I Am 'Brave'

Image: Expressworks

I never gave much thought to the whole brouhaha surrounding Bruce Jenner’s evolution into Caitlyn, I had lumped it into the category of one of those bizarre things that happen frequently in the west. Granted, such things now happen pretty much everywhere else, but I dare say the west has always been known to glamorise such feats. 

What got me thinking a little bit more about the whole story was how some groups of people started to praise Bruce for his bravery and courage.  I actually had to look up the meaning of bravery as I began to write this piece. Bravery is described as courageous behaviour or character, bravery was described with synonyms such as  brave spirit or conduct, courage, valour. Yet another source describes it as the quality that allows someone to do things that are dangerous or frightening. I did this so that I could understand why 'bravery' was most used to describe the actions carried out by this sixty five year old ex Olympian.

Now, for me I feel it is futile to try to understand why certain people do what they do, I also believe it is unfair to judge someone for some of their actions without trying to understand where they are coming from. There’s a lot of prejudice in the world by many seemingly morally upright people who are little better than the hypocritical biblical Pharisees, stone in hand, always looking to cast. A lot of these people have all but condemned Bruce to the most fiery depths of perdition along with the rest of the LGBT community. I prefer to leave this sentencing to the only just arbiter of all our existences.

Having said that,  I don’t know what would make a man want to become a woman and I will make no attempts to try, my limited knowledge and understanding will always write it off as some sort of psychological anomaly that manifests itself in such desires.  Humans are a constantly evolving species, it would be fool hardy to view the rest of the world through only our own experiences, beliefs and customs. How many of us have exhibited such perceived eccentricity as our own responses to certain issues in life. To us, they may not have seemed that aberrant, but to everyone else, ‘poor deluded fellow!’ Think about it, I'm sure you can come up with at least one instance.

I fear I have digressed, I felt it was necessary to establish that I neither judge nor condemn LGBT folks. Labelling certain actions courageous however, is another kettle of fish. I have come across quite a few memes about this issue online about people that have displayed ‘actual’ or 'praise worthy' bravery while in the service of others. One was of Danielle Greene, a beautiful young lady and former basketball player who enlisted in the army after the 9/11 attacks and subsequently lost her arm in a grenade attack. She then went back to school to get a Masters degree. A war veteran and a Purple Heart award recipient. Another was 19 year old Lauren Hill who struggled with brain cancer and continued playing for her basketball team. She helped raise $ 1 million for research on pediatric cancer and has been honoured by those who view her actions as courageous. She died in April.

Caitlyn Jenner won the 2015 ‘Arthur Ashe’ courage award, another guy who many believe would have been more deserving was army veteran Noah Galloway who lost an arm and a leg while in service in Iraq. He has since completed gruelling cross-fit competitions and has become a personal trainer and motivational speaker. The fact that a guy that underwent expensive surgery to make himself look more like a woman was picked ahead of individuals like Noah and Danielle for an award meant to reward courage, is a metaphor for our warped sense of value.

Even 'his/her' stepdaughter Kim who is the hardest hit of the Kardashian clan for having the audacity to profit from her infamy actually didn't go out looking for fame in the first place, she merely made the best out of a horrible situation. Bruce on the other hand pandered to his inclinations, went through a deliberate process, facilitated by a lot of ‘excess’ cash and straight into a syndicated reality show. Courage isn't the word that comes to mind in describing his choices.

I actually worry for posterity, I worry for the kind of values we are passing on. I worry for what we hold dear in our collective humanity. I worry about what we call ‘brave’.