"From the Department of First World Problems (aka Dear Muslima aka You Think YOU Have It Bad aka We Walked 10 Miles To School In A Blizzard) – the ACLU’s star Trans Person Chase Strangio tweets:
The cost of being trans: I still get mail in my old name. Because of this, I am afraid to check my mail. Because of that, I sometimes miss bills that I need to pay. Because of that those outstanding bills have gone to collection. Because of that, my credit gets worse.
Replies are not universally sympathetic.
I have the same surname as my violent abusive alcoholic father. I’ve never thought about using it to get out of paying my mortgage but thanks for the tip.
No, this is a consequence of changing your name. Happens to lots of people. If you are afraid of seeing your former name, you should get some help – both practical and emotional. I hope life gets easier for you, bc no one can rely on the rest of the world changing to protect them
The cost of being a woman – I get mail, and organisations and systems and relatives and friends, using a name I have NEVER had. How? They unilaterally decided I had changed my name when I married. I didn’t, haven’t and never will do. I still pay all my bills. Life sucks. Tough.
Imagine losing a baby and getting mail from all the companies that latch into you once you’re pregnant. Did my best to cancel them all but still got a “your baby is now 4 months old” email. Life is painful sometimes.
I still get mail addressed to my dead spouse. That’s a sucker punch in the gut. I can’t imagine how much worse it would be for a bereaved parent.
I get mail addressed to my late wife. This can be upsetting. I am not afraid of it though. I open it, pay it if it’s a bill, ask them to change the name or stop sending it. Might I suggest you do the same and stop being so f***ing precious.
This is a built-in hazard with a putative Rights Campaign that is so thoroughly rooted in self-obsession. It can’t be anything else. An adult level of awareness of other people and their other minds and other views would tell you that how they see you is in effect what you are. Be a monarch or a pirate or a Nobel laureate or a movie star in your head all you like, but stop there.
People who aren’t narcissists do stop there. Narcissists try to force it on everyone, and call that “trans rights.”"
In retrospect, it shouldn't surprise me that Butterflies & Wheels is "transphobic" (i.e. refusing to be gaslighted).
They are a philosophy blog after all.
Additional comments from The Worst of Twitter:
"Who wants a mentally ill lawyer who admits to not paying her bills?"
"If seeing your old name bothers you that much, maybe your conscience is trying to tell you that you royally screwed up."
"Really???!! Every single married woman that ever changed her name goes through the process. Grow up. Go online and pay your bills."
"Because of that, 41%."
"The company i work for sometimes gets bills in the mail addressed to our old name. We still pay them and just tell them to update it in their system our new name."
"Yeah I’m afraid of my bills too bud."
"Just contact them to get your name changed in their system omg"
"Then start Go fund me to transition your bills as well."
"Seek psychiatric help"
"Yeah, that's a completely valid excuse. Or you could just take responsibility and pay your bills like an adult."