I have a lot of stress in my life all the time. My first reaction when I see a cover like this is often to blame the cover subject, not the magazine that created the cover:
Stop attacking me.
I think that many of the people who respect me are among the people who don't have the access, time or interest in magazines or other forms of commercial publicity that celebrities and many other people who choose to be high profile do.
It's important that Ms. Jenner get fair treatment for the car accident that ended someone's life. Antagonizing me into making statements that could jeopardize her due process does not help the situation.
I have already shown, to my deserved embarrassment, that I am not overly sensitive about transgender issues. I get bullied every day and all day; being constantly subjected to cruel treatment does not usually cause a person to develop a lot of kind feelings toward humanity. Every so often, my anger finds a relatively safe outlet, which is an unfortunately pervasive dynamic of bullying situations; those who are relentlessly bullied find others to ridicule for the enjoyment of the main bullies. It happens all the time.
Celebrities should not get special treatment when they cause damage for which a regular person would be made accountable. They do get that special treatment all the time. Transgendered people should not be persecuted, and they are all the time.
Whatever the right balance is for Caitlyn Jenner's situation, I don't know. I do know that magazines and other sources of publicity that attack me in attempts to defend Ms. Jenner are going to make everything worse. I can't keep my temper all the time, and I also don't need to say a word for prejudice about transgendered people to influence her case. I'm sure that there are a lot of people on both sides of every issue of the conglomerate's agenda who are prejudiced against transgendered people.
Copyright L. Kochman, August 23, 2015 @ 9:37 a.m.
