What I Said
Posted by helenboyd – November 21, 2011

My comments at last night's Transgender Day of Remembrance:

http://www.myhusbandbetty.com/2011/11/21/what-i-said/

As far as I know, this is the first Transgender Day of Remembrance for Appleton, and that's cool. Thank you to all of you who made this happen. I don't usually go to them myself, because for me, not remembering isn't even a possibility. Because we know that when we leave the house, or when our loved ones leave the house, there is some chance that some person out there will decide our loved one's gender is wrong and bad. & We know there are people in the world who think that violence is a way to fix their own fear, and cops who think our lives aren't important, and courts that think panic is a legitimate reason for murder.

What I'd like instead is a day that I can't remember the violence committed against people who live their genders despite transphobia, who believe in their own dignity and right to exist. What I'd like is a day when the faces of those who were brutally murdered for being who they are don't flip through my mind as reminders of the fear I need to live with. What I'd like is a day when no day like this needs to happen.