Every year towards the end of November, a day is set aside in remembrance of people who have been murdered worldwide for being transgendered (or being perceived as trans/gender-variant). The day is important to me for a lot of reasons, the biggest being that it serves as a reminder of the danger that's out there for folks in the community and the lack of attention that these crimes usually get. A lot of people have an underlying belief that being trans is wrong, that folks who dare to live their lives in a way that's comfortable for them are somehow responsible for the violence they encounter.
I'm coming up on my ten year anniversary, so I've already been doing a lot of reflection the last few months. I've been so lucky during this past decade. I've had amazing amounts of love and support from my family, friends and employers. I like to think that the people in my life, both people that I'm close with and also those that have only known me in passing, would think about me and the type of person I am if they heard about a transgendered person being murdered. I would hope that none of them would ever read a story about me in the paper and think, "Well, he deserved it for acting/dressing/pretending to be a boy." That attitude needs to change, and we need to start seeing these folks as victims of violence, pure and simple. These were brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, and they were murdered for the sole reason of being transgendered.
265 people this year. That's a huge under-estimate too, since many crimes against trans people go unreported.
This site has names and pictures. Take a few minutes to look at it and think about the pain that these people went through, all so that they could live their lives as they needed to. Think about the families and friends who love and mourn them. Finally think about the way your attitude can affect these numbers in the future. Every ounce of hate that gets thrown into this world fuels the people who commit these crimes. You need to be an ally, you need to speak up when you see or hear ignorance. Education is key to understanding, so teach when you have the opportunity and offer support when you can.
My thoughts are with my community tonight.
www.transgenderdor.org/memorializing-2012
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