Transgender Statistics: The world is not coming to an end.

Considering how much transgender pops up in the headlines, one would think the entire world is transitioning. But consider this: I'm 72 years old as of this writing, and I've never met a transgender person in my life. Not once. What gives? Things trend on social media, and we may mistakenly think it's more common than it actually is. Our view of the issue is distorted. Old saying:

If you can't properly assess an issue, how can you properly address it.

Full disclosure: I am a white, native-born, Christian, heterosexual male. I grew up in the 1950s and the 1960s in an upper middle class white neighborhood. My life was pretty much as pristine as the society depicted in the 1950s black and white TV comedy series Leave It To Beaver. I mention this because I can't help feeling the American Right is nostalgic for the good ol' days: no gays, no blacks, no immigrants, no transgender, and Mom stayed home in the kitchen. What an eye-opener when I got out into the world and discovered all sorts of things I never knew existed.

But rather than panic, I've tried to understand. Other people are living lives I know nothing about, and I don't classify them as better or worse just different. It's important for me to understand, to see beyond my own limited experience. Let's delve into my research. FYI: Most of my stats will be American numbers.

For the United States (source):

• 0.5% of the population is transgender, about 1.6 million: 1.3 million adults, 300,000 youth. Based on a U.S. population of 339 million, that works out to 1 in 200 is transgender.
• Of the 1.3 million adults who identify as transgender, 38.5% (515,200) are transgender women, 35.9% (480,000) are transgender men, and 25.6% (341,800) reported they are gender nonconforming (as of yet, undecided).

For Canada (source):

• 0.33% of the population, about 100,815 adults (age 15 and older) are transgender (59,460) or non-binary (41,355)
• Among transgender people, 53% were women and 47% were men.

Note: I'm not an expert. I'm learning as I go along, and I'm doing my best to understand a topic with which I'm not acquainted.

• Transgender = the person does not see themselves as their gender at birth and want to transition to their preferred sex.
• Non-binary = the person does not see themselves as male or female. I say undecided as my research suggests these people may settle on a specific gender at some point.

In my 2022 research Dave Chappelle, Ricky Gervais, J. K. Rowling, and the Third Gender, I uncovered the following, referencing Wikipedia and Anthropological Theory: An Introductory History (2007) by Richard Warms, Richard L. Warms, R. Jon McGee:

• Transgender has existed for thousands of years and been readily accepted by other cultures.
• Transgender is relatively new to western culture.

When I saw relatively new to western culture, I immediately thought of what people seem to do when confronted by something new. First, they don't believe it's true. Second, they mock it.

I'm a male. I was born a male; I was raised as a male; I've lived my life as a male; and I will die a male. I've never had any doubt about being a male. I'm saying this to emphasize I have no personal experience with gender dysphoria. Thank God, I have enough problems. But I've seen enough to conclude this phenomenon is real, not some made-up bullsh*t, as detractors would have us believe. I may not suffer from it, but some people do experience it. I can't dismiss it as fake or crazy; it's real. Note: In my research article, I describe all the instances I've indirectly run into transgender in my life which made me understand it is very much a real thing.

So, why the panic? If I read the headlines or browse postings on social media, you would think transgender is all over the place. Somewhere, I saw it reported some people were mistakenly estimating transgender at 21% of the population, not 0.5%. Wow! No wonder they're freaking out! But let me add that mixed up with these numbers are people like Elon Musk who has ostracized his own son now daughter because she was made transgender by the "woke mind virus". I'm sorry, woke mind virus? Transgender has existed for thousands of years, but Elon, like much of western culture, hears about it for the first time and thinks this is something new. Gays, lesbians, transgender, etc. are not converted, perverted, or talked into becoming what they are. Although, it would seem there is a significant portion of the population who may think so. I note that the American Psychiatric Association in their publication The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders listed homosexuality as a mental disorder up to 1973.

The media reports over and over again about transgender women. I'd say some of the public are going absolutely nuts. Note the above statistics. 480,000 transgender women (men transitioned to women) equals to 0.14% of the entire population (339 million). That's one in 706 people.

You will note that the above stats include women transitioning to men. A transgender man is a woman or was a woman. As a man, should I be worried about a transgender man (woman) in the washroom with me? As a man, should I be worried about a transgender man (woman) competing against me in sports? I'm sure you're chuckling about that which leads me to ask: Are we worried about the right things?

J. K. Rowling and statistics
In my research article, I ran across a four-thousand-word essay by the author of Harry Potter where she states there are only two genders, male and female, and expresses her worry about transgender women (men) in the women's washroom, fearing unwanted sexual aggression. Are we worried about the right things? It was obvious to me she knew nothing about history, knew nothing about the phenomenon, but still adamantly stuck to an opinion which, according to my research, was not based on fact. No man is going to go to the trouble of supposedly switching genders for the express purpose of molesting women in the women's washroom. While anything is possible, the probability of such a thing has to be just this side of zero. In other words, the point of her essay is absurd, based on some unfounded, deep-seated fear. She even admits in her essay that all this is triggered by some personal event in her life. I couldn't help thinking Harvey Weinstein would explain that any man can walk into a women's washroom at any time to molest someone. No need to change genders.

Approximately 687,000 men are convicted sex offenders and around 210,000 of those are convicted rapists, and around 52,000 of the 172,000 female sex offenders are convicted rapists. According to the US Census Bureau, US population is 159 million males and 165 million females. So that's 0.4% of men who are convicted sex offenders and 0.1% who are convicted rapists.

If I go by 0.14% of the population is a transgender woman (formerly a man), that means out of 687,000 convicted sex offenders, 961 are possibly transgender women. J. K. Rowling is freaking out the 961 but has nothing to say about the other 686,038. Are we worried about the right things?

Biology
"There are two genders." - President Donald Trump

During the pandemic, everybody became an epidemiologist. Now, everybody has become a biologist. I repeat: My research shows transgender has existed for thousands of years and been readily accepted in other cultures. Nobody knows history. And nobody knows stats. The chances of your average person ever seeing a transgender person in real life is slim.

But let's talk biology. Answer me this: Why is a gay person sexually attracted to their own sex? Detractors of transgender say there are only male and female. Fine. Let me remind those people that we all born with the same basic sex organs but at around the sixth week of gestation, our development branches, and we form into either female or male. In other words, I could argue we all have a bit of both male and female.

But I repeat: Why are gays gay? Why are bisexuals bi? Is there something in us which exists separately from our obvious physical beings? There's white, and there's black. And in between, there are any number of shades of gray. But can I say with certainty what's gong on? As I said, I'm heterosexual. But I've seen enough to realize that not everyone is heterosexual. In other words, other people have experienced something I have not, but that doesn't mean I dismiss their experience as invalid. I don't suffer from claustrophobia. Do I dismiss people who are scared of riding in elevators?

Statistically speaking, the vast majority of people are heterosexual. But if we are complacent and rely strictly on our own personal experience, we can't see, we can't imagine anything else. And yet, other things do exist. It would be a mistake to judge the entire world based on what we can only see in our own backyard.

Ally McBeal
This was a comedy-drama which ran from 1997 to 2002. It had an unusual feature: a unisex washroom. There were scenes when both men and women would be there at the same time: a man standing at a urinal talking with a woman in a toilet stall. It seemed different but normal. It was no big deal.

And yet, law makers have been busy codifying restrictions to ensure biological gender determines who goes where. Apparently, to some people, this is a big deal. There's a humorous observation about entertainment events pointing out how the line-up at the men's washroom is shorter than the line-up at the women's washroom. I still remember intermission at a theatre production and having to use a toilet stall because there were too many guys lined up at the urinals. As I'm standing there, I look down and see in the next stall two pairs of women's high heels. As I'm washing my hands, two women come out of the stall and exit the men's washroom, giggling. They obviously circumvented the long line at the women's washroom by breaking with social norms. Did the Earth open up and swallow them whole into the gates of Hell? I point out Ally McBeal. Who cares? Dear Washington: I don't care if a transgender man (formerly a woman) comes into the men's washroom with me. In fact, I don't care if a woman comes into the washroom with me. We all have to take a piss. We're all adults. Let's break with tradition and stop freaking out. The Earth is not going to stop rotating.

Amy Hamm: Transgender is a threat to women.
I had never heard of this woman until I ran across an opinion piece in the National Post.

Amy Hamm: Donald Trump's defence of women's rights is glorious by Amy Hamm, National Post, Jan 22/2025
This has been steadily more evident for years, but the moment President Donald Trump placed pen to page on his Jan. 20 executive order, written by his deputy assistant, May Mailman, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” it became undeniable. In western nations, if you care about women, you must look to your right. The left betrayed us all — and it’s an audacious lie to pretend otherwise.

Ms. Hamm's article is a strange rant against transgender. The idea doesn't just make her feel uncomfortable; she seems to be threatened by it. She's under attack. But why? As I read her other articles, I discovered Ms. Hamm has a website caWsbar, Canadian Women Sex-based Rights. This, too, is a strange rant against transgender. I can't help thinking that for Ms. Hamm, transgender, for whatever reason, seems to represent an existential threat to her sexuality. How curious.

When Black Lifes Matter appeared on the scene, it wasn't too long until we saw White Lifes Matter. This is a good example of a phenomenon I've seen over and over again. Some marginalized group protests for their rights and the immediate reaction of other people is What about my rights? There is no attempt to understand, just this self-absorption in their own situation. Somebody else asking for their rights is not trying to take away your rights.

I don't suffer from gender dysphoria. But if a woman steps forward proclaiming she's a man, my first thought isn't that my masculinity is under attack. If a man tells me he's a woman, good luck with that, not that there was a chance we were going to be intimate.

Dylan Mulvaney and Bud Light
If you're unfamiliar with this story, you can browse Wikipedia Bud Light boycott. I'd say this issue just about sums up everything about transgender in American society. The whole thing, in my opinion, got completely out of hand. If people had merely ignored the ad campaign, it all would have quickly disappeared. Instead, the detractors managed to elevate it to a height it did not deserve.

I don't drink Bud Light. I don't look at advertisements in general, beer commercials at all. I don't care. This has nothing to do with me. It is of no concern in the grand scheme of things. Then I read the headlines. Holy cr*p! It's WWIII! Double tee eff! I both laughed and cringed at all the videos of people using various weaponry to shoot up cases of Bud Light. "Stop shoving your leftist ideology down my throat!" I'm always amused at how The Right seems to lack self-awareness. They don't want anybody to shove their ideas down their throat all the while shoving their ideas down everybody's throat.

Recently, I saw a commercial for Ben & Jerry's ice cream espousing their left-wings views. Maybe the company felt good saying out loud what they thought were good ideas, but I looked at the reaction from right-wing sources and it wasn't good. Is running a commercial enterprise and doing political advertisements a good idea? Is that the right time and place to discuss politics? I think they made a mistake. They're going to hurt their business, and they are not in any way going to convince anybody of the correctness of their views. They're merely going to look like a crazy.

I've never met a transgender person in my life.
I wanted to add this side note. I said I've never met one, but the truth is I don't know. Why would being transgender ever come up in a conversation? Neighbors, people at work, the incidental people who are part of day-to-day life. The private information of our lives like our sexuality never comes up. Despite all we read in the news, I'm sure your average transgender person doesn't run around bragging about their transition to everybody they meet. Heck, I don't brag about being heterosexual. It's not important for one important reason: I never have sex with 99.999999% of the people I meet. Who cares? Heck, I don't tell 99.999999% of the people whether I like sushi or not. The topic never comes up because we never have a meal together.

What do I really think?
As I said, I'm male and have never thought otherwise. But let me recount a story from my research article.

In 2017, on a social media platform, I run into a person identified by a female avatar, Alice. We chat, the usual small talk. But then, things turn serious, and Alice decides to tell me her story. Alice is actually Frank, a 55-year-old man transitioning to a woman. Frank was born male. He grew up male. He went to school, graduated, and found himself a career as a male. He got married and had two children. At the age of fifty, he decides to come out. His wife is accepting but she said she couldn't live as a lesbian, so they get a divorce, remaining good friends and still co-parenting. Frank sends me a real-life photo of himself. I see a man, wearing makeup and a wig in a dress. He looks nothing like a woman; he looks like a man in drag.

Our conversation came to an end, and we went our separate ways never to see one another again. However, I've thought about this story on many occasions. What trials and tribulations was Frank going to face? What ridicule? Obviously, this was important to him, or he wouldn't risk it all, but I still found it incredible that he gets through fifty years of his life as a man but now feels it is of the utmost importance he finds the real him in a woman.

What to make of Frank? Is he dangerous, and should he be locked up? Is he crazy, and should he be put in an institution under psychiatric care? I repeat I've seen so many stories like Frank's I've come to realize there's something going on. I don't know what exactly, but I know it's real.

Real World Example
A friend of mine, JM, is a nurse. She works mainly in the O.R. (Operating Room) assisting doctors in surgery. I was telling her about this article and asked if she had any experiences with transgender. She recounted one time where a man had gone through surgery, and she had the job of getting him comfortable afterward for recovery. In the process of adjusting the sheets, his gown rode up and she saw this man had female genitalia. She mentioned this to the doctor, and he just shrugged. He was aware that the man in question was actually a woman living as a man. JM and I discussed the statistics I had uncovered: there are more women transitioning to me than men transitioning to women. And more than likely, transgender people live a quiet life, their transition never becoming public knowledge.

Final Word
Methinks they doeth protest too much.

Transgender has turned into a hot topic and consequently appears frequently in the media. However, to me, the statistics indicate people are overreacting. While this may be an important issue, its prevalence or lack thereof is not equal to the amount of column space it gets in the news.

But the hate this topic generates! People like me who have no personal experience with transgender have turned into some sort of frothing at the mouth lunatic rallying against all that is LGBTQ. It's like this represents some existential threat to their very existence. This is a personal afront to all that they hold dear. I've written on social media: Dear LGBTQ: Everybody back in the closet!

Over and over again, I run into people voicing an opinion about a topic they know nothing about. Dunning-Kruger at its finest. Rather than taking the time to understand, it's immediate condemnation. They have no workable solution; they want the topic and the people involved to disappear. They don't want to see it, hear about it, or ever have to talk about it. Their reaction is visceral and grossly out of proportion to the phenomenon. Hate! Hate! Hate!

It saddens me. I've heard it said that while humanity has the advancements of splitting the atom, walking on the moon, connecting the world with the Internet, and the marvel that is AI, we have not advanced one iota in our spirituality. We are self-centered, arrogant, and belligerent. We are a tribal animal with a disdain for anyone not part of our group. We profess love but so often hate. We say we seek science but too often remain intransigent in our beliefs. Just because I'm not transgender, that doesn't mean transgender doesn't deserve their place in the sun. We're all in this together.


References

Wikipedia: Demographics of sexual orientation
Obtaining precise numbers on the demographics of sexual orientation is difficult for a variety of reasons, including the nature of the research questions. Most of the studies on sexual orientation rely on self-reported data, which may pose challenges to researchers because of the subject matter's sensitivity.

my blog: Dave Chappelle, Ricky Gervais, J. K. Rowling, and the Third Gender - July 13/2022
It is apparent that not one of the above people have heard of The Third Gender, a concept which has existed for thousands of years and has been accepted in other cultures, but which is, according to Wikipedia (referencing Anthropological Theory: An Introductory History (2007) by Richard Warms, Richard L. Warms, R. Jon McGee), still somewhat new to mainstream western culture and conceptual thought. I return to our initial reaction: We don't believe it exists and ridicule the idea.

Wikipedia: Transgender
A transgender (often shortened to trans) person is someone whose gender identity differs from that typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Wikipedia: Dylan Mulvaney
Dylan Mulvaney (born December 29, 1996) is an American social media personality known for detailing her gender transition in daily videos published on TikTok since early 2022. Before coming out as a transgender woman and launching her internet career, Mulvaney performed as a stage actor in Old Globe Theatre, Off-Broadway, and Broadway productions. She gained a higher profile on social media platforms after her interview with U.S. president Joe Biden at the White House, during which they spoke about transgender rights. After Bud Light sent a beer can to Mulvaney for an Instagram promotion in 2023, American conservatives led a boycott of the brand.

2025-02-08

Site Map - William Quincy Belle

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My Writing Process: Beta Readers

Let's start with a definition: A beta reader reads a manuscript before it's published and furnishes the author with a report, suggesting changes to the text. I have always used them and always will. I consider them an integral part of my development process.

Right from the beginning, dating all the way back to 2013 with my first attempt at NaNoWriMo, I recognised I didn't know what I was doing and sought the help of others. Over the years, I've used the platform Fiverr to find people. From the acknowledgements of my first novel:

Beta readers: they are too numerous to mention, but I sincerely thank each and every one of them. They pointed out things I didn’t see or couldn’t see. I wear glasses, however it turns out I’m myopic literally and literarily.

I can't say if I suffer from tunnel vision any more than the next guy - I can't see the forest for the trees. - but I remain delighted, surprised, and sometimes shocked by the ideas people bring to the table. Holy cow! I never thought of that!

For my last book, done through NaNoWriMo, I started with an outline of what I wanted to achieve and proudly crossed the finish line within the month of November, my required fifty thousand ending at fifty-one thousand. But then I started beta reads. The first few said, "I see you did A, B, C. But did you think about D, E, and F?" I made changes. The next group brought up G, H, and I. And so, I keep going, gradually going through the entire alphabet to Z. I couldn't get over how person after person brought up interesting ideas I incorporated into the text. In the end, my text was seventy-six thousand words, a substantial increase from my NaNoWriMo goal. Obviously, my original plan was incomplete for a complete novel. Hats off to all those people.

The Good and the Bad
Not all beta readers are the same. I maintain a list of who and when with an indicator of the quality of their work. Some I mark "use again", while some I mark as "NO", emphasis with all caps. Years ago, comically enough, one beta reader gave me a report which consisted of, "I liked your book." That was it, four words, nothing more.

However, some are terrific, delivering a detailed report and some providing inline comments. Those people have put in hours of work, and I always give them a substantial tip. They deserve it.

In between those two extremes, there is quite a variety of quality and style. However, I study their reaction to judge if I've imparted my message. I get something out of each beta read which guides me in making further edits to my text. Is any text ever perfect?

They hate it.
The first time this happened, I was unsure of what I was reading. Was my manuscript that bad? After some reflection, I concluded the reader was not critiquing my work. They did not just dislike it; they hated it. Yes, hated it. A couple advised me to throw out my manuscript and start over with another story. They hated the very idea of my story. Obviously, they didn't see anything as salvageable.

I still laugh about one hater who took exception to the first line of my novel. The first line? It wasn't as if I had written some purple prose like, "It was a dark and stormy night." I thought my line was, well, a first line. Not bad, maybe not terrific, just utilitarian in introducing the opening scene. It was not something anybody could declare right off the bat as unworthy. Obviously, the reader came to the table with some preconceived notion about my book.

I will now break into a Taylor Swift song: "And haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate."

Feedback
Somewhere, I read about movies first being presented to test audiences who are required to fill out a questionnaire. Then, based on those responses, the film is edited in the hopes of getting a more acceptable form.

I'm sure there are authors out there who have a fully formed story in their head and can sit down and type the whole thing out. I'm not that good. Heck, I'm not anywhere near that good. I may have an initial idea, even an outline, but putting ideas on paper may change what I intended to say and even reveal new ideas. But then, a beta reader has a different understanding of what I'm saying, which shows me I have failed to communicate my ideas.

It's been an amusing undertaking trying to be a writer. English may be my native language, but I discovered my ability to present a clear, logical, well-articulated story was lacking. I may be better than when I first start over ten years ago, but I still see mistakes that seem to be ingrained in me. Old habits die hard.

My editing process
As of this writing, I've published three novels and four small collections of short stories. - I write short stories and submit them to webzines for publication. After I've done a number of them, I gather them together and publish them myself as a short story collection. - In each of those books, I've followed the same procedure:

1. Write the book.
2. Edit.
3. Beta reads.
4. Two copy edits.
5. Poofread.

To expand on the above:

When I edit my own work, since I use Microsoft Word, I use the built-in spelling and grammar checker. That's a good place to start. From there, I make use of an online computerised system called ProWritingAid. I've tried Grammarly. It's good, but it's limited to five thousand words. ProWritingAid can handle a manuscript of a hundred thousand words or more. It warns you that it's going to take time to digest such the manuscript but at least it can handle it.

I'm not saying a computerised program is the be-all and end-all, but I find the system does a good job of bringing to my attention a variety of mechanical problems and stylistic issues. It helps me tighten my prose. I can babble, overusing certain words and phrases. Why say in ten words which you can say in a hundred? Ha!

Why two copy edits: In the beginning somebody told me they had heard Harlequin did two copy edits for their romances. I noted one editor did not necessarily find all the potential issues. One editor might find A, B, C, but the next editor might find A, B, and D. As humans, we're not perfect.

Why a proofread: I received a proof copy of my first book. Ooooo, it felt magical to hold it in my hand. I opened in up to a random page and started reading. In the very first paragraph, I found a spelling mistake. Ahhhh! I then combed through the entire novel and found another seven spelling errors. That convinced me, and I hired a proofreader. They found fifteen errors. Ahhh, again!

Despite the Microsoft Word spell and grammar checker, ProWritingAid, and two copy edits, mistakes get overlooked. My research has indicated that even with a proofread, on average, there may still be a number of spelling mistakes in any manuscript. Obviously, perfection is more of an unattainable ideal.

Inline Comments
Not everybody offers this service. Obviously, it's involved and takes time. However, I like these notes pointing to specific issues in my text. A report can give me the reader's general impression of my manuscript, and that's a good thing. But sometimes, they have a particular concern, and I find it much easier to focus on that concern when they introduce a comment in the document pointing to the place in question. I always note if a beta reader does inline comments so for my next project, I can preferentially choose them.

Cost
As I said, I use the service Fiverr. A beta read of a short story can cost $15 - $20 CAD. (I'm Canadian.) I aim for under $100 for a novel. There are other people offering services at higher prices, but it's been my experience the quality of the work does not necessarily go up proportionally with the price. Your mileage may vary.

Is all this necessary? Years ago, I had an email exchange with another indie writer. He thought I spent too much money on outside editing. I later noted in comments on Amazon for his books, people giving fewer stars complaining about sloppy editing, including spelling mistakes and grammar errors. So, is it worth it? I can't help feeling the reader deserves at least to have the mechanics of writing in the best shape possible.

Subjective
When I first started studying the topic of editing and working with editors, I learned about the objective part of writing: spell check, grammar check, maintaining a POV (Point Of View), limited the use of adverbs (rule: one adverb for every 300 words), dispensing with filler words like very and just, etc. The list can go on and on, but my point here is that objectively, a misspelled word is something that needs to be corrected.

Now, we get into the subjective: every person has an opinion; they have their own personal taste. It's not so much being wrong; it's more what that person likes.

Years ago, I submitted a SciFi short story to two webzines. Both publications rejected the work, but how they rejected it was curious. The first editor wrote back, "Too much action, not enough characterization." The second editor wrote "Too much characterization, not enough action." I think this was a defining moment in my understanding that I can't please every reader. Some will like a story, some will not. It's not necessarily a reflection on the quality of the story, rather a question of their own taste. I've had stories rejected by one editor only to have them enthusiastically accepted by the next. It's a question of personal preference.

Beta readers have revealed in passing a bit about their work. Some have complimented me on my spelling and grammar. Some have complimented the quality of my writing, saying they have had to read some real sh*t. Now, I'm not patting myself on the back, but I'm recognizing that me doing Microsoft Word's spell and grammar checker, using ProWritingAid to clean up my text, etc., may very well be more preliminary work than some beta readers are used to. As I keep saying: If I'm going to put my name on it, I don't want to embarrass myself. While I have to write the story, I also have an obligation to edit it. A beta reader or even an editor for that matter can only do so much. The final decision about editing rests with me.

Let me add that while I appreciate their work, I do not envy their work. I have on occasion read indie publications, and they were appalling. In the References section below, I link to my article about marketing, discovering that some legitimate publishers categorically refuse to look at self-published authors because they are, for the most, terrible. Despite my editing efforts, even paying for professional help, I've come to accept I have an uphill battle as an indie author because the word indie is, in some circles, synonymous with bad.

Final Word
The prolific Belgian author George Simenon wrote over 400 books. I can't say for sure, but I'm guessing his manuscripts were so well formed, they required little editing before publication. On the other hand, I've heard stories of authors, famous ones I mean, agonising over a manuscript for years.

Somewhere, I saw a quote from an author of some renown (the name escapes me) who said that he hoped nobody ever saw his first drafts. Ha! I can identify with that!

Beta readers are a fundamental part of my development process. Another set of eyes gives me much needed feedback about hitting my target. I reminded of this amusing quotation:

"I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
Attributed to Robert McCloskey, U.S. State Department spokesman,
by Marvin Kalb, CBS reporter, in TV Guide, 31 March 1984,
citing an unspecified press briefing during the Vietnam war.

References

my blog: I wrote a book. So what? - Oct 24/2021
I clicked on the Publish button on September 22, 2016. "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup." I'm sitting here, five years later, realising, "So, what?"

my blog: Marketing My Writing: So far, a bust! - Sep 26/2023
I'll start with the classic joke: Look at what I've done, and now do the exact opposite, the supposition being that what I'm doing is wrong. I published my first book on September 22, 2016, and so far, any efforts on my part to market my work has been a bust. Research had turned up an article claiming that indie authors earn on average about $500 a year, and I'd say that just about describes my situation.


Postscript: 2025-01-28
I got a new comment for my book Of Sound Mind and Somebody Else's Body. Right now, I have 86 reviews with an average of 4.0, 4 stars. Charlotte, on the other hand, didn't just not like it, she hated my book. Yes, I mean hate.

The following is Amazon's AI-generated summation of all reviews for the book.

Now, I'm not going to make any claims about my writing. I'm no stellar world-class author. However, I have spent the time and effort along with the money for professional editoral assitance to produce a competent book. It may not end up on the New York Times best seller list, but I think it can provide you with a few pleasant hours of entertainment. Charlotte's review reminds me of the beta readers above. For whatever reason, something does not click. They never get it into it and take a dislike to the writing, the story, maybe even the premise and from that point onward, they feel they're wasting their time. Oh, well. You can't please everybody.


2025-01-19

Site Map - William Quincy Belle

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I turn 73 later this year. The end is in sight.

I'm sure such a title could make somebody think this is another weepy personal story about a person trying to come to grips with their mortality and obsessing about the end of it all. Life is what it is, and death is an integral part of the human experience. There's nothing we can do about it; our only choice is to accept it. So, what else is there to say?

First off, I'm not obsessing about this. I recognise it is there, but I'm certainly not spending every day fretting over my demise. However, once in a while, I do take a moment to consider the inevitable.

About twenty years ago, I woke up in the middle of the night with terrible cramps. It felt like I had to defecate. I went to the bathroom and sat on the toilet. The next thing I knew, I was laid out on the floor. I had fainted and fallen off the seat. Fortunately, I had not hurt myself like whacking my head against the wall. I subsequently did some research and discovered this was not an unknown phenomenon. It had never happened to me before, but it has never happened again, so this was a strange one-off, not a sign of some underlying condition requiring medical attention.

I remembered sitting on the toilet. After that, nothing. It was a complete blank.

That's how I imagine death.

Over the years, I've liked to say I'm agnostic: I neither believe in God nor don't believe in God. I'm sitting in the middle; I suppose trying to leave all my options open. I've noted that many philosophers, theologians, and writers have tried to grapple with the question of our mortality. People like Blaise Pascal (Pascal's Wager) have argued there are more benefits to believing in God than not believing in Him. Who's right? Obviously, we have no way of knowing, so debating the issue will never conclusively prove things one way or another. And so, we should talk about the benefits of the here and now; the benefits while we are alive.

It is the final proof of God's omnipotence that he need not exist in order to save us.
-Peter De Vries, "The Mackerel Plaza," 1958

I've never read Mr. De Vries' book but was stunned by the implications of this quote. God isn't an entity; God is an idea. And it comes back to the benefits of God while we're alive.

I've thought long and hard about fainting. Suddenly, I stopped thinking. Suddenly, I ceased to exist as a conscious human being. I can't help feeling dying is going to be the same thing. I will stop thinking. The neurons will stop firing and the synapses which define my personality, my thinking, my logic, etc. will cease to exist. I will become nothing.

Here's where we run into God, Heaven, the afterlife. How can anybody conceive of nothing? How can the lack of anything be defined as something? From what I understand, some early cultures had no concept of zero and had no symbol to write that particular idea. Thinking of the De Vries quotation above, would anyone invent God out of an inability to imagine nothing? We must think of something. I'm discussing fainting in terms of having regained consciousness and being able to think about it. What if I had not regained consciousness?

Science explains that our body's cells are replaced. The person we are today is not the person we were yesterday, or last week, or when we were two years old. Fat cells are replaced every ten years, but the cells of the inner lining of the small intestine are replaced every week. The lining of the stomach changes every five days and red blood cells change every 120 days. The neurons of our brains do not divide, so this is more complicated. They may die off, but under certain circumstances, other brain cells will become neurons. The point is that we exist independent of our physical self.

Science fiction has presented us with the concept of teleportation. Our atoms are disassembled in one place and reassembled in another. Those atoms are not the same. The cells are not the same. However, the configuration of the neurons and the synapses are the same, and consequently, our consciousness is the same. SciFi is echoing the real-world situation of our current cell replacement by saying we exist independently of our physical self.

But I have a curious observation. I have a reading light beside my desk. It casts light across the desk and the entire room. Periodically, the bulb burns out. I click the switch, nothing happens, and I have to replace the bulb. The light bulb still exists, the glass, the filament, etc., it just no longer lights up. I throw it out, get a new one, and life goes on. The concept of light continues to exist even though the physical part of light - the blub - changes.

Regrets I have a few
This is where I burst into song à la Sinatra. I've been given to understand that older people tend to reminisce, reflecting on their lives, and assessing what they've done. I have regrets. But I also have things I'm embarrassed about. Stupid is as stupid does. Hold my drink. Fortunately, some things get buried in the past, fade with time, and memories forget. We are not forgiven; we are forgotten. Any 12-step program would advise to make amends, but sometimes the circumstances never present themselves, and it ends up not being a question of making amends with somebody you've wronged but somehow forgiving yourself and moving on. We carry our baggage around with us for the rest of our lives, and it can be a heavy load.

I'm tired.
Uncle Bill lived until he was 101 years old. Quite a feat. However, he said to me on more than one occasion to not live beyond 85. A curious statement. But when I thought about it, 85 was when his physical problems started becoming overwhelming. Incontinence, macular degeneration in his left eye, inoperable cataract in the right eye leaving him with 50% vision, slow developing cancer in his right hip causing chronic pain, overall weakness of mobility requiring a motorized scooter. If you have quality of life, quantity of life can be a good thing. But when quality of life goes down, quantity then becomes more a question of stamina than enjoyment. If you remain healthy, why not continue? But if you're not healthy, you don't want to continue.

I've heard of the idea of being spiritually tired, lacking a will to live. I'm sure our physical condition plays a part in this, but I can also see us being unable to see how to navigate life. I've come to realise there's a part of me that thinks, "I'm looking forward to this being over." I'm not suggesting anything as dramatic as being suicidal, it's more a question of lifting a weight.

In 20 days, I will be celebrating seven years of retirement. - Congratulations to me. - Two weeks ago, I had lunch with an old colleague from work. We talked about the company, the current status of work, and the trials and tribulations of the business. I'm glad I'm out. The pressure never stops. Just as soon as you complete one thing, something else pops up. It never ends. At one point in my life, it seemed like a challenge. Now, it seems like an overwhelming burden. There seems to be no sense of achievement, for a new mountain to climb is just around the next corner. It never stops.

We become our parents; I'm turning into Uncle Bill. I have health issues at the age of 72. What am I going to be like when I'm 82? Heck, what am I going to be like when I'm 73? I've had some unpleasant surprises in the past ten years which now make me worry about every ache and pain. Is this a sign of some bigger issue?

Politics worries me, angers me, and exhausts me. I should stop paying attention. I should stop writing about it. I should give up and be ready to blithely say "Que sera sera" when they blow up the world. I sit here shaking my head; I can't believe what's going on. We are the authors of our own fate. I mention this because I feel powerless. We're all in the same boat, and I worry those people over there are going to sink the boat and take me with them. Kill yourself if you want, but I would suggest - no, I will demand you don't kill me too. Unfortunately, I'm powerless and can't do anything about any of this. I can only try to stay out of the line of fire.

"The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must."
-Thucydides (460–395 BC), Greek historian, general (The Peloponnesian War)

I had lunch with a friend a while back, celebrating our mutual milestone of 72 years of age. We joked that we were getting out just in time, that is, our lives were ending before they inadvertently, or should I say stupidly, take the Earth out in one final blaze of glory. Or is it gory? The next generation is in for a ride.

Final Word
I'm agnostic. I can't say with 100% that God exists or doesn't exist. But I have suspicions, and I suspect there's nothing. Never mind nothing being inconceivable, nothing also seems pointless. What is the purpose of the whole thing if in the end there's nothing? It doesn't seem like we've achieved anything, and that doesn't seem satisfying. Do I invent the afterlife because I'm dissatisfied with nothing?

I've jokingly said that when the end comes, I'm going to be on my knees, weeping for forgiveness, just like anybody else. I can write these words on a calm afternoon, sitting at my desk while sipping a comforting cup of coffee, but that doesn't mean anything I say now is going to provide whatever psychological or spiritual support I'll need when I take my final breath. Forgive me, Lord, for I have sinned. Pshaw. In the grand scheme of things, I am more insignificant than a grain of sand on the beach.

The bulb burns out. Throw it in the trash (recycling) and replace it. And replace it with something better: LED for incandescent.

I'm sure whoever comes after me - sure? I hope whoever comes after me will not make my mistakes, will be more successful, and will achieve more. That won't be as big a deal as you may think. I'm just average. That's pretty easy to equal and not difficult to surpass. Old joke: If you get out of bed in the morning, you're ahead of half the world.

As I look back on it all, I can't help feeling I've really not done much. I was born, I've lived, and I will die. If I hadn't been born, it would have had no effect on the world at all. I think I've wasted my opportunity. In retrospect, I was pretentious. I thought I was destined for greatness while it's turned out I've been at best ordinary. No Nobel Prize, no Oscar, no Pulitzer. Heck, not even a Guinness, but so far, luckily, not a Darwin.

My father was a good man. I'm sure anyone would say he was an ordinary man, but he was a good man. I've come to realise being good is quite the accomplishment. I have not always been good. In these later years, I try to make up for it, but when I look back on my life, I see a wasted opportunity. I could have done a much better job and accomplished more. Oh, well. This is where I joke, "Next time!"

2025-01-13

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MAGA and Abortion

Same sh*t, different day. There really isn't much point in discussing this topic as I've said it all before. One of the reasons I stopped writing here was because I began to realize I could take an article from several years ago, copy and paste it into a new article, change a few dates, and have a new posting. In other words, we are all dealing with the same issues; it seems like nothing has changed. However, I did think I ran across two points worth noting.

Anti-abortion
C is a long-standing friend. We normally don't talk about politics, but it has come up a few times and I've learned he's Republican, and I'm suspicious he's MAGA.

In a discussion about abortion, he said this: He and his wife had a beautiful daughter. His daughter had beautiful grandchildren. In light of the beauty these births brought into his life, he could never be pro-choice.

That sums it up quite nicely. People see the world through the lens of their own experiences and can't imagine anything else. C can't picture any circumstances where an abortion would be justified. Time and time again, I've seen pro-life advertisements with the picture of a smiling baby, usually a white baby by the way, as if every gestation is destined to wind up in a similar fashion. Since Roe vs. Wade was overturned, as of this writing, 17 states have banned or severely restricted abortion access. There have been numerous headlines of women dying because they were denied a life-saving abortion. And it appears those same states have banned or impeded any investigation into deaths attributable to their abortion laws.

So much for freedom. Pro-choice says have an abortion or don't have an abortion, it's your choice. Pro-life says we make the law, and nobody gets an abortion. Is it murder? I can't think of anybody other than a mother who loves a child, cares for it, and protects it with her own life. And yet, millions of women all over the world have abortions and do NOT feel they are committing murder. My body, my choice. Hello, Christian Taliban! I'm right and everybody else is wrong.

The Economy
In mid-2024 on Facebook, I got into a back and forth with a MAGA. He said the most important thing for him was the economy. I'm not sure why he thought t**** was gong to solve all our problems. However, he added that for him, abortion was an unimportant secondary issue. Economy first, nothing else matters.

How curious for a man to say abortion is not important. - Did I manage to write enough sarcasm into that statement? - Once again, people are only concerned with what's important to them, and they will ignore anything else, even voting against it because they're not affected by it.

I've seen a number of reports and interviews where MAGA women have said the economy was their most important concern, and they, too, would vote Republican essentially voting against their own sex. How curious.

A Personal Note
In 1937, abortion was illegal. My grandmother got pregnant for a third time and decided to have a backroom abortion. It was botched. She died. My mother lost her mother at the age of eight. My grandfather lost his wife. I lost the opportunity to ever meet my grandmother. I'm sure if she had had proper medical care, things would have gone well and she would have lived.

I posted this story here on my blog and somebody commented that my grandmother was a murderer and deserved to die. People can be cruel.

Final Word
I could go on but why bother. Nothing I say is going to have any effect one way or another. People are going to do what they're gong to do. Who cares who dies? Who cares about freedom? I'm right, and everybody else is wrong.

I started this blog in 2010 as my soapbox to spout off about what I think. We are quite literally talking about the same things. Nothing has changed.

References

my blog various artticle on abortion

my blog Pro-lifers are morally superior to the rest of us.
1,200 words, 6-minute read

Full disclosure: I'm a libtard, a badge I wear with great pride. To borrow from the 1960s hippies, I'm a peace, love, and understanding type of guy. And if you haven't guessed, I'm pro-choice but let me add a seeming contradiction: I, too, am anti-abortion. This is elective surgery and represents an unwanted pregnancy. If all babies arrived at the right time, if all pregnancies were wanted, nobody would have an abortion.

2025-01-10

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He Won.

I lost. We lost. Bigly. If you're a trumper, you can chuckle, gloat, and even yell Nah! Nah! Nah! Nah! Nah!, all while giving me the finger. F*ck my feelings.

As a libtard, one of those woke goodie two-shoes, I am forced to admit that at long last, you have finally owned me. Do what you will; you've got the keys to the car, and you can do anything you want. Well, let me be a bit more precise: you can do anything he wants, he referring to one Donald J. t****. It's his show. Not your show exactly, but you did vote for him, so I guess indirectly it's your show.

The people have spoken. I must accept their decision. To say anything else would make me look like a sore loser.

But I think this is a mistake. The people have spoken but they have made a mistake. As I've said elsewhere, the average voter is uninformed, knowing little or nothing about politics, their country, and how the world works. Their vote is based on gut instinct, not a thorough understanding of the issues. They vote according to the last sound bite, the last slogan, or the last meme which confirms their bias about the world. And as such, they vote against their own best interests, perpetuating the problems they love to complain about.

I must compliment the Republicans for being unified, organized, and relentless. Through sheer repetition, they have used their message to reshape reality to the point where a significant portion of the population think black is white, up is down, etc. The world has been so obfuscated, people no longer know what's going on, what's truly going on.

Freedom of Speech
My complaint isn't what some people say, it's that other people listen. There seems to be no critical thinking skills left anymore. People blindly repeat or repost whatever they hear out of some uncontrollable compulsion to be first with new information, all without assessing the veracity of what they're repeating.

At a family gathering, I hear a relative say that they had heard teachers are putting kitten litter boxes in classrooms so that students who identify as cats can take a leak. Think about that for a moment. Without doing any research, just by mulling over the possibility that any teacher, any educated, qualified, intelligent human being would agree to do such a socially unacceptable, absurd, and outright stupid thing in public. When I first heard this story, I dismissed it as the hyperbolic right-wing inflammatory rhetoric designed to enrage people into believing liberals have gone too far. I'm liberal and just because I'm liberal, I am no longer a reasonable human being but some sort of crazy person trying to undermine our society. I'm sorry. I may be liberal but I'm not f*cking insane!

Think about this. The enemy is no longer the Russians, the Chinese, or ISIS. It's your fellow Americans, your colleagues at work, your neighbors, or even members of your own family. Those woke, commie socialists want to destroy American and bring about the downfall of the Republic. Really? The other side of the aisle is evil personified, the anti-Christ.

Healthcare: The Concept of a Plan
While t****'s answer to having a plan was laughable, it does represent the Republican goal in the debate: the return to the way things were. Get rid of Obamacare and return to full-on capitalism: pre-existing conditions rejected, everyone has to pay, no freebies. Their plan is no plan; healthcare is a free market.

In the leadup to Obamcare in 2010, I read several analyses which determined up to fifty thousand people die each year due to a lack of health insurance. Because they couldn't afford preventative care, they waited until the situation was critical and consequently, fatal. If Republicans have their way, death will be the price to pay for profit. I don't believe those voting Republican understand what they voted for.

Tax Cuts
In 2017, t**** managed a $1.7 trillion tax cut, most of which, according to financial experts, went to the top 1%. He's promised to deliver another cut.

I pay approximately 30% in tax. At the start of the t**** presidency, corporation were paying 27%. The tax cut lowered their rate to 21%. The new promised tax cut would further lower the rate to 15%.

I pay 30%. Now, Republicans will explain trickle down, however, I can find no financial expert who agrees trickle down works. It's a myth. It would seem the only ones believing in trickle down are those benefiting from the tax cuts. The rich get richer while the poor get poorer.

2 + 2 = 4
I can't help feeling there's a "truth" in air quotes. It's not liberal; it's not conservative. It's not Republican or Democrat. If do the math, you arrive at the answer of four. That answer has nothing to do with political ideology. If you say the answer is five, I have to conclude you haven't done the math or you don't understand math.

My example of two plus two is simple, making easy for anybody to see my point. However, other issues are not so cut and dry. As I said above, I see a lack of critical thinking skills. Instead of recognizing one's ignorance, people go with what they know or what they've heard with no fact checking and jump to conclusions, usually erroneous conclusions. Old saying: If you can't properly assess an issue, how can you properly address it?

Project 2025
If you voted for t****, you didn't read this. Holy cow! You are not going to end up with what you think you'll get.

My New Reality
One day, I find myself in a China shop with a bull. At that particular moment, it doesn’t seem to matter if it’s right or wrong for the bull to be there; the fact is, it is there. It seems academic to ask how or why the bull ended up in the shop as I’m faced with the more important question of how to deal with the bull. It is a massive animal with great power. Like it or not, right here, right now, might is right. A bull is temperamental and can be capricious. I don’t want to get gored or trampled and will do my best to not get its attention. At some point, I will contemplate what I can do to not end up in such a predicament, but until then, I’m going to try to stay out of the line of fire. Maybe if I had a red cape, I could distract the animal and lead it out of the shop. Whatever the case, people are going to be hurt and that very well could include me.

I don't believe MAGA knows what it's doing. They're angry. And t**** and his minions like Fox News have manipulated them and got their anger focused on the Left. In fact, their angry has blinded them to the damage already wrought by t**** and the damage he's planning on doing.

Editorial Cartoon by Pat Bagley
(used without permission)

Final Word
I'm wasting my breath. My words fall on deaf ears. MAGA is gloating over their win without understanding the consequences of that win. And as I said in the meme above, by the time they figure out their mistake, it will be too late.

In the fall, I saw memes on social media saying that people voted for t**** because they were worried about the price of eggs. Already, t**** has said he can't lower the price of groceries. How soon before the voters have buyer's remorse?

Just today, I read an article talking about how the Democrats failed to capture the hearts and mind of the electorate, that they were not on message, that they were condescending to the deplorables, or whatever. How exactly do you campaign with a public who prides itself on being ignorant? How do you compete with Fox News and other right-wing sources who relentlessly repeat alternative facts to people who can't be bothered to fact check anything, oblivious to being manipulated?

I've wondered if smoking could be held up as a metaphor for politics. The science is overwhelming in proving tobacco to be detrimental to one's health and yet tens of millions continue to light up as cognitive dissonance sees them reject anything contradictory to their addiction. My own family smokes; some of them like chimneys. All I can do is try to stay away from their second-hand smoke. I can't stop them; I can't change their behaviour; but I must keep the peace by accepting their behaviour. Likewise, Republicans vote against their own best interests. All I can do is try to protect myself. People have to learn the hard way. I can only make sure that when they go down, they don't take me with them. Unfortunately, the idea of we all being in the same boat makes that just about impossible.



References

my blog: MAGA, Anger, and Critical Thinking - Dec 25/2023
If one thing has struck me over these past years, it's that MAGA is angry. Although, the word angry seems insufficient: livid, furious, raging, foaming at the mouth, I could go on but I'm trying to express that this anger is right off the charts. And because this anger is so out of control, I believe MAGA can no longer think straight. It's not about finding "the truth" in air quotes, it's about winning any and all arguments. I'm right, and everybody else is wrong. Evidence? Schmevidence! I don't have to prove anything because I'm right, and you're just a stupid sheeple!

my blog: Freedom of Speech, Jordan Peterson, and I believe therefore it's true. - Oct 20/2023
Never have so many knowing so little said so much.

Covid: What if the U.S. was like Canada? - Feb 3/2022
Comparing the death rate of Canada with the U.S. and its individual states as of February 3, 2022. I believe t**** and Ron DeSantis should be held criminally negligent for their handling of the Covid pandemic.

2025-01-05

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