my friend's charges that in his point of view, he has the opinion I think the Democratic party is perfect.

I never said the Democrats were. There are things I don't like that they do. There are policy directions such a universal health care I'm disappointed they haven't been more aggressive on in enacting.  I would like to see them more forcefully call the Republicans out for what they are in terms of being neo-fascist anti-intellectual extremist bigots.

I've been made aware of in my lifetime that conservatives as a whole don't like my people. Individual Republicans may not feel that way and resent it when we slam the conservative movement they are personally aligned with.

But in these hyperpartisan times when there is a clear Grand Canyon wide chasm between the policies advocated by Democrats and Republicans, that 'vote the person not the party line' spouted by people is bull feces.  The party you choose to support gives me a major clue about what type of human being you are and an insight into your personal values.   It also gives me a major clue as to how you will govern if you gain control of the government at whatever level and how you will use that power. 

From where I sit, the 2012 edition of the conservative movement and the GOP is not one that is worthy of my time, much less my precious vote because the conservamajority consensus that comes from your movement, your GOP party that is the political arm of your movement, the media that supports it, and the vanillacentric policies and the policies that it promotes are seen by myself and other persons of color as relentlessly racist and hostile to our political and economic interests.

So naw conservatives, I can't in good conscience as someone who loves her people vote for Republicans .
Another thing I have observed over my lifetime is that when Republicans have attacked mine and my people's human rights, it was Democrats I saw repeatedly standing up to resist it.   It was Democrats who called out the bigotry and racism while Republicans were united in cricket chirping silence about it.

It is Democrats who have the policy agenda, desire and attempt to spend their political capital on policies that help urban America while you Republicans denigrate it.and oppose those policies while coming up with the same warmed over supply-side conservabull feces that we know doesn't work.  .     

It is Democratic candidates who repeatedly come to my community and respectfully ask for my vote.  You conservafools seek to come up with any excuse to ignore and disrespect my community while suppress its paid for in blood ability to vote.

I know and my community knows when we have been spit upon.  So  don't even try to disrespect our intelligence and attempt to tell us that it's raining.  We don't watch Fox News so that baa baa conservasheep routine doesn't work on us. 

Neither does sending cookie chomping sellouts to parrot the same policies and anti-Black remarks uttered on a regular basis by conservative white pundits.

So if you can't stand me and my people, and you have repeatedly  demonstrated through deeds and words when you get power you will use it to oppress me and my people, why would I be foolish enough to vote for representatives of a GOP that make it quite clear that they hate me and the policies they pursue will have deleterious effects on my life?

So naw, Moni and the African-American community ain't going out like that.   When you conservafools make up your minds that you will stand up for my community like the Democrats have done for over four decades and you come up with policies that fix the problems that ail my community, then I might start listening.

Until then, every election day I'm voting for people with D's behind their name on the ballots..

Elections Matter, GL People

Had one of my Facebook friends shoot me a link to a discussion in which once again, predominately white GL activists were ranting about the executive order issue and getting their left wing hate on for President Obama

One person in the thread who is a proud GetEqual supporter, implied that whichever party held a political office didn't matter and expressed more faith in direct action than the ballot box..

It has little to do with who is in office and everything to do with our community's willingness to fight

Oh really? Spoken like someone chock full of vanillacentric privilege  and that's where you and your organization are tragically wrong.  Elections matter and if you were a person of color you wouldn't part your lips to say something so categorically obtuse.

It calls me to question whether you GetEqual people really have a vowel and a clue about how to get rainbow community human rights coverage done right in the first place, much less have a coherent long range plan for doing so besides hating on President Obama.  

Political Reality Check 101 for you since it seems as though some of you slept through your high school civics or your collegiate political science classes.   What party controls the state houses, Congress, city hall, the judicial benches, the governor's mansion, the White House is a big fracking deal, especially if you are part of a mariginalized minority group.  Control of the White House is also important because the president appoints justices for the federal court system and the Supreme Court.  

And news flash for you white GLBT peeps, in case you haven't realized it yet, Moni's going to break it down for you.  You are part of a marginalized minority group now and as such have been knocked down a few pegs from your former perch at the top of the societal privilege food chain.

That means that you have a new political reality to absorb, and it's one that non-white TBLG people are intimately familiar with.

Rule Number One of the new political reality is that it is never a smart political play to even think about sitting out an election.   Why in the hell do you think the Republifools have spent so much time and money trying to suppress non white people's votes in advance of this election?

Rule Number Two you need to burn into your brains is that you can't get progressive legislation from conservative politicians.   

I'm also going to tear into another misguided comment I saw in this thread from another person.   This person who shall remain nameless suggested the GL community should stay at home in 2012 to 'punish' the Democrats and President Obama for not moving as fast as you vanillacentric privileged peeps deem necessary on rainbow community human rights issues.

Um, didn't y'all try that 'punish the Dems by staying home' strategy in 2010?   How's that working out for you and the GL rights movement?

The only people you 'punished' because of your lack of strategic vision were yourselves, all women, middle class workers, the poor, and our children.   The only people that worked out for was the Tea Klux Klan and the Republicans.  They said.thank you very much clueless left wing Obama haters for staying at home and handing us power in a election cycle that was going to determine how federal, state and local legislative bodies were going to be reapportioned for the entire 2k10 decade.

Since one of them was a Texan, thank y'all very much for irrationally sitting at home and giving the Republicans a Texas House supermajority in the Lone Star State.  They promptly attempted to use it to disenfranchise Blacks and Latinos but thanks to the 1965 Voting Rights Act were stymied for the moment..  That supermajority also gave GOP legislators the political power to cut public school funding for starters and attack this community with more anti-gay legislation .  

Thank you clueless GL folks who hate Obama so much you allowed the Republicans to draw political legislative maps that will reduce our political power and make it harder for us to regain progressive majorities in the Texas legislature until 2020

And at the federal level, thank you for giving the POTUS half a congress that makes it impossible for him to get anything done GLBT rights wise or pass the liberal-progressive legislation we wish to have happen until 2013.

Elections matter, and the sooner you GL folks learn that simple lesson the conservafool moment has known since 1964, the faster we can make GLBT rights progress a reality. 

How (Not) To Write About Black Trans Women

Karnythia of the Angry Black Woman blog had an interesting post I ran across entitled How To Write About Black Women in which she slammed all the tropes, memes and blanket statements aimed at Black women when others outside our community write about us. 

One group she didn't mention is Black trans women, and here's where I was inspired to pick up the baton and happily run with it where Karnythia left off. 

(Moni cracks knuckles) 

Let's get started with this post, shall we?

Only acknowledge the existence of Black transwomen when we are murdered or the victim of a crime, salaciously involved in some scandal or news story you wish to highlight, during the November 20 Transgender Day of Remembrance, you wish to pump up your Nielsen ratings during sweeps week or you wish to use us to insult Black cis women you hate.

Ignore the African descended trans activists who have toiled for decades to represent our community or have eloquently written about those issues for years because only white transwomen do that.  Don't bother quoting Black transwomen on issues of importance to the rainbow community at large, write positive stories about them speaking on trans issues or believe there are engaged Black transfeminine leaders involved in fighting for the human rights of their community and others.        .

Use a sellout Black gay male drag queen, white trans activists at inside the beltway Gay, Inc organizations or local rainbow community orgs to speak as 'experts' on Black trans lives.

Violate the AP Stylebook guidelines on covering transgender people by misgendering Black transwomen at every opportunity.  When known, mention their old male names even if it isn't germane to the story in order to other them and reinforce the point they weren't originally born female.  

If a Black transwoman is a victim of a hate crime or discrimination, you take the police spokesperson or the right wing anti-trans organization word as gospel truth without questioning if the 'man' they are describing in their press conference is actually a transwoman..  Inject the 'deception meme' into the story, add any criminal record your research may have uncovered if they have one and make certain you use either the mug shot or an unflattering picture of her.  Throw in for good measure without any evidence to back it up shady commentary or your presumption the transperson in question was soliciting

Quotes of family members or neighbors misgendering that person work for the story as well.   .


When in the process of rebutting a critique a Black transwoman has written, call her 'angry', 'obsessed about race', take digs at her education and demand she produce dissertation level citations to prove her points. If that doesn't work, call her a racist.  If all of the above fails, call her a 'man'.

If you're a cis female or radical feminist do all of the above, flaunt your ability to menstruate, birth them babies and add misogynist to your list of charges. If you're a white transsexual separatist, obsess about surgical status in addition to doing all of the above.

Position the Black transwoman as the 'unwoman' juxtaposed to cis women and non Black trans women you have anointed with honorary cis privilege.  The Black transwoman doesn't exist except to fulfill the 'tragic transsexual' meme or as martyrs to use in order to fundraise for Gay, Inc organizations.  

They are also handy for browbeating Black civil rights legacy orgs into supporting same gender marriage, taking Black legislators to task to garner support for getting marriage equality laws passed for GL people or ramrod through unjust trans rights laws without public accommodations language.

If Black transwomen object to the erasure or the misuse of their fallen transsisters lives and histories in that manner, accuse them of being divisive, refuse to engage with them, microaggressively engage in tone arguments or lob sexist, bigoted and misgendering comments at them while doing so..

Presume that your cis privileged life and your observations based on collegiate gender theory classes trump the lived experiences and everyday lives of a Black transwoman.  Dismiss it when she states that race matters and aim pre-1963 Dr. King quotes at her while chiding her for not being colorblind   Obsess about the Black transwoman's sexuality and make blanket statements and presumptions that her only interests in life are partying, getting high, getting pumped and turning tricks. 

Make blanket statements and assumptions that she is neither concerned about nor intelligent enough to discuss the human rights issues that affect all transpeople or that she has spirituality, hopes, dreams and aspirations in life just like any other human being on the planet.