The Transitive Property: Remembering Our Dead
Monday, November 15th, 2010 | By Cristopher Bautista
http://www.stanforddaily.com/2010/11/15/the-transitive-property-remembering-our-dead/ (http://www.stanforddaily.com/2010/11/15/the-transitive-property-remembering-our-dead/)
This time of the year is always difficult for me. The first TDoR vigil I attended was during my sophomore year, in 2008. I remember it clearly—we were still reeling from the passing of Prop 8. It was well past sunset, and we gathered in the sculpture garden by Roble. We stood in a circle and passed around a list of the transgender people who had been killed that year. One by one, we read each name, their date of death and how they were murdered.
I was on the verge of coming out to myself then. And I was terrified. I remember how scared I was then, listening to name after name, murder after murder. These were not just names. These were people who were just trying to live their lives, people who deserved to be happy, who deserved to be loved, who deserved a good job, a decent education, a family—people like me. But they were dead, because someone thought they didn't deserve to live.