Dangerous areas

[Tristan]

So I was just wondering if anyone else have live in a area that's dangerous where the tow/city or whatever feels like it's ok to miss treat trans people if they know your trans and def if they know your a activist. I'm just curious because I was having a talk with another trans person about why they felt its wrong for me to hide my past. Also has ably else been like punched, jumped, spit on or anything like that? And do you know of any local trans activist that have been killed in your area? Just curious and thought I would compare with others

[Oriah]

I used to live in a really bad place in California (trust me, not all of Cali is as pleasant and accepting as everyone seems to think).  I got into my fair share of action there.

Once a guy started talking dirty to me on a streetcorner where I was panhandling (I was homeless at the time) and grabbed my breasts.  He knew I was trans, since I had dealt with him once before in the past....and up close I wasn't 100% passable(though from more than a few feet, nobody could tell).  He was probably a good 210 pounds, and I about 120 pounds, so he probably assumed he had the upper hand and that I wouldn't try anything.  I hit him square on the temple and smashed his expensive looking glasses which seemed to really get him angry.  Anyway, he started punching back, and we spent about eight minutes thrashing each other good while cars at the intersection cheered me on (nobody came to help, but they all thought it was great fun to watch a little girl fending off a man twice her size)  At one point the fight got to the ground and I shoved my long thumbnail into his eye, which got him off of me.  He went for a big chunk of broken sidewalk coming at me with it, but I evaded him with footwork, so he tried to shot-put it at my head, but missed me by about a yard....I'm guessing his depth perception was off. (his eye was bleeding pretty badly).

At that point the wail of sirens was drawing near, and he took off running.  I was in no shape to run, nor did I have reason to.  The cops never caught the guy, and I didn't pursue pressing charges.  I walked away from it with some scrapes, a bunch of bruises, a broken rib, and some hair pulled out of my head, and feeling pretty lucky.  I was sore for the next two weeks.

There were some other instances where some people tried to start a fight, but those times didn't amount to much.  Although, once, in a bad part of the same town a guy I didn't know came at me asking how much it cost for sexual favors.  I said something to the effect of "If you're going to approach me, you'd better come with respect,and I don't play those games" when all of the sudden from out of nowhere this drug dealer I knew just came up and clocked him right in the face and broke his nose.  It was pretty cool.

Just goes to show, even in the worst of places, there's always some good

[TerriT]

I used to live in a really bad place in California (trust me, not all of Cali is as pleasant and accepting as everyone seems to think).  I got into my fair share of action there.

^This is truth.

I never had anything like your brawls, but I have had a fair amount of slurs and stuff yelled at me. I pretty much just ignore it. But even in places where it's supposedly super safe, there are always >-bleeped-<s.

[Tristan]

Wow Oriah that's horrible. I'm so sorry he thought he could take advantage if you like that just because of the situation. Yes it does seem like some areas aren't so friendlyZ that's why I started this thread to hopefully get it out there

[Hikari]

Thing is even in pretty good area like Washington, DC you don't have to go far to find bad things. Even in the same city quadrant things vary dramatically. I can think of more than a few transpeople shot in the past five years who were probably only a mile or two from some of the safest places in the world. I am not sure how it is in Europe but at least here in the US every major city has parts where people just don't respect life the way they ought to.

Even moving to a transfriendly lower crime city like San Fransisco doesn't make you totally safe, even in that city there are places I wouldn't walk at night.

[JRD]

There are no dangerous areas for me in the town I live in, day or night. Knowing everyone helps a lot with that.

[Oriah]

Wow Oriah that's horrible. I'm so sorry he thought he could take advantage if you like that just because of the situation.

Yeah, it wasn't good.....but in the end, I was surprised and proud of myself......I was sexually abused before transition and wasn't strong enough to stand up for myself.  This time around I was....and I was AMAZED and what I was capable of.....I had taken some self defense martial arts courses that a dojo offered me for free after I got mugged about a year before that.  I only took about two months of classes, but it really empowered me.....it didn't turn me into a world class fighter by any stretch of the imagination, but it gave me the ability to hold my own against an opponent that was significantly stronger and larger than me.

I recommend self defense training for anyone that gets the opportunity to take it.  Especially for those in bad areas.

[Tristan]

I agree. There are dangerous areas everywhere. I just have been curious about the other places in the North America and the rest of the world. I hope to bring awareness to theses kinda of issues soon when I'm able too.
And girl your right self defense classes are a must . I am proud of you big time for standing up for yourself in that situation

[Oriah]

I am proud of you big time for standing up for yourself in that situation

Thanks!  That put a big smile on my face

[barbie]

I used to live in a really bad place in California (trust me, not all of Cali is as pleasant and accepting as everyone seems to think).  I got into my fair share of action there.

Wow. You were very lucky.

In my life time, I got that kind of assault just one time. It was a suburban area closer to the DC of the U.S. At that time, I were wearing 4-inch ankle boots and could not run. I realized how high-heels make women defenseless. Anyway, I was lucky as I survived. The assaulter just ran away after realizing he could not penetrate. In a week later, I heard from a local radio station that a woman was raped at the same place, and I was sure that the same man did.

Here in my country (S. Korea), young ladies and I can walk on heels even at midnight. Self-defense is usually useless here, as the court punishes hard anybody who injured other people, whether it was for self-defense or not. If I assault anybody for whatever the reason, I will go to jail or make an agreement to pay a minimum of ca. USD 10,000 in damages to the victim. 

I have traveled around the world, and can say that the U.S. is one the most dangerous region in the world. Japan, Canada, European countries and Southeast Asian countries were very safe for me.

barbie~~

[izzy]

Wow. You were very lucky.

In my life time, I got that kind of assault just one time. It was a suburban area closer to the DC of the U.S. At that time, I were wearing 4-inch ankle boots and could not run. I realized how high-heels make women defenseless. Anyway, I was lucky as I survived. The assaulter just ran away after realizing he could not penetrate. In a week later, I heard from a local radio station that a woman was raped at the same place, and I was sure that the same man did.

Here in my country (S. Korea), young ladies and I can walk on heels even at midnight. Self-defense is usually useless here, as the court punishes hard anybody who injured other people, whether it was for self-defense or not. If I assault anybody for whatever the reason, I will go to jail or make an agreement to pay a minimum of ca. USD 10,000 in damages to the victim. 

I have traveled around the world, and can say that the U.S. is one the most dangerous region in the world. Japan, Canada, European countries and Southeast Asian countries were very safe for me.

barbie~~

DC of the US is one of the most dangerous areas in the US ironically. The trans murder and povety rate over that area is unbelievable despite being in the capital. None of the money trickles down to the lower class.

[nessa76]

There are no dangerous areas for me in the town I live in, day or night. Knowing everyone helps a lot with that.

Strangely enough, towns are different than big cities 

[big kim]

The best self defense is not to be there.If you have to go to a war zone stay alert,always have enough money for a cab or bus,stick to well lit areas with plenty people about.Never allow yourself to be taken away to another place in a car.

[Calder Smith]

I haven't personally been discriminated against in any way but I live in a pretty dangerous area. I live in Buffalo, New York which is one of the most dangerous and bigoted cities in the United States. I haven't heard any trans related hate crimes here in a while but I bet there has been some.

[LeftistLeslie]

I'm very concerned about this as a newbie trans woman who is still learning to pass. I've been warned away from certain places while dressed as a woman. What recourse do I have and what can I do to protect myself? How do I find out what areas are dangerous to be trans in?

[Rose City Rose]

I relocated to Oregon before beginning my transition.  Previously I was living in North Little Rock, AR and I did not like my chances there.

Portland is not only accepting, there are numerous excellent resources for low-income transfolk.  I have no regrets in relocating, even if I've been dirt poor since I came here.