Send in the clowns

The other day I saw this big, muscly guy with tattoos all over his body.  I suspect when he was a younger man, the lines were sharp and straight, the colors bright and vibrant, and the images were the picture of perfection but now (30+ years later) not so much because I couldn't tell if the big tat on his back was his mother or a cat. Oh well, always something to drum up attention.

This, of course, all brings us to today's case.  Seems a 16 year-old male teen wanted to take his DMV picture wearing make-up.  Seems he made such a stink about things that the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund which is assisting pro bono (i.e. teenager isn't paying a dime) understood his "pain" and decided to defend this teens' right to look like a clown.

Two issues come to mind.  First, we're dealing with a 16 year-old kid, here.  How many 16 year-old kids know anything about anything at this point in life (especially about their identity)?  Basically, the TLDEF is footing the bill for this kid to have his 15+ minutes of fame.  Hopefully, he'll go through the process and realize that he should have spent his time on a more worthwhile issue instead of airing out his dirty laundry for all the world to see.

The other issue is identification.  See, the purpose of a photo ID is to show everyone what you look like - not what you look like while wearing a mask.  How are the cops going to bust this kid for a DUI if his photo ID look like someone he's not (i.e. when he's not covered in mascara)?  Heck, have you ever seen a raw pic of Boy George or Marilyn Manson (aka Brian Warner)?  Even those guys (and yes, they're male) aren't wearing make-up while taking their official government  issued ID - so where does this 16 year-old kid get off thinking he can?

He thinks he can because someone else is footing the bill.  I mean, how hard is it to throw a tantrum when a whole group of people are paying for you to do so?  Sad that court systems allow these type of lawsuits to continue.  I mean, due process is one thing but to let a teenager to throw a tantrum makes the court system itself a three-ring circus - which, when you look at it all, is a perfect forum for this case. Who knew?