Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Massachusetts Sex Change: Taxpayers Will Have to Pay for What????

Michelle Kosilek

Okay, so you want to be a woman...but you happen to be a guy. I hear you.

And I sympathize.

I know how uncomfortable I feel if I'm wearing pants I don't like so I can't even begin to imagine how miserable I'd be if the whole body I inhabited felt wrong.

I have always been in favor of gender reassignment and feel compassion for those who are compelled to undertake a process which can only be excruciating physically and emotionally for everyone involved....including parents, spouses and offspring.
Before he
became "Michelle."

In view of a convicted murderer who calls himself Michele who will soon be shopping for announcements celebrating his sexual reassignment, all I have to say is how moved I am by the generosity of the commonwealth of Massachusetts since you, the tax payers -- thanks to a district court judge -- will be footing the bill for his surgery. While you're at it, throw in a new fall wardrobe because this guy hasn't got a clue how to accessorize.

The argument is that this surgery -- and the accompanying expense of hormone treatment and electrolysis -- is the equivalent of treating an individual's mental illness--which would be addressed through meds and therapy in prison. Advocates for the transgender community add that not providing surgery for someone seeking sexual reassignment can cause cause them to, likely, become depressed, suicidal and attempt self-castration. They cite the cost of this as potentially greater than the cost of surgery.

This is awful stuff but in the case of Michelle Kosilek, there's a catch. And it's a big one.



When Michelle Kosilek was still Robert Kosilek he strangled his wife, dumped her body in the back seat of a car and left it in a mall parking lot.
 
My husband and I, long ago, agreed that if things ever got bad and one of us felt the need to murder the other, we would summon our self control and, instead, call a divorce lawyer. So far, so good but as far as I know, neither of us has had to endure the stress of harboring the desire for sexual reassignment.

It has been suggested Robert Kosilek might have been especially testy due to feeling like a woman trapped in the body of a man. Is that suggestion not an insult to the peaceful transgender community? I've been on Weight Watchers and am especially testy due to chocolate deprivation yet I am not going to strangle anyone anytime soon.

He has stated that he sees no reason to continue living if he cannot fulfill his need to become a woman.
 
 
Too goddam bad.
 
 
 
I would like to remind Mr. Kosilek that he is in prison. Based on my research, prison means punishment.
 
In today's economy, are there not countless law abiding, homicidal-impulse controlling tax payers who are denied the often basic medical attention they need? Uh, yeah. And hold on a minute--many of them are also jobless, homeless and hungry.
 
If you murder your spouse, are in prison and become suicidal and depressed because the good people of a state whose budget is stretched to the maximum aren't feeling magnanimous enough to spring for gender reassignment and yet you feel compelled to attempt self castration, I offer you a towel and an advil.
 
Oddly, I can't find a single photograph of Cheryl Kosilek on the internet but there are many to choose from of her killer. Mr. Kosilek's lawyers cite that forcing him to live as a man would constitute "cruel and unusual punishment." Has the world has completely gone crazy, I wonder. I also wonder what Cheryl Kosilek did to motivate her husband to put his hands around her throat and choke her until she was dead, and suggest that her murder be considered cruel and unusual.
 
Stand up, Massachusetts. Vote this judge off the bench.
 
 
 
Much cheaper than electrolysis....
 
 

4 comments:

  1. I am sympathetic to anyone who struggles with their gender identity. I know a family, in Boston as a matter of fact, who are trying to navigate this path. I say this because I do get how difficult, painful and emotional this situation is. HOWEVER, where were Michelle's transgender feelings before she became a guest of the state for murder? If this is so necessary, why hadn't she done it herself previous to committing murder? I agree that the health of inmates is the responsibility of the system, but somewhere lines must be drawn. Not sure where I believe that should be, but I'm certainly less sympathetic to the needs of someone who does not value the needs (to live) of others.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I too consider myself sensitive to others and have notHing by empathy for those trapped in the wrong body however I, as a taxpayer do not wish to finance anyone's surgical sexual reassignment. Especially that of a man who murdered his wife.

    LKM

    ReplyDelete
  3. I completely agree with you Susan. American politics are so completely different from here, but though there are decisions our judges make that have the ordinary person shaking our heads in amazement... there has been nothing like this... so far.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I too have sympathy with those that have sexual identity issues but prisoners should only be given necessary healthcare to save life and limb. No elective procedures.

    ReplyDelete