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Tuesday, December 31, 2019

The Best Christmas Present Ever

The weekend before Christmas I received a really nasty surprise when YouTube notified me that my sister had subscribed to my YouTube channel. This was a shock because I wasn't out to my sister and that channel is where I post my various speeches -- you know, the ones where I talk about being transgender and why I'm a queer activist. I'll spare you the long reason why I wasn't out to her; the short reason is that she's Southern Baptist and more than a little Fundamentalist, not to mention being more conservative than liberal, and I was worried she'd take certain Bible verses to heart and condemn me as a deviant sinner... and, of course, out me to the rest of my family.

I've known ever since 2016 that something like this would eventually happen, but I decided that my mission was more important than staying in the closet and so the risk was worth it. That said, I've still taken precautions, such as by blocking family members on Facebook and asking my mother to downplay my involvement in my activism when she talks to friends and family about it, such as by having her say that I "am involved with teaching queer people about guns" rather than saying that I "founded a charity and now run the largest pro-gun queer group in the country if not the world" and by most assuredly not telling them that my professional name is Erin Palette. It also helps that I look sufficiently unlike my birth face that people who weren't looking for me as a girl have walked right past me while looking for me without realizing it was me. (Hi, Gail! Love ya lots!)

Despite these precautions, I was still found out. On the one hand, it's my own fault for not thinking to block my sister from my YouTube channel; on the other hand, it's rather an impossibility to censor all such information because my videos are all over the place and I don't control all those channels (nor do I want to).

Still, it was a bit of a shock and a definite "oh crap" moment, because not only did not know how she'd react, I also didn't know if she'd out me to my family. I tried calling her but the phone went straight to voicemail, which only made me more nervous. I sent a text saying "Hey [sister], if you're awake please give me a call. Thanks!"

No reply.

OK, next step: write her an email using my birth-name account with a subject titled "We should probably talk" and with the body reading "I see you found my YouTube channel. I imagine you have questions. I'm more than happy to talk about it with you."

No reply to that, either. I spent the night planning my exit strategy and went to bed with a nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach, fearing that when I got up the next morning it would be to a house of angry, freaking out people.

Morning came... and nothing happened. No replies from her, but family seemed normal. Okay then, no news was good news.

Then, right before I stepped out the door to walk the dogs, I received this text from her:






As you can see, she agrees with my reasoning for not coming out to mom and dad. I didn't need the justification, but it's always nice to have someone else validate my decision.

Thursday evening we had a great, hour-long discussion. We talked about all sorts of things, such as how she even found me in the first place (mom told her I spoke at GRPC so she searched for it and found the speeches on YouTube. She didn't see my name so I guess she was just listening to it when she heard my voice, looked at the video and went "OH"), how I came to realize I was trans, what my plans were, etc. It was a really awesome, candid discussion and not only did it feel great to be able to tell a family member about myself but I also learned a lot more about my sister based on what she told me!

This has really expanded our relationship in a wonderful way. I didn't really have a way to relate to my sister before this because our interests and lives were so different, but it feels like we bonded over this and now we have a secret that we can share! It's so wonderfully strange... and as I told her when we said goodbye, "So hey, now you have a little brother AND a little sister! One of each!" and we both laughed.

Best Christmas present EVER!


Monday, December 30, 2019

Assorted Calibers Podcast Bonus Episode: Kerry Slone of ‘We the Female’



In This Episode:
Erin sits down with Kerry Slone of We the Female to do a long-form interview on her origin story, her confrontation of Kamala Harris, and all the wonderful things she does to support the 2nd Amendment for everyone!





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Show Notes

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Mhrry Chrhhfmif!

https://www.deviantart.com/nimbostratus/art/Merry-Derpmas-274619594

May the star upon your tree
Stand for friends, like you and me,
Blazing bright for all to see
Friendship's might for eternity!

Monday, December 23, 2019

Assorted Calibers Podcast Ep 082: Weer'd Brings the Interviews



In This Episode:
  • Erin tells a story about the best Christmas present she's ever received;
  • Weer'd interviews Top Shot Chris Cheng on 2A Sanctuaries, then he and Erin discuss how this related to the events that are happening in Virginia;
  • In another Weer'd interview, Dr. Miguel Faria talks about growing up in Cuba during the revolution;
  • and David brings us a segment on firearms safety and kids.




Did you know that we have a Patreon? Join now for the low, low cost of $4/month (that’s $1/podcast) and you’ll get to listen to our podcast on Friday instead of Mondays, as well as patron-only content like mag dump episodes and our hilarious blooper reels and film tracks.


Show Notes

Chris Cheng Interview:

Dr. Miguel Faria Interview:

Gun Lovers and Other Strangers:

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Assorted Calibers Podcast: December (not quite a) Bonus Episode



In This Episode:
While Weer'd was on vacation, Erin recorded this great interview with Cheryl Todd of Gun Freedom Radio,  AZ Firearms, and Pot of Gold Estate Auctions. Given that the interview ran a bit long, and because we had no regular episode to release on Monday,  Erin suggested we publish it so that our listeners wouldn't have to go a week without their Assorted Calibers fix.  So enjoy!








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Show Notes

Friday, December 6, 2019

It's Been a Week

And it shows no signs of stopping. Fortunately, I'm feeling fighty and so far I've come out on top each time. Let's play the highlight reel, shall we?



I spent a good chunk of last weekend arguing with some hard-right Christians, and by that I mean they are the type who think it's the height of discourse to shout questions at me, ignore my answers, and then post memes such as a picture of an electrified Pence with the word "REPENT" at the bottom. Remarkable, truly remarkable, gentlemen; shouting at people is clearly the best way to get them to agree with you!


I spent far too much time trying to use logic and Biblical citations for my argument, but they weren't interested in listening. Instead, with the perfect clarity of hindsight, I should have said this:
"I already told you that I accepted Christ as my savior. If you don't think that I'm saved, then your problem isn't with me; your problem is that you think my queerness is somehow more powerful that Christ's love and redemptive sacrifice. Your failure of faith does not require me to justify myself to you."
I'll keep this in my back pocket for next time, and perhaps it will bypass a lot of the BS in the future.

However, this ties into an old hobby horse of mine: people who claim that the Bible condemns all non-cishet people. I've previously dismantled the various claims which people like to trot out, but last weekend brought me to a level of rage where I lost my decorum and basically told people to nut up or shut up.
If you use the Old Testament as justification for why I and other queer people need to repent and "stop being queer", then you can be sure I'm gong to ask why you aren't following Leviticus 20:13 which calls for the death of all homosexuals.

Look, cupcake, you don't get to cherry pick the Bible like that. If you're bound by the Old Law, then you have to follow ALL OF IT. No bacon cheeseburgers, no shellfish, no mixing of fabrics, no getting tattoos, no shaving your face, no associating with menstruating women if you're a man, no wearing trousers if you're a woman, and most importantly, you've got put abominations like me to death.

What, you don't want to go to jail for murder? Well, that's certainly a dilemma. It looks like you only have three choices:
  1. Do the deed, be punished here on Earth (maybe even being put to death), but at least you'll get your eternal reward;
  2. Not follow God's Law, in which case you're sinning every day you don't put queer people to death. That won't look good for you come the Final Judgement;
  3. or maybe realize that you're no longer bound by Levitical law, either because you're a Christian and Christ abolished all that, or because you're Jewish and with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem the old nation of Israel ceased to exist and with it the laws that governed it.
Regardless of what you choose, though, I'm not going to let you beat me over the head with Lev 18:22 if you don't have the courage to follow up with Lev 20:13. And if you do have the courage... well, that's why I carry a gun for self-defense.
It's neither classy nor ladylike, but there's something so viscerally cathartic about looking at someone and saying "Do it, pussy-boy. Or don't you have the balls?"


Speaking of pussy-boys, I'd like to point out that Chris Hill hasn't fulfilled his promise to pay $100 to anyone who glitter-bombed the Nov 9 rally in Washington DC. Here's a screenshot of my comments -- three weeks ago, and today -- on his video.


For someone who makes such a big deal about integrity, he seems unlikely to honor his promise. Not being a man of your word is quite a terrible thing among three percenters (III%), and every time he makes a video I'm going to make sure that everyone knows about this.


And then there's this guy.
"I don't care what you do at home but this is too much." 

Translation: "Queer people make me intensely uncomfortable so I wish they'd just shut up and go back into the closet where I don't have to acknowledge their existence."

I'm the 'drag queen' he's talking about, by the way, despite having been told that I'm a transwoman and not a drag queen. He's upset that I spoke at the Nov. 9 Declaration of Restoration, and I know that because one of his other identities said so.

Yes, I said other identities. He has three: David Wright III, David A. Wright III, and David Allen. Presumably he has so many because he keeps catching 30-day bans?

I didn't even bother to engage this guy. Flak is always heaviest right over the target, and if I'm catching crap from the likes of him then I know I'm where I need to be. People like this you don't debate; you just sass them and show that you won't be pushed around. I'm certain that it infuriates them when I refuse to shut up or be ashamed.



Now that the far toxic right has discovered me, I can compare with them the far toxic left. As expected, the far toxic left hates me because I'm pro-gun, and the far toxic right hates me because I'm transgender. What's interesting, though, is how they express their hatred of me.

The far toxic left prefers to unperson me: they call me a traitor, say that I'm not a "true" transwoman, and either ignore me or block me. While this approach has a certain purity which I find refreshing, it does rather put the lie to their desire for a conversation about guns.

The far toxic right, on the other hand, will pretend to engage in conversation but will simply shout their beliefs over and over without listening to what I say. This is far more frustrating because I can't tell the difference between far right and far toxic right until I've already engaged in conversation, and I have a certain stubbornness where I convince myself that if I can just get this one point through to them then surely they'll see the error of their ways, when in fact I'm just playing chess with a pigeon.


The far toxic left wants my body to die because I believe in armed self-defense and they'd prefer I was disarmed so I can be victimized by criminals, all in the name of making society better.

The far toxic right wants my soul to die because they can't see past my plumbing and they'd prefer I be forced into their version of what I should be, regardless of how miserable that would make my existence, all in the name of making society better.

It's funny, though: prior to my transition, when I was a straight male, I had a hell of a time getting women interested in my genitalia. Now that I'm a trans lesbian, suddenly everybody -- men, women, gay, straight, and all the in-betweens -- is suddenly very concerned about what I may be packing under my dress, and not in a fun "You're cute, let's get naked" way.

Sugarplums, I hate to break it to you like this, but if what I have between my legs is causing you anxiety, that says way more about you than it does about me... and not in a good way. And if you want to hurt me, you've got to try harder than calling me fat and ugly. These are names that I call myself every morning...

...and then I get all glam'd up and look & feel fabulous for the rest of the the day!


Monday, December 2, 2019

Assorted Calibers Podcast Ep 080: Hello, We Are Old



In This Episode:
  • Erin and Weer’d discuss Michael Bloomberg's official Presidential campaign, and the prospect of Constitutional Carry in Florida;
  • Oddball talks about the pros and cons with serrated knives;
  • Weer'd brings us part two of his MSNBC fisk of the Summer Recess Rally, sponsored by Michael Bloomberg;
  • and then Weer'd interviews Top Shot season 4 champion Chris Cheng.




Did you know that we have a Patreon? Join now for the low, low cost of $4/month (that’s $1/podcast) and you’ll get to listen to our podcast on Friday instead of Mondays, as well as patron-only content like mag dump episodes and our hilarious blooper reels and film tracks.


Show Notes

Main Topic:

Weer'd Audio Fisk:

Chris Cheng Interview: