As we all know, Bruce Jenner has been making headlines with his recent transformation from male to female, and now the world knows HER as Caitlyn.
Caitlyn has received SO MUCH negative backlash and ridicule for her decision to transform. Some of it is just outright disrespect, but we all know how the world is. We've come a long way, but we've got so much more to go before we can truly be a world of acceptance.
At the 2015 Espy Awards this year, Caitlyn Jenner received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, and gave a quite emotional acceptance speech.
The speech actually made many people who formally poked fun at Caitlyn see her in a new light, and learn to respect her.
However, of course, the award being given to Caitlyn caused much outrage for many people.
Whether you agree with Caitlyn receiving the award or not is your right, however, you shouldn't have to go out of your way to compare who you feel is a "real" hero."
I've seen some comparison memes posted on social media from people expressing their opposition to Caitlyn's award.
One particular meme that urged me to write this blog was one of a soldier in a desert carrying a body. The top caption read: This is what courage looks like..
The second photo attached to the meme was that of Caitlyn Jenner during her acceptance speech at the Espy's with a caption reading: Not this.
This is a problem that many people (including myself) have. We always have to compare things to try to make one look more important than the other.
Before you start attacking me, SOLDIERS ,PAST AND PRESENT, ARE VERY IMPORTANT, AND THEY WILL FOREVER BE HEROES TO ALL OF US NO MATTER WHAT!
That message goes out to the members of psycho Westboro Baptist Church as well since they like to protest AGAINST soldiers.
They are ALL heroes, and are well respected by us citizens.
HOWEVER, just because Caitlyn Jenner got an award for having courage, and is being crowned a hero to the members of the transgender community, doesn't mean that people are saying that anyone else ISN'T a hero.
It DID take a lot of courage for Caitlyn to do what she did, whether you agree or not.
What's more is that she IS a hero to many transgender people. Imagine how many young, confused children are going to feel a lot more comfortable in their own skin now that Caitlyn has become a public figure for their community.
Calling Caitlyn Jenner courageous or a hero, isn't necessarily saying that anyone else, including soldiers, are not.
What upsets me the most is, most Americans don't think about our soldiers and veterans on a daily basis. Many are caught up in their own lives as well as things in the media, in sports, in film, in music, in fashion, etc. more so than they stop to think about how courageous and heroic our soldiers are.
But once someone like Caitlyn Jenner gets called courageous, and people don't agree, they feel the need to compare who THEY think are more courageous.
IT ISN'T A COMPETITION!
Everyone is courageous in their own way, in all honesty.
My father is veteran. My father fought in Iraq during Desert Storm. I, myself, was born on the Marine base. My family are HUGE supporters of our troops, however we're smart enough to know that Caitlyn Jenner being called courageous doesn't downplay how courageous my father and all other soldiers are for their duties.
Caitlyn Jenner is a WORLD KNOWN OLYMPIAN! The Espy's are awards for ATHLETES. At the end of the day, if Bruce Jenner wasn't an Olympic legend, then Caitlyn wouldn't have ever received that award.
It's not as if President Obama, himself, gave Caitlyn a gold medal alongside a bunch of veterans at The White House while broadcasted on news channels nationwide.
The Arthur Ashe Award is named after Arthur Ashe, the famous, black tennis player!
With this sort of logic, a child calling their father their hero is WRONG if he's not in the service. Firefighters work HARD to put out those Summer wild fires, and firefighters hardly get any praise.
Just because Caitlyn isn't a hero to you personally because she doesn't represent you personally doesn't mean you need to speak out against those calling her one. Martin Luther King, Jr. represented minorities, particularly black Americans. However, he is a hero to ALL Americans. Princess Diana is hero to MANY. Ghandi was a hero.
There are plenty of heroes out there, whether they're a personal hero to you or a hero to someone else. However, just because someone calls someone a hero, does not mean that no one else can be.
We learned this at daycare as children.
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