Felicitations From Fairhope #18

 Felicitations From Fairhope #18

10 March 2023

 

Hello there… Rodger French here.

 

For more than a few years before (and occasionally during) my tenure as a Foreign Service Officer’s “Wingman,” I had a band - a pretty good one, at that - called The DeLuxe Vaudeville Orchestra. The concept was simple: A Vaudeville show in which band members doubled as variety entertainers (juggling, song & dance, etc.), with room galore for guest musicians and assorted eclectic performers. The whole enterprise was a lot of work and buckets of fun, and we had a nice run.

 

I like to think that I got pretty good at putting together shows on the fly with a minimum of actual, you know, rehearsal. Chaos was part of the deal, of course, but as long as everyone - regardless of skill level - paid attention and tried to bring their A game, confidence was high. Fortunately, the band had a decent repertoire that included numerous musical styles to draw upon. And, being a high-class outfit, we had actual charts.

 

In addition to concerts, weddings, etc., The DVO served as the house band for all sorts of late-night, ad-hoc, off-the-wall, and other hyphenated affairs. For example, a few years back, we were booked to be house band for a Vaudeville Extravaganza at an annual summer gathering of mostly Southern artists. Naturally we recruited guest musicians and did very well, landing two fine percussionists and a ukulelist. We also scored an excellent young violinist. And thus, to the point, arrived we have. But first...

 

[Gender Adjacent Sidebar - When you build a career (even one as strange as mine) in music and theatre, you are 99 and 44/100% sure to find yourself collaborating and becoming friends with Gay people. I am a better musician and person for this and most grateful.]

 

Turns out, the very nice and talented musician now sitting in the 2^nd violin chair was a woman transitioning to be a man. He was dressed as a man and used masculine pronouns, but when I referred to him, I instinctively said “she” and “her.” Of course, I believe that all people are entitled to determine their own form of address and corrected myself immediately.

 

It was a slightly embarrassing process, but this was my first experience working with a transgender person and I knew, as bandleader, I had an added responsibility to get it right. Which I did. It took a little time before I got there (he was very understanding), but everything came together splendidly. I enjoyed our collaboration and hope he’s doing well in his journey.

 

I recall this as I ponder the ceaseless attempts of right-wing extremists, hypocritically claiming the cloak of Christianity, to demonize groups they think we should all hate. Pushback from uppity women, Black folks, and Gay people being fierce, they’ve lately turned their attentions to the much less influential Trans community. The results of this “volatile experiment in turning grievances into governance” have been acutely vicious, cruel, and idiotic.

 

[Drag Queen Sidebar - Banning drag shows? Are you kidding me? Drag has been enormously popular since antiquity when women were not even allowed to be actors. (Shakespeare was performed solely by men until 1670.) Not to mention Vaudeville (e.g., Julian Eltinge, Bert Savoy, Vesta Tilley) and TV (e.g., Milton Berle, Monty Python, Barry Humphries, RuPaul).]

 

So, craven politicians continue to (a) build their brands and (b) raise piles of money by lobbing vengeance like red meat to their most fearful supporters. But transgender people struggling with life-defining issues should not be subject to your or my approval. It is not about us; it is none of our goddamed business. I submit that it would be more Christian to show some empathy and try to make people’s lives less difficult. And if that’s just too much of a cross to bear, well, in the words of the song:

 

“Lord, if you won't take care of us, won't you please, please let us be?" Amen.

 

Onward.

 

Rodger