Alabama Mayor Kills Self After Right-Wing Blog Outs His Cross-Dressing

He's conservative and even had a meeting with Trump. That's the worst of it I think, he was ok with persecuting trans people till he was outed.

To be fair, being trans is not the same as being a crossdresser.
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  It's basically the same as how Drag Queens aren't trans. They aren't fully conforming to the idea of being a 'woman', just the fashion and expression of it. Many prominent drag figures use she/her pronouns while in drag but immediately switch back to he/him when out of drag.
  
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  I've known a lot of people who really get into cross dressing but would never consider themselves trans.
  
  I never really got into a serious conversation about it, but I always took it like when you get into a video game. It's just a lot of fun pretend to be them for awhile while knowing that in reality it's fiction.
  
  'Course, then there are the folks for whom crossdressing is entirely different from being trans until suddenly it's not. (I'm thinking of crossdressing comedian Eddie Izzard -- who is now Suzy Izzard -- as I write this.)
  
  The main thing is that all possibilities are possible, and it's really more about letting folks do their thing instead of trying to categorize.
  
  Absolutely. I'm just saying not to make assumptions or force labels onto people.
  
  Here are the Google definitions
  
  Transgender - denoting or relating to a person whose gender identity does not correspond with the sex registered for them at birth.
  
  Transvestite - a person who dresses in clothes primarily associated with the other sex (typically used of a man).
  
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  So do transfats. Don’t tell me you get that confused too
  
  Don't even get me started on transmissions.
  
  Transformers: More than meets the eye.
  
  Transformers: touch them and you die 🎵
  
  Considering the fact that the derogatory word for both of them is ironically the same lol
  
  Crossdressing and/or drag is you like to be outwardly a woman/other gender. Trans is you ARE a woman. Full stop. Your meat suit just happens to not agree with it, thus the term gender dysphoria.
  
  Note: I do not speak for a trans people. Nothing is black and white. This is just how I understand it best and figured it got the point across.
  
  FYI, I am looking to learn and not state anything as fact here. I am just going to explain my current understanding and if it is incorrect, please correct me.
  
  I think gender dysphoria just describes any feelings of distress and anxiety caused by suppressing the feelings of actual gender identity. The disconnect between mind and body may not always be traumatic.
  
  So, if a trans woman has fully embraced being a woman in all aspects of life with no second thoughts, gender dysphoria may not be an issue.
  
  However, if a trans woman feels socially pressured to maintain the lifestyle of a man, that could be a source of stress, anxiety and initial confusion.
  
  There are probably millions of nuanced scenerios that do, or, do not result in gender dysphoria. However, it has been my experience that most people who are anti-trans use gender dysphoria as a generalized blanket term. (Obviously, that doesn't mean that anyone who used the term is anti-trans, but just covering that base regardless.)
  
  Trans is you ARE a woman.
  
  You think you are.
  
  You where born in the wrong body but the technology isn't there yet to change that fact. That's why it's still called Transgender. if you could just switch Cis bodies I'm not sure anyone wouldn't try it out.
  
  I'm with famous cross dresser Barry Humphries in considering gender affirming surgery self mutilation, but at the end of the day it's none of my or anyone else's fucking business what someone does with their own meat suit.
  
  Maybe this will help?
  
  Crossdressing and drag are related to gender expression. Cis and trans are terms relating to a person's gender identity and may or may not align with gender expression.
  
  That illustration is sweet
  
  By no means am I an expert, especially on the intricacies of being trans and I don't want to cis-splain their experiences, but I do know that cross dressing has an overlap of necessity with them, but it's a ven-diagram/intersection rather than a circle.
  
  People who are trans typically explain it as having always felt like they've always been in the wrong gendered-body. Wearing clothes that correspond to the gender they feel they are
  (also, keep in mind MRI's have shown brain activity that more closely matches the gender they feel they are than the gender they were born with, as well) is way for them to try and reconcile the way they feel with the way they were born. It's usually an early stage in socially transitioning, whether they later choose to chemically/medically transition or not (and keep in mind, this is not always the end goal for people ... simply being acknowledged as the way they see themselves is enough for some people and they shouldn't be afraid to be in public because of that!).
  
  People who cross dress on the other hand may be doing it because they're trans and feeling out the early stages OR ... just because. It could be the way a textile feels, it could be sexual, it could be non-sexual, it could be because they just like it, it could be because ... you see where I'm going with this? There are as many reasons that people cross dress as there t-shirt designs (I may be exaggerating a bit with that one, but you get my meaning, I think).
  
  I know NOFX is problematic, but I feel like "I’m a Transvest‐Lite" explains it decently (for one particular person anyways!):
  
  I'm not transgender, I'm a lazy crossdresser
  Who thinks makeup is too much of an ordeal
  I paint my toes and wear shiny tight clothes
  Not for the look, but how it makes me feel
  I don't need things just right, I'm a tranvest-lite
  I only shave to do the Time Warp midnight Saturday
  I'm done with self-pity, I don't have to feel shitty
  'Cause I wanna look pretty, so I give it the old city College try
  Don't get me wrong, I still wanna be a guy
  Who sometimes likes to dress like a girl
  (He sometimes likes to wear diamonds and pearls)
  Don't think I don't know I'm not fooling anyone
  (He's a cross between Adele and Charlie Chaplin)
  You gotta know it's not just girls who just wanna have fun!
  
  Also, the beginning of the song is about the shame felt early on about it and is generally about getting the courage to not give a flying fuck about what people think.
  
  Hopefully I did a decent enough explanation without trampling on anyones lived experiences. The simple truth is that both groups of people have completely individualized experiences and it's a different journey for every single person.
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Did you even read the article? It's specifically says that he was supportive of trans people.
- I feel pity for this person, they deserved better.
  
  That said. You cannot be supportive of LGBT people, and vote for the Republican party. Republicans are quite openly hostile to LGBT people, both in rhetoric and in policy. You can't say you are supportive of a group while voting to strip them of their legal recognitions and protections.
  
  I agree with your comment, and I don’t think you’re saying otherwise. But definitely important to note that a lot of LGBT+ folks start off on the wrong side because of how they were raised, religion, etc. and the internal trans/homophobia that causes.
  
  That said, there are also though a sizeable number of LGBT+ “one of the good ones” who think their support of republicans will keep them from being targeted by the laws they want to introduce (it won’t. This case itself is proof of that.)
  
  I think that’s the important lesson to learn here for anyone voting republican and being a part of the LGBT community. The people you are voting for will not let you be just because you’re voting for them.
  
  Did you read the article? He literally spoke with people online about how to transition and such. That is supporting them.
  
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  You don't know how he voted. Stop making stuff up.
  
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  I take small umbrage with the idea that you cannot support LGBTQ people and vote in a way that doesn't support your personal beliefs.
  
  We are all of us paradoxical and hypocritical. Maybe they weren't pro-republican they were anti-democrat. I don't fucking know.
  
  That aside, I get what you're saying, but your political stance is not the end all and be all of who you are, and as the Republican party has proved beyond any shadow of any doubt being hypocritical is the name of their game.
  
  This one person could have been very pro-trans and yet still support the Republican agenda in every other way.
  
  Plus, we don't know if they were pro-trans or LGBTQ, all that we know is that they were not publically anti-trans.
  
  I take small umbrage with the idea that you cannot support LGBTQ people and vote in a way that doesn't support your personal beliefs.
  
  I don't care.
  
  You cannot vote to make someone's life measurably worse, and claim to support them.
  
  That's not my "personal beliefs", this is people's lives and wellbeing.
  
  We are all of us paradoxical and hypocritical.
  
  That is fair. And that is why I pity this person. And why I'm not talking about Leopards Eating People's Faces. This person was clearly troubled.
  
  That doesn't change what I'm saying though. I'm not trying to morally judge this individual with what I'm saying. All I am saying is that the net effect of the actions of someone who votes Republican, is not supportive of LGBT people, regardless of their personal beliefs.
  
  Maybe they weren't pro-republican they were anti-democrat. I don't fucking know.
  
  That's worse. You understand how that's worse, right?
  
  This one person could have been very pro-trans and yet still support the Republican agenda in every other way.
  
  Human rights are pretty much a deal-breaker. Or at least they should be.
  
  Plus, we don't know if they were pro-trans or LGBTQ, all that we know is that they were not publically anti-trans.
  
  You have misinterpreted my comment. I'm not trying to judge this person.
  
  I'm making a general statement that it is not possible to support a demographic while simultaneously voting to take away their legal recognitions and protections.
- For some people, there are only ever two sides, one all good, one all bad and there can not be people in-between or on each side that aren't 100% a walking trope integrated with all traits of the "side". It's quite sad really.
  
  We seriously need to do away with our two party system. Everything wrong with the country and the division is due to that. Ranked choice voting needs to be a priority.
The trump meeting was because his town was badly hit in a natural disaster, not necessarily something that he would have sought kut

Reading other articles it seems like no, he was generally very positive and encouraging to others online. The impression I get (from 10 minutes of reading, not saying this conclusively) is that he was not overtly hostile whatsoever to trans people.

There are enormous social pressures in small conservative towns, and the man was 63. I can imagine life leading someone otherwise pro-trans into being a republican preacher in that environment. An awful tragedy

This. People are complicated, even when it is inconvenient.

it does not appear he had taken any public positions against LGBTQ issues that could be construed as hypocritical

Except for being a member of the anti LGBTQ party.
- Yeah, but so is Caitlyn Jenner...
  
  How anybody takes someone like that seriously is beyond me
  
  You've got me. I don't understand why any trans person would be a Republican, but I guess money trumps all when you're rich.
  
  Because they (wrongly) believe that being “one of the good ones” will save them from being targeted by republicans and their proposed legislation like Project 2025
  
  That doesn’t mean people who have previously voted red are in the wrong (lots of internalized homophobia can lead to opposite beliefs). But once you realize your identity and continue to vote against yours and other people’s human rights, you’re absolutely in the wrong.
  
  Pretty sure there were slaves that actively sought to maintain slavery. In some cases, they had relatively decent lives compared to other slaves and even some free black people.
- I would imagine that becoming mayor in certain parts of the country is much easier if you’re a member of the dominant party in the region.
  
  Or existing in society at all. Sometimes in those parts of the country the first question upon meeting someone is "what church do you go to".
  
  He didn't have to become mayor.
  
  No, he didn’t. But people get to want things. Sometimes they want things for themselves, sometimes they want things for their communities.
- You can disagree with your party on one issue. There are tons of Democrats who are opposed to increased gun control, for example.
  
  But it's not just "an issue". We are talking about a demographic and their legal recognition. No I'm sorry but we cannot agree to disagree on something so fundamental as equal treatment of people.
  
  It's not comparable gun control.
  
  I'm talking about whether people are physically capable of breaking with their party on a single issue. They obviously are.
  
  Gallup poll
  
  Disagreeing on policy is one thing; disagreeing on human rights is another. You cannot be a Republican and have respect for queer rights at the same time. It has to be a 100% deal-breaker.
  
  I'm not sure what you're talking about. There are tons of Republicans who support gay rights in some fashion, even if it's not a majority position within the party.
  
  Gallup poll
  
  No, there are precisely zero Republicans who support gay rights. What you've cited is a poll showing some who claim to, but are lying. Their deeds, not their words, prove their true intentions.
  
  How likely are those Democrats to get bullied to the point of suicide if their "secret" of being against increased gun control was to come out? Or to preemptively commit suicide in anticipation of the bullying they're going to receive?
  
  This is not the same thing. Democrats are, generally speaking, flexible about a lot of their positions. It's how they wind up with problem members like Manchin and Sinema. The Republican party is very different.
  
  That's not the right comparison. He didn't commit suicide because he was ashamed of supporting gay rights, he was ashamed of wanting to cross dress and of having engaged in the activity. Regardless of politics, that's a pretty uncommon behavior. Most people don't want other people to know they're a sexual deviant of some kind. I'd guess that this behavior is much more maligned in conservative circles than liberal or left, for sure, but the point is that it's not just the breaking from the standard beliefs of that side.
  
  I’d guess that this behavior is much more maligned in conservative circles than liberal or left
  
  And that, right there, is exactly my point.
  
  Good luck trying to get the terminally online to understand the nuances and complexities of the human condition

The GOP has created a really shitty life for a lot of people.

It's a feature, not a bug.

He was a Baptist minister too...

I don't think many of them preach acceptance of LGBT

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Some do. It's just correlation because low church denominations like Baptists suit rural areas more than being at the behest of a large denom.

https://www.parkroadbaptist.org/

He was a Republican so yes he voted repeatedly to hurt LGBTQ people AS LONG AS IT WASNT HIM

If you read the article, it said, about halfway through, that he never spoke up on LGBTQ issues despite being a Republican.

It says he hasn't posted or supported anything publicly so he wasn't a hypocrite, he belonged to the wrong party though, I do feel bad for his family because he doesn't seem to be a right wing asshole