Retired Navy SEAL Comes Out as Transgender, “Patriots” Freak Out

by Manny Schewitz

Kristin Beck 

Tuesday morning, I came across the story of Kristin Beck, the retired Navy SEAL who just announced that they were now living and dressing as a woman, and were preparing for a gender reassignment surgery. I was truly saddened, (but not surprised) at the comments I saw below the story as it appeared on a number of websites.
The absolute vitriol and hatred which spewed forth from these people — the same people who slap Chinese-made flags and yellow “Support The Troops” decals on their vehicles — was truly disgusting. These are the same folks who casually dismiss the deaths of thousands of foreign civilians, but God forbid a retired member of an elite military unit decide to finally be truthful with themselves and others about who they really are.
The one thing I wanted to ask each and every one of these keyboard commandos is, “Why the hell should you care?” Honestly, what difference does it make whether or not it is Chris Beck who looked like a member of “Duck Dynasty” or it’s Kristin Beck, who in my heterosexual opinion is pretty attractive as a woman? Therein may be the problem for a lot of people, especially men who cannot fathom the idea that a person they find attractive currently or previously possessed male genitalia. To them, this is even more confusing and threatening to their fragile sense of masculinity than a stereotypical gay man making a pass at them. Not to mention that this is a woman that could probably kill them in a dozen ways in less than 5 seconds. I’m sure that severely messes with their heads as well.
In addition to all of the above, this is a huge blow to their conceived notion of the SEALs as a hyper-masculine, lead slinging unit. Just two years ago, the SEALs eliminated the most wanted man in history and in 2012, the movie “Act of Valor” further lauded what is considered to be the most elite force out of all four branches of the military.
Over and over again, commenters enjoying the protections of hurling transphobic and homophobic slurs from behind the safety of their computer screen reminded me how far we have yet to come as a country when it comes to transgender issues. Even other SEALs were supportive of Kristin, which really makes me wonder who the real patriots are? The delusional gun nuts with Rogaine and Cialis prescriptions, or the members of the military who have put their lives on the line repeatedly?
The one place where support or polite indifference seems to have been SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) was on sofrep.com which is a site that is geared towards members of the Special Forces community and not armchair patriots.
Even as society becomes more tolerant of gays and lesbians, there is still a serious lack of acceptance — or even just minding your own damn business — when it comes to the attitude towards the transgender community. If I were to make a guess, I’d say that they’re 3 or even 4 decades behind gays and lesbians on the path to equality, and that’s a damn shame.