Jenner is declared a hero but some of us disagree

ESPN's Espy Awards has declared Bruce Jenner (who now goes by the name Caitlyn) to be the most courageous athlete of the past year and will be awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. 

This award is due to Jenner having had a sex change operation (except for his actual chromosomes and other sexual defining attributes) and had his male parts removed and given a surgical procedure to give him girlish sex appeal.

This is the new 21st Century's definition of brave.

I guess if anesthesia hadn't been discovered and Bruce had to have his junk removed without it, perhaps I would call that brave--stupid, yes, but brave--however, he probably didn't experience fear or pain that people who actually do brave things overcome.

Sure, to go from one gender to sort of another takes a sense of commitment, but in terms of actual bravery, I'm not so sure. To be brave, one must be scared.

The SEALs who got UBL are brave. They did what they had to do in spite of their fear of being captured and killed; probably tortured along the way.

ESPN spoke about Jenner's "courage to embrace a truth that had been hidden for years, and to embark on a journey that may not only give comfort to those facing similar circumstances."

That's nice. It shows he knows what his sexual orientation is and it may help others admit to themselves that they too are not the gender their gear dictates they are. But is it brave of Jenner?

Bravery seems more obvious in Army Sgt. (Ret.) Noah Galloway who lost an arm and leg in the Afghan war. Galloway still runs marathons and performs in other extreme sports and has even been on "Dancing with the Stars." Unfortunately, he doesn't have his own reality TV show.

Lauren Hill knew she was going to die from brain cancer yet she continued to play basketball for Mount St. Joseph. She did, in fact, die but like Galloway, she didn't have a Kim Kardashian in the family.

Don't get me wrong--I have nothing whatsoever against Caitlyn Jenner. I just don't equate what (s)he did to bravery any more than I equate star athletes being equated to heroes.




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