traaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnns

I wish I could disagree with you or offer some optimism

This shit sucks, badly. One of the reasons I post so much here is because hexbear is a non trash trans space

I also live in Florida, so...

Damn bro, that sucks. Florida has the potential to be the run-away gayest state in the country if not for the death grip of Guasanos and religious fanatics.

I never operate under the assumption that any stranger I meet, trans or cis, binary or non-binary, will truly respect me and be content with who I am

There's so much baked in transphobia. I'll openly admit to takes a real conscious effort for me to cram the instinctual desire to act like an asshole back into the hole it crawled out of.

Can't imaging what it's like being on the receiving end. Like sitting in a room full of folks - green to the gills - wondering who is going to lose their lunch all over you.

Just remember this shit is a sickness other people have. It's not your fault they ingested filth. And know that it's a sickness that can and does pass (possibly after they've regurgitated it all over the floor in front of you). It's generally a good sign if they apologize while they clean it up.

Considering you live in Florida of all places, that's probably the safest stance to take. Other places seem safer to me. I know where I live, most people don't give a damn in the slightest. In my 2 years of being out, I don't think a single soul has ever said a thing to me. Private or public for that matter. Mind you this is my personal experience. It's definitely different from person to person.

I do too, which is why if a trans friend is thinking of joining a group I have pre bullied the 1 or 2 crypto-TERFs relentlessly into submission