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The Trans Day of Remembrance is November 20th this year. Normally, I don't make news posts about all of the awareness icons that show up on the sidebar, but this one is important enough to me that I need to.
This day was started by Gwendolyn Ann Smith, a trans activist, in memory of Rita Hester. She was a transgender woman killed in 1998. The day is a vigil for all of the transgender people killed in the previous year.
"The Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence. I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost. With so many seeking to erase transgender people -- sometimes in the most brutal ways possible -- it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice."
- Transgender Day of Remembrance founder Gwendolyn Ann Smith
This may not be a very fun topic for Aywas, but this our reality -- mine, yours, everyone's. While it's difficult to hold a vigil online, please at least look at the list of transgender people killed this past year and remember them, think of them, at least once during the upcoming twenty four hours.
I would really appreciate it.
I personally donated $100 to GLAAD in honor of the day.
You can pick up a Transgender Pride Flag from the Advent Calendar today.
Posted by JAK
(#15) on Thu Nov 20, 2014 12:03am
- Orbby
(#41931)
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Posted on: Thu Nov 20, 2014 7:47am
If I was able to donate, I would. My husband and I are not transgender but his very close cousin is so this definitely hits home for us.
I looked through the list and it was the saddest thing I have ever seen but the one that really made my eyes well up was the 8 year old. It's horrible that people can't even be themselves and how they feel inside.
- Py (Rolytic)
(#48446)
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Posted on: Thu Nov 20, 2014 7:50am
That's 81 people too many.
- Licia
(#22410)
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Posted on: Thu Nov 20, 2014 8:02am
It's horrible that so many people died for something that hurts no one else at all. I wish I couldn't believe such horrible things happen everyday, but sadly I can and it makes me sick.
I don't think people get the concept of trigger words. Trigger words are not things used to shock the general population about issues that need to be addressed. Like hate crimes. It's about people with anxiety who have certain things that cause panic attacks. My triggers are men, yelling, angry people... reading certain things about men I know or things that happened close by... Different people have different triggers. Mine are based on past experiences, so I know already how horrible the thing is before it triggers my panic. This is from my experience, not speaking for anybody else exactly. Just trying to clarify I guess.
- Licia
(#22410)
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Posted on: Thu Nov 20, 2014 8:06am
If it sounded differently in my comment I'd like to say I don't think anyone should be killed. It looked weird after I posted. So basicly I agree it's awful and senseless. I'm not always the best with words.
- Sae
(#36255)
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Posted on: Thu Nov 20, 2014 8:09am
Thank you very much for this.
- Sharklore
(#1835)
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Posted on: Thu Nov 20, 2014 8:25am
So far in my life I have not faced persecution for being trans. I have been coerced into living discretely, I have been ridiculed, and I have been pressured into "changing my identity" as if that were a possibility. But my right to life has never been threatened, and my heart goes out to those who have either faced death threats, have been outright murdered, or have been passively murdered by slowly but surely being whittled and picked at until the only escape option seems to be death itself. For those who had been abased, but especially for those who have been harmed or killed, for the sole reason of having the courage to find themselves, I am so sorry. But your pain and deaths are not in vain, and your suffering stands as a testimony to people everywhere, regardless of their circumstance, who need a reason to stand. Bravery, especially bravery in the midst of torment, will not go overlooked or unnoticed.
- casixt 👑 lemny
(#7087)
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Posted on: Thu Nov 20, 2014 9:10am
Thank you for the newspost.
- Vex Verlain
(#63130)
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Posted on: Thu Nov 20, 2014 9:30am
Thank you so much for this news post. It is things like this that make me feel comfortable in the Aywas community--the admins' moral fortitude to address things that few other sites would choose to address. Thank you so much.
I do agree that the link deserved a trigger warning. Crowstone (#54793) did a good job of explaining why on page three. I am not easily triggered, but that does not prevent me from understanding that many people are. When you live a certain reality and move through the world in a certain way, you learn that there are limits to what you can expose yourself to before unhealthy consequences appear. Trigger warnings are a simple way to enable people to set boundaries, feel more in control, and in many cases manage their illness.
- The Wolfe
(#21863)
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Posted on: Thu Nov 20, 2014 9:36am
Thank you for putting this news post up. As a transman myself, I feel grief for my lost brothers and sisters and also their loved ones :'( I am grateful towards a few people that support me 100% no matter what the physical distance.
Posted on: Thu Nov 20, 2014 6:37am
This is heartbreaking. It makes me very sad.