Last year at this time, I was heavily involved with preparing for the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. I was on the committee that planned the event, I was the keynote speaker at the rally the day before, I led the parade, and I acted as the "Master of Ceremonies" at the evening's event itself, and of course, I blogged about it. All in all, we had a very nice turnout and quite a bit of participation. I also tried to raise awareness in the Law School -- I provided black arm-bands for people to wear, I put up flyers around the school, and I sent out a school-wide email discussing the event. I got very little response from the law school community; only a handful asked for and wore arm-bands, only 1 or 2 showed up for the rally, and none came the night of the event.
But, I did raise consciousness at some level. I got, in response to the email I sent, a reply from a law student that suggested that I was overstating the case of violence toward transgenders, that the reasons for their deaths might not have been their transgenderism, but some other reason -- such as their perceived status as prostitutes. In the end, helpful commenters, supporters (including Michigan blogger, Heidi) and I either convinced the other side that they were attacking unfairly and unnecessarily, or they simply gave up.
But, this year, I've done nothing to plan for or facilitate this event. Not because I no longer attach importance to it, but simply because I've been swamped with a too heavy law school class schedule (not to mention a new romance). On the contrary, I have recently had cause to reflect on the fact that very little attention, in the scheme of things, ever gets paid to transgender people. What attention does come our way is either because we yell and scream and demand respect (but rarely get it), or we get physically assaulted.
In today's Between the Lines, there is an article (under the byline of a friend and supporter) about a recent assault on two transgender women in Pontiac, MI.
According to a statement police spokesman Sgt. William Ware gave the Oakland Press Oct. 25, bigotry may have been a motive in the attack on the two trans women.
"The person (who attacked them) was calling them names and taunting them," while following the women home from the Liberty Bar according to Sgt. Ware.
Police did not have a good description of the suspects in the assault at press time.
"The description of the perpetrators varies between the two victims," said Detective Jaclyn Wilton, who is working on the case. "I think there were some very serious injuries to the two victims, and perhaps some memory loss and confusion. We're looking for anyone who has any information to share that with us."
If that wasn't enough, one newspaper who reported the incident assaulted them yet again, by referring to them both with masculine pronouns.
The Tuesday, Oct. 25 edition of the Oakland Press identified the two transgender victims of the Oct. 19 assault as "two gays."
The report repeated the mistake in the second paragraph, saying, "The two men, one of whom cross-dresses and the other is transgendered..."
In the year since the last commeration of TDOR, there have been 12 more murders in this country alone and that does not count the assaults that did not result in death. It's still not safe for us out there, people. The education must continue. I am sorry that I did not do more this year. If you can, please attend the TDOR event (scheduled for November 20) in your area. [UPDATE] - Original flyer had a typo in it. The local rally is scheduled for Thursday 11/17 (not to be confused with the events on the actual day).
Quoting again from today's article:
Stay Safe
According to Triangle Foundation Director of Policy Sean Kosofsky, "Everyone in the GLBT community must be very careful, very alert when they're leaving bars and bookstores and other venues like them. This might signal the rise of more incidents in Pontiac, or it may not, but folks need to take very careful precautions." Kosofsky made the following recommendations:
1. Be incredibly aware of your surroundings. Are there individuals present who don't look like they belong there?
2. Park and walk in well-lit areas. If private parking is available, that is the safest option.
3. Travel in groups. Have folks walk you to your car or other places. Not only is there safety in numbers, you'll also have witnesses if anything does happen.
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