Wear your bruises with pride, girl

Despite how much I comment about it, I really don’t spend that much time on social media. I don’t post pictures of my food at restaurants and I don’t “tag” 12 people I am with for the sake of drawing attention to the group.

While I am recording radio shows I have Twitter open and it is constantly scrolling through tweets in real time. I “follow” several hundred people and glance over every once in a while to see what is happening on the screen.

Last weekend someone shared a YouTube video of a transgender woman walking the streets of Los Angeles and West Hollywood conducting a “social experiment.” What did she do? She walked around with one of Donald Trump’s “Make American Great Again” hats and wanted to see the reaction of people. (What could possibly go wrong for this transgender woman?)

At the beginning of the video she is all smiles thinking it is fun. Needless to say that feeling doesn’t last long as she and her cameraman were quickly accosted and assaulted.

Her name is Blaire White. I had never heard of her until I saw the post. She is “a YouTuber” so I hear that as someone trying to be famous for making videos in their bedroom. Either that or they try to have viral moments to get attention and fleeting fame.

At one point she was standing on the sidewalk talking to the camera and someone walked by and threw a drink in her face. Of course the cameraman doesn’t stop recording to assist her so the drama unfolds with him capturing it while they are both in a panic.

In this situation is it OK to blame the “victim”? Is she a victim at all?

There were many comments from people defending her and quickly turning it into a political debate (read that as Trump bashing) while others said she shouldn’t “poke the bear” and suggested she was stupid for putting herself in that situation.

If she was wanting a viral video, she sure got it. Is it worth risking your safety when you live in such a hate-filled society where people aren’t accepting of who you are much less who you vote for? I can’t even say that’s up for debate. It seems pretty clear to me.

At the end of the day if her goal with the video was to make people aware of who she is, she succeeded. Did it paint her in the best light? Not really. Not for me, anyway. Maybe she will get some new fans because they see her as fearless and outspoken. I view it as someone seeking attention and fame on YouTube. If you earn your bruises, wear ‘em with pride.

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