Human Rights - They are for Everyone

Warning...this is a long one. Video version coming soon.

From a recent article...

The same people fighting to limit abortion care are also working to deny transgender and LGBTQ+ people of their health care and identity. Far-right conservatives have launched a coordinated effort in state governments to control the most private parts of our lives: who we love and marry, our bodies and reproductive freedoms, and our decisions about when and if to have a family. It’s all a part of a misogynistic, homophobic and transphobic coordinated attack on bodily autonomy; all a part of a cynical campaign of control.

Ever since last year, in the US we have seen a massive amount of hate-filled bills and laws targeting the LGBTQ+ and transgender communities. They are literally sweeping the nation, and are already at an all-time high. Even before that, we were constantly looking over our shoulders - even in our own homes. The only difference is that for us - it's worse than ever before.

Not surprisingly (though heartbreaking), there has been very little concern or news about what's going on with regards to LGBTQ+ and transgender rights - except by our own communities, a few LGBTQ+ organizations, and some allies. But for the most part, our communities are the ones:

• Raising our voices
• Shedding tears
• Hiding in our homes
• Fearing for our lives
• Trying to decide if we need to move
• Protecting our children and other family members and friends
• Deciding just HOW to "fight for our rights"...when we feel like we're fighting alone

While the rest of the world remains silent.

I, along with many others from our communities have posted on various social media sites - LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and shared heartbreaking videos on TikTok, including this one:

This has been shared multiple times by myself and others - and other than a small amount of people (outside of our communities) responding...the. world. remains. silent. And I sit and I wonder - how can this be???

Feel free to watch the video. TRIGGER WARNING It's disgusting, and some of the most vile comments I've ever heard spoken about children. Black men in America have been killed by police for much less than what's said by these a$$h*1&$.

In a disclaimer added to the podcast after it was recorded, one of the cisgender straight white men says, “This is the part of the show where Elijah talks about things he shouldn’t have — it can’t be on the main internet but you can find it on Blaze TV dot com for the full uncensored video.” I mean...he's literally bragging and telling people that the uncensored version is even better!

At one point, one of the co-hosts laughs and says, “Yeah, we all have to pull a trans kid and drag them behind a truck.” And the conversation continues like this, "“How many trans kids did you kill today?”

“Uh — Six, they come with a toe tag."

I contacted the FBI and various big name news outlets - and NOTHING. I even reached out to HRC, PFLAG, the ACLU, and other organizations - and NOTHING. I reported the company's LinkedIn profile to LinkedIn...and though they responded...it's still active with its 21K followers.

Are transgender kids not as important as cisgender kids?

The cisgender straight white male and female politicians (and many others) across this country want everyone to believe that everything they're doing is to "protect the children" - including attempting to (and it looks like succeeding) overturn Roe vs. Wade. They want to protect children unless they happen to be black, female, Hispanic, Asian, Muslim, Buddhist, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary...I think you get where I'm going with this. Yet they are the ones hurting the children.

But...you wanna know what rips my heart into a million pieces, what makes me question whether love, kindness, and compassion really exist anymore??? You're not going to like my answer...but it's the truth. And sometimes the truth hurts.

First, let me say this. My wife and I are adamantly opposed to Roe vs. Wade being overturned - so much so that when we heard about the leak this week, we had knots in our stomachs and a rage built up inside of each of us that we just didn't know how to handle. So...when I say that I am livid about the government thinking they should be able to control a woman's right to make decisions about her own body - that is an understatement...and I've made my opinion known across all social media sites as well - and I'm not going to stop there.

But...back to what really saddens me and makes me question the sincerity of many people in my life. Back to what makes me firmly believe that for most people - if a bill is introduced or a law is passed that does not impact them or their family directly - it's not important. It doesn't affect them. They don't think about it. It doesn't matter.

And this goes for leaders and CEOs of companies that many of us work for - companies that constantly show up on various lists of the best, most inclusive companies for LGBTQ+ people.

When the leak came out about Roe vs. Wade possibly being overturned, nearly the entire nation (including many cisgender straight while males) started "virtually protesting", calling their senators, scheduling protests, taking to the streets in Washington, DC. Everywhere I looked, someone was talking about or posting about this. And while I understood why...and while I did the same thing...the first question that came to my mind was...

"Why hasn't it been the same for US...since last year when state legislators started introducing bills and passing SO MANY laws (fueled by discrimination and hate) to take away the rights of LGBTQ+ and transgender people, including our youth?"

Can anyone tell me why? Why are one marginalized group's lives and rights far less important than others? I genuinely want to know. Is it really because if it doesn't impact you or your family directly, it just doesn't matter? Is that it?

• This is a letter written by a father about his transgender child.?
• Here's another letter from a mom.

Leelah Alcorn, 17, was born a boy called Joshua, but despite telling her parents at an early age that she was trans, they replied that she was 'wrong' and sent her to therapy. She "unalived" herself. This is Leelah's suicide letter (which she posted on tumblr) that she left in 2014 when she walked out in front of a tractor trailer.

If you are reading this, it means that I have committed suicide and obviously failed to delete this post from my queue.

Please don’t be sad, it’s for the better. The life I would’ve lived isn’t worth living in… because I’m transgender. I could go into detail explaining why I feel that way, but this note is probably going to be lengthy enough as it is. To put it simply, I feel like a girl trapped in a boy’s body, and I’ve felt that way ever since I was 4. I never knew there was a word for that feeling, nor was it possible for a boy to become a girl, so I never told anyone and I just continued to do traditionally “boyish” things to try to fit in.

When I was 14, I learned what transgender meant and cried of happiness. After 10 years of confusion I finally understood who I was. I immediately told my mom, and she reacted extremely negatively, telling me that it was a phase, that I would never truly be a girl, that God doesn’t make mistakes, that I am wrong. If you are reading this, parents, please don’t tell this to your kids. Even if you are Christian or are against transgender people don’t ever say that to someone, especially your kid. That won’t do anything but make them hate them self. That’s exactly what it did to me.

My mom started taking me to a therapist, but would only take me to Christian therapists, (who were all very biased) so I never actually got the therapy I needed to cure me of my depression. I only got more Christians telling me that I was selfish and wrong and that I should look to God for help.

When I was 16 I realized that my parents would never come around, and that I would have to wait until I was 18 to start any sort of transitioning treatment, which absolutely broke my heart. The longer you wait, the harder it is to transition. I felt hopeless, that I was just going to look like a man in drag for the rest of my life. On my 16th birthday, when I didn’t receive consent from my parents to start transitioning, I cried myself to sleep.

I formed a sort of a “f*** you” attitude towards my parents and came out as gay at school, thinking that maybe if I eased into coming out as trans it would be less of a shock. Although the reaction from my friends was positive, my parents were pissed. They felt like I was attacking their image, and that I was an embarrassment to them. They wanted me to be their perfect little straight Christian boy, and that’s obviously not what I wanted.

So they took me out of public school, took away my laptop and phone, and forbid me of getting on any sort of social media, completely isolating me from my friends. This was probably the part of my life when I was the most depressed, and I’m surprised I didn’t kill myself. I was completely alone for 5 months. No friends, no support, no love. Just my parent’s disappointment and the cruelty of loneliness.

At the end of the school year, my parents finally came around and gave me my phone and let me back on social media. I was excited, I finally had my friends back. They were extremely excited to see me and talk to me, but only at first. Eventually they realized they didn’t actually give a s**t about me, and I felt even lonelier than I did before. The only friends I thought I had only liked me because they saw me five times a week.

After a summer of having almost no friends plus the weight of having to think about college, save money for moving out, keep my grades up, go to church each week and feel like s**t because everyone there is against everything I live for, I have decided I’ve had enough. I’m never going to transition successfully, even when I move out. I’m never going to be happy with the way I look or sound. I’m never going to have enough friends to satisfy me. I’m never going to have enough love to satisfy me. I’m never going to find a man who loves me. I’m never going to be happy. Either I live the rest of my life as a lonely man who wishes he were a woman or I live my life as a lonelier woman who hates herself. There’s no winning. There’s no way out. I’m sad enough already, I don’t need my life to get any worse. People say “it gets better” but that isn’t true in my case. It gets worse. Each day I get worse.

That’s the gist of it, that’s why I feel like killing myself. Sorry if that’s not a good enough reason for you, it’s good enough for me. As for my will, I want 100% of the things that I legally own to be sold and the money (plus my money in the bank) to be given to trans civil rights movements and support groups, I don’t give a s**t which one. The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren’t treated the way I was, they’re treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights. Gender needs to be taught about in schools, the earlier the better. My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say “that’s f***ed up” and fix it. Fix society. Please.

Goodbye,

(Leelah) Josh Alcorn

There's never been a more desperate attempt to erase our community, with anti-LGBT+ and anti-trans legislation surging across the US at an all-time high. We are portrayed as pedophiles, predators, groomers of children, and more.?

We're human - just like you. We live. We breathe. We hurt. We cry. We bleed. Just like you. If you can't accept that other people live different lives and have different experiences (that don't affect you), that doesn't mean we should not have the same rights. Nor does it mean that our having rights impedes on your rights - in any way, shape, form or fashion.?

If you don't see this as a human rights issue, and something you should absolutely care about, and be raising your voices and taking action on, you're a passive contributor.

With human rights, there's no middle ground, no in-between.?

Let me end by saying this...

Judge Alito lists out exactly what they're coming for next, because "None of these rights has any claim to being deeply rooted in history." Which rights, you ask?

• Interracial marriage
• Contraception
• Choices about your children's education
• Sterilization
• Same-sex marriage
• Any anything else they don't agree with

They are now making all of these bills and laws both intersectional and interconnected. Reproductive justice is about more than just abortion; it’s about eliminating the ways that all people, including the black community, the LGBTQ+ community, and other marginalized people are denied access to healthcare, rights, and dignity by these systems of oppression.

Wake up, America. We are all humans. And that should be enough to make us care - even when something doesn't directly impact our own lives.

I have already created a video of this post before I even shared it here. It helps being able to talk while your computer does all the typing.

For those of you who prefer watching and listening over reading, I'll post the video within the next few days.

I choose to be visible for those who can't be...because they're afraid - afraid of being abandoned, targeted, bullied, harmed, killed.? I choose to be visible for all the LGBTQ+ and transgender youth who need to know they are loved, they are supported, and they are not alone.

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