Boxing and mental illness

[max baer]

I have a friend who comes over from Calgary,he is referred to as," Canadian Bob,",in our town , he is a big fella with tattoos,and was always thought of as,a beer drinking, football loving,"man's man".
Bob is married with a daughter ,a couple of years ago Bob transitioned and has now had the operation to remove his male genitalia,and create a semblance of a woman' s . Bob as he was once known, told me he went through hell for years, denying his true feelings.
I feel desperately sorry for such people ,trapped in the wrong body,and believe anyone has the right to be whom they want.
On the flip side I have an autistic Grandson 21 years old who now says he identifies as a woman,we all humour him, but as far as I am concerned , it is .
1.An attention seeking device.
2.A symptom indicating he does not like himself,which stems from his condition.

you are spot on there bronson i reckon. It has become fashionable for teens to be trans.It is highly unlikely that it just so happens that all these celebrity teens are really trans and not just toying with androgyny . I was madly into bowie and stuff as a teen and I bleached my hair and looked silly but it was just growing up but at times I was abused violently in the street called aids g.a.y scum and threatened. There are a lot of nasty ignorant people in the world and so it must be so hard for real authentic g.a.y and trans men and women to just get on with their daily lives and I feel sorry for them for having to put up with such abuse from nasty strangers. I think teens toying with androgyny is very common and probably always has been. But i think teachers and social workers are not always doing the right thing by these kids and should just let them explore who they are and what they want to be along their youth.
They will be off on another fashion fad in a few years.
It is also like g*ys for pal1stine they think they are all kicking back at this big brutal brother govt that wants to destroy us all and they are all in it together fighting like underdogs like that rocky stallone fighting the big guys against the odds and it is romantic like braveheart but in reality these groups cannot coexist as they are diametrically opposed to each other and hold deep resentment towards one another. People like david ike beleive in all that silly stuff.



this is a good debate about transgender issues.

I don't think mental illness is a big issue in boxing in the main but a lot of men who rise up in the fight game come from very poor backgrounds (like they aren't middle class tennis players or rich businessmen golfers!) and often the case is that because they are so poor they have little self esteem and feel bad about themselves and turn to drugs and drink to bolster their esteem but end up in misunderstandings and disputes due to being drunk that lead to court cases etc. Me and fury both grew up poor and we helped each other out as we grew up as he, like me, had zero self worth and it drove us to suicidal actions.
so the fact that 99% of pro boxers come from poverty has an impact on their mental health that is my belief. Iron mike showed it to the whole planet how having success and lots of money is disaster when their self esteem and self worth are as low as it can be. Hence mike having such a life.
One thing I truly believe for men like me and fury and even mike is that if we can find a woman we can love and who nurtures us and shows us gentle kindness then we don't just up and decide to go on benders and get involved with nasty women. Me and fury both have a woman who has saved us and given us a happy purpose in life and both of our women are altruistic and compassionate and that is a way to avoid terrible mental health. I know many men will disagree but I think the best thing that exists on earth is to share our life with a partner whom you love. That conquers the terrible mental anguish that many men feel.
that's my two cents worth.