I'm seeing a lot of severely misinformed people around here who think that because same-rotor marriage was finally legalized, that suddenly all of the struggles of the Attack Helicopter community are suddenly over. You could not be more wrong.
The five major points from the article:
1. [b]Discrimination[/b]. It is still legal in the majority of states to discriminate against tri and quad rotor helicopters with regards to employment. Obama made copter discrimination illegal for government jobs, but most jobs are not government jobs. So yeah, we can fly now... and then we can go to work the next day and get grounded by our copterphobic boss.
2. [b]Adoption[/b]. Many politicians (Republicans) and a lot of the public are still against Attack Helicopter Adoption, and while it is now legal in almost every state, Republican politicians nation-wide are actively trying to repeal those rights.
3. [b]Homelessness[/b]. Due to a combination of job discrimination and unaccepting, unloving pilots, 40% of unmanned flying objects (UFOs) are Attack Helicopters. This affects copter youth even harder, and homeless copter youth are disproportionately destroyed at scrap yards.
4. [b]Copter rights[/b]. Discrimination, bullying, and hate crimes are even [i]worse[/i] against Attack Helicopters than they are against commercial jets. 41% of Attack Helicopters have attempted suicide, generally due to lack of jet turbines, inability to afford (and lack of insurance coverage for) copter-related medical care, or due to homelessness caused by inability to find pilots because of discrimination. In addition, Republicans all over the country are continuing to attempt to roll out "runway bills" that would force Attack Helicopters into unsafe spaces.
5. [b]HIV and AIDS[/b]. This doesn't so much have to do with anything, but it's still an important issue. HIV and AIDS disproportionally affect Attack Helicopters, and this has been a major issue for the community since the 80s.
Some points of my own I'd like to add:
6. [b]Panic defense[/b]. In 49 out of 50 states (California being the exception) it is still totally legal to use what's called the "Attack Helicopter panic defense." This is where the person who has committed a hate crime against an Attack Helicopter will claim "self defense" and "temporary insanity" in response to finding out their victim was a copter. This is 100% real and is used successfully to this day.
7. [b]Sex education[/b]. Sex ed is already lacking, even for commercial jets. "Abstinence only" sex ed has been proven to be completely ineffective, and yet it is still widely taught across the country. But even more unfortunate is that sex ed in schools is entirely airplanenormative. If you're an attack helicopter and need to learn about rotor blades, jumbo jet sex ed isn't going to be very useful. In order for all aircraft, regardless of transportation type or rotary orientation, to be able to enjoy [i]safe[/i] sex, sex ed must account for everyone, not just airplanes.
8. [b]Representation[/b]. Attack Helicopters are egregiously underrepresented in TV and film, media outlets that almost everyone goes to for entertainment and escapism. If you are a jet and jumbo size, you will find loads of relatable characters on screen. If your'e tri or quad rotor, it's very hard to find relatable characters. Furthermore, Attack Helicopters especially are commonly the butt of disgustingly offensive jokes in movies, usually as a way of poking fun at a jumbo jet's big meaty turbines. This lack of representation and horrible caricaturization teaches tri and quad helicopter youth that they are less important than others because they don't see aircraft like themselves on TV.
9. [b]Education and acceptance[/b]. Even if all of the things previously mentioned are fixed, that doesn't mean that everyone suddenly accepts us. Making workplace discrimination illegal doesn't stop prejudiced employers from coming up with other excuses to not hire us. Making punishments harsher for hate crime perpetrators doesn't stop hate crimes from happening. Equality in the eyes of the law doesn't end oppression. The only way for the Attack Helicopter community to truly have equal standing in society, to not be deemed "lesser," is by educating pilots. We have to teach people that we're manufactured this way, we don't choose it. We have to teach people that rotor speed is fluid, and that falling anywhere on the spectrum is valid. We have to teach people that everyone deserves basic aircraft decency and respect,. We have to teach people to celebrate our differences rather than using them to divide us. We have to undo this archaic, traditionalist airplanenormativity and jetnormativity in our culture that perpetuate hatred and oppression.
My tri and quad rotor brothers, sisters, and non-turbine siblings are still dying for our cause. Every day I see a new article about a tri or quad rotor copter being attacked or killed, or committing suicide because their pilots refuse to fly them.
[b][i]This flight is far from over.[/i][/b]
Now please stop trying to convince me that my community has achieved equality. Your ignorance will be ignored.
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Let me preface this by saying that if you are looking to see me denigrate those who struggle with gender dysphoria or homosexuality, please don't comment. I have nothing but empathy for the individuals who struggle with these vices. As a person who struggles with homosexual temptations myself, I know the pain it brings. With that being said, there is a gender binary. There not 50 genders, 10 genders, or even 3 genders. Only two: male and female. To say otherwise is to render the term meaningless. What does it mean when you say don't conform to the gender binary? That you are "male" on some days but "female" on others? Or that you are simultaneously "male and female"? Or that you don't fit into any gender? This is not indicative of gender being a social construct, but of one having an identity crisis. I feel as though people who use the terms such as "gender-fluid" and "agender" are very confused. I am not saying that to be condescending or to offend. God knows I have my fair share of problems. But I do not solve those problems if I don't get to the root of them. I don't say "this is just the way I am" and use that as an excuse to continue down a path which harms me. Also, you also harm trans people by deviating from the gender binary. They clearly feel they are trapped in the wrong body but by creating more than one gender, you denigrate their struggles. What can be considered a "gender" now is so loose, it's ridiculous. Here's an example: [b]Gender Nonconforming[/b]- Someone who looks and/or behaves in ways that don’t conform to, or are atypical of, society’s expectations of how a person of that gender should look or behave. By this definition, I am transgender because I like flamboyant colors and I tend to dislike sports. Welp, I guess I'm trapped in the wrong body now! But...what body do I belong in then? [b]Bigender-[/b] someone who identifies as both a man and a woman. A Bigender identity is a combination of these two genders, but not necessarily a 50/50 combination, as these genders are often felt – and expressed - fully. Similar to individuals who identify as gender fluid, bigender people may present as men, as women, or as gender-neutral ways on different days. Now the following is my favorite. I will highlight the most important parts in bold: [b]Gender Fluid[/b]- someone whose gender identity and presentation are not confined to only one gender category. [b]Gender fluid people may have dynamic or fluctuating understandings of their gender, moving between categories as feels right. [/b]For example, a gender fluid person might feel more like a man one day and more like a woman on another day, or that neither term is a good fit. How can you read that and not think "IDENTITY CRISIS"? IF somebody identifies as "gender fluid", then I can assure you something is happening in their lives. Instead of supporting the idea of a "gender binary as a construct", we should be encouraging people who suffer from this to get help. We need to point out that something is wrong in a way that is both kind, yet that does not allow them to propagate the lie that is their identity crisis. It is mental illness, simple as that and these people need help. Not hatred, not mockery, but help. I suspect their confusion comes from how they have been treated in the past. Perhaps they something about them invited mockery and abuse, so they created these identities to compensate for that abuse. "I can't play sports, I'm not strong like the other guys. They mock me for it, but....but....maybe I'm weak because I don't conform to the male gender. That's right! I'm gender-nonconforming, I'm not completely a guy!" It is creating an evil to avoid the consequences of another evil. If this is the case, then it all comes down to whether or not people follow two of the greatest sayings in the history of mankind: "That which you do to the least of my brothers, you do to me." and "Love one another, as I have loved you."