Donna Babb

Genderless?

Wed, 25 May 2011 20:33:49 -0600

Transgenders Attempt to Change Birth Certificates

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:22:53 -0600

Recent articles in the news have shown, what has been a struggle for part of the GLBT community for decades, that issue is changing one’s own birth certificate to match the gender they have “transitioned” to. When I use the word “transitioned” in quotes I only mean that the state of New York, where recent law suits have been taken upon the state, does not allow transgendered individuals to change their birth certificates to match their identity. Many states, including New York, require transgender individuals to have had genital reassignment surgery which can cost $20,000 to $100,000. Also many individuals may have other reasons besides financial issues, such as health, holding them back from undergoing such a procedure.

For more information go to: ABC News (March 24th 2011)

Non-heterosexual youth = Higher punishments

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 14:02:32 -0700

Non-heterosexual youth = Higher punishments:

Article says, “Non-heterosexual youth suffer disproportionate educational and criminal-justice punishments that are not explained by greater engagement in illegal or transgressive behaviors. Understanding and addressing these disparities might reduce school expulsions, arrests, and incarceration and their dire social and health consequences.”

Geriatrics Sex?

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:54:59 -0700

An article in USA Today, says that a study shows that “about a third of men age 75 to 95 remain sexually active and 43% of those want more sex.”

This shows age is not a determinate in one’s sex drive, if your brain is still working, you still have desires. Physical health and ability may affect this of course.

Freedom of Speech - A Pedophile's Dream Come True

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:45:52 -0700

It is always nice when I get a chance to sit back and take a little time to read the newspaper. There is just something about holding that paper in your hands and hearing the rustling sound it makes, it gives you a different feeling than reading off of a computer screen. This experience always starts out pleasant until I actually read what the paper says, which somehow always has to be something seemingly appalling. For example, which will lead to the point of my ranting, The Fort Collins Coloradoan’s Saturday, November 13th paper. There are five headlines on front page these include as follows:

1) “Teen pleads innocent: 16-year old to get jury trial in death of girl killed by falling rock”

2) “Suspect in sexual assault is identified”

3) “Fort Collins Catches Cold” (this isn’t really appalling by any means)

4) “Plaza is making headway” (this isn’t appalling either)

5) “Colorado police investigate, protect pedophilia author” (this is where it starts to get to me)

Since I do not want to post the article , I will summarize it in brief bullet points, because if you care to read the article you can find it online for your own viewing pleasure.

Phillip Ray Greaves II, self-published a book
Topic of book: “offers advice to pedophiles on how to make a sexual encounter with a child as safe as possible”
Greaves had been threatened on the Internet and police would watch his home for his safety
Title of the book: “The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover’s Code of Conduct”
Greaves claims to have depression and “that he had sexual contact with children while still a child himself”
Two important quotes from Greaves: he was asked about whether he had ever had sexual contact with a child as an adult, his first response was “could have,” but he changed it to “saying that he hadn’t” and the second quote by Greaves is “[t]he best advice I can give a pedophile is, accept masturbation as your best friend”

After reading this article and feeling slightly nauseous and appalled, I had several questions running through my head. Should freedom of speech be limited in some cases? Is it okay for someone to give advice to hurt a child, just like is it okay to have instructions on how to make a bomb? Where is the line drawn on except-able free speech, this blog is free speech, but do I write about how to hurt others? Should we limit free speech in this country when it involves such things as hurting others and how to do so “as safe as possible”?

At first thought I said YES, that freedom of speech should have its limitations, I do not believe in hate speech, which to me Greaves’s book falls under a similar category. Than I changed my mind and thought NO, freedom of speech should have no limitations in this country. I wouldn’t want my speech to be limited, just because someone did not like what I had to say. Now though, after getting all my thoughts down in writing, I have decided that YES, some things need to be limited, some things are not okay. Greaves has every right to think what he wants to think, because his private thoughts are not hurting anyone, but the second he puts in down where others can access it, this becomes wrong. I consider myself an open-minded person, excepting of others, but telling others or teaching others how to hurt people, children in this example, should not be allowed or except-able in this country.

Child Abuse Rate At Zero Percent In Lesbian Households, New Report Finds

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 11:26:31 -0700

Child Abuse Rate At Zero Percent In Lesbian Households, New Report Finds

The Pedestal of a Convicted Child Molester

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:33:09 -0600

It is difficult enough, I think anyone can realize this, when we put another individual up on a pedestal, especially a moral pedestal and they “fall off of it”. I personally can name two times in my life where I have thought only the highest of an individual, I thought they were the most impressive person I had met and ended up disappointing me. But this is not about this other person, this is about a person in general, a pedestal in general if you will.

Anyone that is local to the Fort Collins area that has occasionally read the newspaper has seen articles about the Rocky Mountain High School counselor, Brad Boda, that was being investigated for more than a handful of child molestation charges. The reason I bring this to light now more than six months after this information appeared in the newspaper is mainly because of the recent sentencing that occurred due to these charges. Brad Boda was sentenced Thursday, July 1st, 2010 for 20 years “after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual abuse on a child,” according to the Fort Collins Coloradoan.

But this posting is not about whether Brad Boda did this, did not do this, should have been sentenced for 20 years, or any other numerable questions that may surface. The reason I am writing now is to think about should I personally have held someone like Brad Boda on a pedestal, a moral pedestal, in particular. The reason I am stressing the idea of the moral pedestal is because I think there are many different kinds of pedestals, but in my own mind the moral is the strongest and the most heart breaking when someone “falls off of it”.

I was devastated when I heard the news of Brad Boda being investigated under allegations of child abuse/molestation and my family as a whole was crushed to think that such allegations would come up or that Brad Boda would have done such things. The most devastating part though, like I said is not the allegations (whether he is truly guilty or not - this being besides the point of what he pleaded guilty to or not), but the image of a whole of this individual. Brad Boda was my high school counselor, not by random assignment, but by choice. I wanted Brad Boda to be my counselor after meeting him my sophomore year and I switched from my counselor to him. He was always there for my to talk to and he always listened. I am not going to go in to detail of all the things that Brad Boda helped me work through and supported me in, but I just want to make it clear that he helped me in so many ways and I looked up to him with nothing, but respect and trust. Brad Boda was one of the deciding factors in my life for why I decided I wanted to be a counselor, that I wanted to help others for the rest of my life.

The point I am at now, is trying to work through that pedestal issue, that I have been addressing this whole time. I put Brad Boda up on a pedestal and he “fell off of it” and my question is now what??? What does one do when someone they have that complete trust and faith in disappoints you? When in a sense they fall from the good sense of grace that they were once held to in your eyes? Where do I go from now, it made me question my own life and my career goals? All I can think is that I have to prove him to be wrong, I have to prove this man that fell from the pedestal I held him up on and become a counselor that knows their moral obligations, that can be held to the highest of the moral code of ethics, one that does not stray in such a way as to make anyone question whether I too have fallen.

Now Is That Really So Gay After All?!?!

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:59:01 -0600

Now Is That Really So Gay After All?!?!

The Devastating Results of FGM Repaired?

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 14:12:12 -0600

Check out this link:

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_14527014

Dr. Marci Bowers has been a personal hero of mine for years, working out of Trinidad, Colorado. Bower’s clinic which is known worldwide for gender reconstructive surgery is also helping to “fix” the devastating results that leaves a woman’s genitals deformed by the cultural occurrence of FGM (Female Genital Mutilation). This amazing process of reconstructing a woman’s genital area after years if not a lifetime of pain both physically and emotionally is helping women who have experienced FGM to move on with their lives.

Domestic Violence Advocate

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:03:08 -0700

So, tonight is going to be my first experience as an advocate for Crossroads Safehouse. I am on call over-night tonight as a DART (Domestic Abuse Response Team) volunteer and it is nerve wrecking to say the least. I figured I would write my blog about it now, since I won’t be able to give any information really regarding the experience since I do not want there to be a connection even between my feelings and what may happen tonight, for confidentiality reasons. So, I am just going to say this…although I am very excited and proud about what I am doing and the organization I am involved with I am also very nervous. I hear the nervousness never goes away no matter how long one has been doing this, every time that pager goes off I hear you panic a little bit. I am just going to try to stay calm and relaxed, focus on what needs to be done and do just that.

Wish me luck!

"If…the machine of government…is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of..."

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:05:44 -0700

“If…the machine of government…is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law.”

- Henry David Thoreau

Sexual Assault Case - Coloradoan

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:31:07 -0700

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20100217/UPDATES01/100217008/Fort+Collins+man+accused+of+sexually+assaulting+Loveland+teen+pleads+not+guilty++sets+trial+date

I find it ever fascinating, how individuals are charged upon admitting guilt to a certain criminal act. Why is it that someone can commit such crimes against someone else, especially a minor, a child and be put on probation? Is 20 years of “intensive supervised probation” the proper consequence for such crimes as these individuals committed? And why does one of these individuals find going to trial a reasonable approach with the evidence there seems to be against him and with the approach his co-defendants took?

Some things I will never understand and I guess some of the legal system is one of them!

New Blog Introduced To Me

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:31:32 -0700

New Blog Introduced To Me

Started training to volunteer

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:14:24 -0700

Started training to volunteer

PSD Adults - Abuse?

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:11:36 -0700

PSD Adults - Abuse?

"One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like the..."

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:42:00 -0700

“

One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique identities of each of us as complex human beings.

~Franklin Thomas~

”

- I found this quote while on the search for the quote I used in my last blog, it is probably one of my favorites so far.

Racism vs Prejudice

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:53:00 -0700

To start off, I think some official definitions are needed for these two words, to clarify the differences between the two. I have always preferred dictionary.com for my resource for such things. So according to dictionary.com,

Racism: “a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others”

Prejudice: “an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason”

Now the main reason I bring these two concepts into question are through my recent experience of racist jokes. Now I am not going to tell any of these jokes because this is not the time nor the place for such things, but I want to discuss such jokes within the confines of the definitions of racism and prejudice. Racial jokes have always seemed to hold some sort of prevalence in our societies joke telling. They are a form of joking either to express one’s true feelings regarding that race without actually saying so, because if one is to say that is how they truly feel they run the risk in our generally more accepting society of being ridiculed for being a racist. The majority of people use such jokes as a way to use stereotypes to their advantage to make a so called “funny” joke. Now I am not going to discuss whether these jokes do not have some humor to them, but I want to talk about what the reason behind telling them is.

What I have been structured to believe is that not everyone is racist, but that everyone is prejudice and I do not think that there is much to dispute in this statement. One may not hold the belief that their own race is superior to another individuals, but I do not think that one can deny that they have judged or formed and idea about someone before getting to know them.

So what does this have to do with racist jokes you may be asking. My question in writing this blog is whether racist jokes are a form of racism, perhaps “undercover” racism, a form of prejudice, or neither? I guess the answer is that it probably depends on the person telling the joke as well as the one that listens and perhaps enjoys the joke. Some people tell or listen to racist jokes because they truly believe what they say, so they think it is funny because it is the truth. There are others that tell or listen because they think that poking fun of stereotypes is funny, because stereotypes can be so extreme that they become ridiculous and therefore a joking matter. Then there are people that find the telling or listening of racist jokes to make them supportive of such ideas and so they do not like to be involved in either.

So as a member of this society, where racist jokes are going to be told and heard, you have to make a decision. Do you want to chance being seen as racist by some individuals or do you want to avoid such a thing? Also, perhaps it is just a matter of being conscious of who hears you tell such jokes, watch out for mixed company.

“Racism is man’s gravest threat to man - the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason.” ~Abraham Joshua Hesche~

"Every relationship you ever have won’t work out…until you find the one that does. And..."

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:13:44 -0700

““Every relationship you ever have won’t work out…until you find the one that does. And when you do find ‘the one,’ the difference between that relationship and the others you’ve had before will be profound beyond belief.”
-unknown source-”

- There is no way that every relationship can work out that you have, otherwise you would have only one your whole life, that being the first and only relationship. We try and try…we give and give…until we find what works for us, this may be a marriage, a strong commitment or just a friendship. The relationship that does work though will feel different than any you have ever had before, the connection will be different, the bond will be strong, the compassion and commitment present,and the love beyond comparison. I think the majority of the dating world has had good relationships and bad relationships, but for whatever reason those relationships did not work…when we stop searching and we allow there to be time for ourselves is when “the one” has the chance to enter into our lives.

"Tension is a prerequisite for creative living.” - Agnes Meyer -"

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:42:19 -0700

““Tension is a prerequisite for creative living.”
- Agnes Meyer -”

Drag Show

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:25:00 -0700

Last night I went to the Dream Girls drag show, with an opening act put on by La Gay, the only all gay improv group in Colorado. The show was at The bas Bleu Theater in Fort Collins and was an amazing show. Now I have seen small bits of drag shows before at such events as PRIDE in Denver, but I have never seen anything like this before. There were five drag queens and all of them were beautiful, entertaining and some were even hilarious to watch. They all danced and performed to different songs, while lip-sinking. This three hour show was truly worth the money, which was put on by Fortitude which is in connection to the NCAP (Northern Colorado AIDS Project). Fortitude’s mission is “to prevent the spread and stigma of HIV by building a strong community of Gay, Bisexual, Queer, and Questioning men and promoting equality and justice in Northern Colorado.” I strongly recommend that anyone wanting to learn more about either Fortitude or NCAP check out the below websites. Also if you are interested in seeing the Dream Girls perform they do so the 1st Friday of every month at Hamburger Mary’s in Denver, if you do decide to go, please invite me cause I would love to see them perform again!

For more information:

Fortitude: coloradofortitude.org

NCAP: ncaids.org