I was living in Philadelphia in 2007 when I suffered a horrendous fall after one of my pumps tried to kill me. I really destroyed my knee and when I peeled back my skirt to see the damage, my knee was two inches North of where it was supposed to be. I threw up and passed out.

When I woke up, I was in the hospital. The day was July 3rd. Yes, aside from everything else, I missed the 4th of July in Philly. I was in a very large waiting area on a very uncomfortable gurney. The waiting area was divided by large sheets. I was on the gurney with no bedpan, no radio or TV, no one to talk to and no news about my situation. In fact, during one stretch I was absolutely alone for over two hours.

In total, I was in this waiting room for upwards of almost six hours. When I asked what was wrong, the nurse said that since I was a pre-op transsexual, I would have to stay in a single room on a female floor. I told then over and over that I couldn't stay on the gurney anymore, how my bad back was reacting to it and they didn't seem to care at all.

I should have sued.

Zoey

Sorry, didn't see the UK descriptive on the thread. Apologies, all.

Hiya,

This happened a few weeks ago.
I live in the upstairs of an upstairs down stairs.
My daughter of nearly 10 was dropped round by her step dad at about 6pm Friday evening. He said there were 5 to 6 people downstairs enjoying a few beers. The couple that live there are in their early twenties and so are their regular visitors.

When it was time for my daughter to go to bed, about 10pm, she started a tantrum from hell. She was shouting kicking and screaming. I sat her on the sofa in the front room to try and calm her down and attempt to reason with her but she continued with her outburst.

There was a knock at the door. It was the male from downstairs. I got the distinct feeling that there were a number of people listening into the interaction from the garden of the property below under my veranda. He asked me what all the noise was about. I said it was none of his business. He then accused me of hurting and abusing my daughter. I suggested he call the police. He called me a weirdo, pointed to his temple and said I wasn’t right in the head. He was very abusive towards me and broadcast his insinuations that I was a paedophile to the whole neighbourhood. He saw my daughter sitting on the sofa and attempted to speak to her over my shoulder and asked if I was hurting her. I slammed the door shut and locked it. This routine happened twice. I then decided to phone the police myself because I wasn’t happy. Whilst I was on the phone to the police there was another knock at the door which happened to be the police.

The police said they had responded to a call that a child was being abused. I explained the situation and allowed them to interview my daughter. They also interviewed me where I explained that the occupants downstairs had accused me of being a paedophile in front of the whole neighbourhood.

My daughter, after the shock of the abusive neighbour knocking on my door and the police interviewing her went to bed quietly and as good as gold.

The next day a police officer from the victim support unit came round to see if I was ok and asked me what had been going on. I said that about 9 months ago when I first crossed paths with the occupants from down stairs that he had threatened to petrol bomb my vehicle. I said that he had made that threat whilst poking his nose into business that had nothing to do with him. Also, once they had realised that I was a trans-woman I was often subjected to wolf whistles, sneers and abusive comments that were shared openly with the neighbourhood if they wanted to hear it or not or whether they agreed or not. It had then just occurred to me and I explained that I often looked through the gap in my curtains to see if the coast was clear before I left which I now realise was a habit I had developed.

The police officer suggested that I explain to the council what has happened and complain and when I did so, the council workers were familiar with the occupants just as were all the 5 police officers who i had spoken to over the weekend having intimate knowledge of who they were. The council had received 3 prior complaints from other residences and they were working towards an eviction order.

I also explained that my daughter had said to me that she was really fearful of the man who knocked on our door giving me abuse. One of her phrases is "The thing I hate about coming here are those nasty people living downstairs."

The next day my daughter and I went to the local shop to buy some food. Upon our return, about 5pm, as we walked up our stairs and along our veranda there were 2 friends of the occupants downstairs standing on the footpath chanting a mantra of "pedo pedo" pointing their fingers at me. Whilst I was retrieving my door key from my bag I saw my daughter crouching behind the bins with a look of sheer horror on her face. Once we were safely in I reported this to the police.

The next day a police officer knocked on my door and interviewed me. I explained what had happened. He told me that the male who lived downstairs had been served with a harassment order and if i receive any further abuse from him or anyone in connection with him he will be arrested.

Over the next few days I received about 3 telephone calls from the police victim support unit asking how I was and a couple of letters of support and a leaflet with information to assist victims of harassment. Despite all that had happened, I felt that how the police had handled the situation was brilliant and gave me a little smile of satisfaction. I also realised that when I peeped through my curtain it was in hope they were out in their garden for when I stepped out in hope to receive some abuse so I could report it lol. And I also noted, a first time for a long time, that I felt a sense of liberation and freedom when I stepped out, that I once again, could hold my head high.

The following fortnight my daughter was too scared to stay for the weekend because of those idiots who occupy downstairs. Her mum, step dad and I all reassured her that if they cause anymore harm that the police would arrest them. She has stayed this weekend with lots of assurance and I am sure, over time, she will get over the abuse that the occupants downstairs caused her.

Love
Penny
x

Wow what a story Penny. No wonder you have been at your wit's end of late. It is a poignant reminder that although we have the law on our side, (which is a fantastic start), the average intelligence of a UK citizen amounts to "Hole in The Wall" for entertainment. Henry Kissinger's theory of the walking and chewing gum multi-task dilemma for the average person has been proven right. People seem to need to route out all that is different to their narrow perceptions, it has happened throughout time. Comfort yourself with the knowledge that we are becomking more mainstream by the day. xxx

Incredible Penny. I can't imagine having to go through that. Lots of hugs for you and your daughter. Being tormented like you were must have been very scary and I am sure glad the police were on your side to support you. I can imagine people have talked about me behind my back but fortunately have never threatened me face to face. My closest experience is that church pastor insinuating that I could be a child molester. You are a strong woman.
Hugs,
Marsha

Hiya,
Thanks to everyone for your support. hugs x, I really appreciate it.

Crissie,
I have seen the advert you refer to. For me, the whole concept of the comedy show "little britain" is totally awful being at the expense of people living with difficulties and only for a few cheap gags. The only reason people laugh at the program is because it is socially unacceptable to make jokes at such people and it broaches this social barrier. They make light of people who arent perceived to be normal affirming to small minded bigots that it is ok to point out peoples differences and mock. The number of times I have heard young adults shout out "i'm a lady!" in mocking me. There is nothing intellectual or thought inspiring about this basic knuckle dragging mentality. Matt Lucas and David Walliams should be ashamed of themselves.

I dont want to give the wrong impression regarding my life. I am very happy to go about my day to day activities. I lead a pretty much normal life and I am happy to go anywhere I please. I just wish to thank Matt Lucas and David Walliams for teaching undeveloped and immature adults that it is appropriate for them to mock "I'm a lady!" whenever they clock me.

Love
Penny
x

Oh, I forgot to mention, the advert that I complained about was the 118 advert where the girl dashes out of the pub because her date was a bit of a Juliet and she used 118 to call a taxi.

My point was that no advert, shown on such mass media, should show personal prejudice. It had little to do with the direct insinuations that the individual was perceived to be a bit of a Juliet could of been transgendered. I would have complained if the girl had said her date looked a bit too dark skinned or her dates wheelchair didnt match her shoes.

The ASA wrote back and with complete ignorance and stupidity saying the advert was ok because she did not refer to his sexuality and that the advert was unlikely to cause widespread offence. My complaint had nothing to do in regard with sexuality but I do see their point about it was unlikely to cause widespread offence as the comment "he was a bit of a Juliet" only discriminated against a minority group.

Penny
x

If you're ever in any doubt about reporting a TG hate crime to the police, then you dont have to have any doubts about being taken seriously......i dont & i know from experience because of an incident that happened to me on Monday.


I was going into town & minding my own business, when some idiot started mouthing off at me so i ignored it. It Then escalated into threats of violence towards me & the guy kept saying he was gonna fkng lay me out. He said somethin which i heard, & i turned round to look at him.....next thing i knew he'd punched me in the face 3 times and i ended up on my hands & knees on the floor.Fortunately, there were a lot of people about who witnessed the assault and came to my aid. Three of these girls worked at the local Hoseasons holiday place & they took me there and made me some tea while waiting for the police to arrive. The Officer who came out, said that they had 4 cars (including the Armed Response Car) searching the area for the guy.I had to go to the station to give a statement of what happened, & throughout this i was treated with compassion & Respect. The PC explained everything to me in a clear & concise mannner about what would happen, if when this guy is arrested and charged the case goes to court which might well happen. I've heard people saying all sorts of things about the police & they've not been nice but i have nothing but the utmost respect for them, especially the Suffolk Constabulary who really couldn't have treated me any better than they did.

There ARE some good coppers out there ya know.



Lol xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Anna-Marie