What should I of done?

[Wolfy]

It's really bothering me. I've been out for 5 years and I started hrt on Wednesday.

Me and my best friend are both trans and we have helped eachother with anything and we've gone through our transition pretty much at the same time except he came out last year.

We went to a community Bon fire last night and as we were walking home a bunch of five kids were calling my friends birth name. And  I'm sick and tired of people teasing my trans friends and especially if it would ever be directed towards me. They were laughing and hollering at him so I turned around and very aggressively asked if they had a problem, and very aggressively walked towards them and their faces changed from laughter to fear. All I did was get in their face and tell them how immature they were and how they are scum for being disrespectful to a person. Etc.


After we walked away they started saying stuff again and I wish I had really just called the police but then again they may not consider that harassment. Anyway. We go to school with theses kids. What's a good way to handle this situation next time around. I felt a little pride for sticking up for my friend.

[Mark3]

Sometimes you just have to stand up for yourself, your friends, and what you believe is right.!
Seldom would police even involve themselves in something like what you describe, no assault,
or injury other than strong words, which you had every right to say loudly.

But you have to stay safe, pick your battles carefully, and don't get yourself into a situation you might be assaulted and really harmed.
And just watch how things go at school, just ignore them, don't talk about it to others, and hopefully you'll have gained respect from
those involved, but be careful for a while anyway, just in case.

But all in all, WELL DONE.! I would be proud of you as a friend, and you should feel proud of yourself for standing up for yourself.

[Tysilio]

Well done, Wolfy. You should feel more than a little pride for what you did -- it takes courage and self-respect to do that.

My first thought was "Talk to the person at your school who deals with bullying, etc."

My second thought was a bit different: what these kids did is pack behavior -- if it'd been just one or two of them, they may well not have yelled at your friend. In a group like that, one of them is the alpha, and I'm guessing you know which one. How about talking to that kid one-on-one, in a friendly way, and explaining why it's not cool to act like that? If you can convince that one, they may well have enough influence over the others to nip that stuff in the bud another time.

Yeah, it would take some nerve, but you've shown you have that. I'd give it a try, and keep talking to the authorities as your backup plan.

In the meantime, if you encounter them again in a group, "Just ignore them" is good advice.

Oh, and -- yeah, you're a GREAT friend.