This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
After Caitlyn Jenner made her debut on the cover of Vanity Fair, she has been met with open arms and the expected idiotic comments from the peanut gallery. The backlash got even louder when ESPN announced she would be the given the Arthur Ashe Courage Award—which, she did not win over an Iraq War veteran as Internet peddlers of nonsense would lead you to believe. Courage isn't limited to just The Troops, and it's also frankly quite gross to use war veterans as a thin veil for your transphobia.
Sadly, most people who would express such thoughts in the first place are likely too thick-headed to have a change of heart, but one Oregon man got a lesson in compassion through a set of ironic circumstances after posting what he thought was a photo of soldiers in combat:
As I see post after post about Bruce Jenner's transition to a woman, and I hear words like, bravery, heroism, and...
Posted by Terry Coffey on Monday, June 1, 2015
If you're thinking that photo of "real American courage" that Terry Coffey shared looks a little off, you're right.
In fact, it's a photo of two posed dolls taken by the photographer Mark Hogancamp, who has created his own miniature world of a Belgian village set in World War II. Creating a narrative in his own mind of that world and taking photographs helps him cope with the trauma from being beaten into a coma 15 years ago. A few of you might be familiar with Hogencamp's story, as he was the subject of the great documentary Marwencol.
Coffey exercised a little due diligence (which, sadly, can't be said for most people on social media) and wanted to credit the photographer in his original post, and in the process discovered why Hogancamp was nearly beaten to death by five men: he was attacked for being a cross-dresser:
Further down in the comments, Coffey mentions that his revelation would be passed along to Hogencamp and Marwencol's filmmakers. "Makes me know I did the right thing in posting this as well," he writes.
Watch the trailer for Marwencol below:
