How to kill a Transperson

I did not write this, but found this back in Feb of this year, sorry I did not edit the article so I'm not responsible for the spell checks and grammar.

> How to kill a transperson
> February 15th, 2008
> By Ceridwen Troy
> This article was written on Friday, Feb. 15, 2008.
>
> On Saturday, Sanesha Stewart, a transwoman of color living in the
Bronx, was murdered in her own apartment. She was 25 years old. Herjavascript:void(0)
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accused killer, Steve McMillan, had known her for months, yet when he
was arrested, he claimed to have been enraged to find out that she
was what the media coverage called not really a woman. He stabbed her
over and over again in the chest and throat. She tried to fight him
off; there were defensive wounds found on her hands.
>
> On Tuesday, eighth-grader Lawrence King was in a classroom in
Oxnard, Calif. He was openly gay, and often came to school in gender-
bending clothing, makeup, jewelry and shoes. According to another
student, it was freaking the guys out. One of them shot Lawrence in
the head. He was declared brain-dead on Wednesday.
>
> It is easy to look at cases like this and think, how tragic. How
random. How senseless.
>
> But then, you forget how easy it is to kill a transgender person.
>
> You forget that all across this nation, faith leaders of all
stripes, men and women who claim to speak for God Himself, call us
sinners, call us abominations, call us evil.
>
> You forget that at best the media depicts us as something to be
pitied, something that our families must be strong and overcome. At
worst, they depict us as abnormal, exploiting our bodies for ratings,
exploiting the publics fear of us for shock value.
>
> You forget that on a good day, law enforcement agents are
neglectful of us, and that far more frequently they join in our
harassment. You forget the transwomen of color who are rounded up on
suspicions of prostitution. You forget the beatings that go
uninvestigated. You forget the molestation and rape we face when we
are arrested.
>
> You forget the medical establishment that drains our wallets for
the therapy and hormones and surgeries they tell us we need. You
forget the way we are then refused treatment when we are dying, dying
of treatable diseases, dying of easily patched wounds.
>
> You forget that, by the law of the land, it is legal in the
majority of states to deny us employment, to deny us service, to deny
us housing.
>
> You forget the shelters and the rape crisis centers that will not
allow us through their doors.
>
> You forget that many of us do not even have family to turn to when
we are at our most desperate.
>
> You forget that the leaders of our own community have told us that
it is not time for us to have rights, that it is not pragmatic for us
to be considered worthy of the same respect as other human beings.
>
> You forget that in our own circles, it is considered a negative
thing to be too flamboyant. You forget the way our pride parades have
been derided by our own community. You forget the scorn heaped upon
drag queens by other gay men. You forget the fear to be seen in
public with a friend who is considered too open, too queer.
>
> You forget the way it seeps into the minds of transgender people,
too. You forget the way a transsexual will shout that she is not a
crossdresser, as if there were something wrong with that. You forget
the catty names we call each other if we don't pass"
>
> You forget how many of us take our own lives every year.
>
> You forget because the noise is always there, a constant drone in
the background. Every newspaper piece that calls a transwoman he
instead of she. Every talk show host who spends an hour talking about
our genitals. Every childish taunt about looking like a tranny. Every
transperson who talks about themselves as true transsexuals. Every
activist and politician who tells us now is not the time.
>
> You forget too, how easy it is to kill a person of color, with
myths about gangstas and lies about immigrants. You forget how easy
it is to kill a person living in poverty, cutting off her welfare
because she is suuposedly being paid to breed. You forget how easy it
is to kill a sex worker, with sex-shaming language, slinging about
slurs like hooker and whore.
>
> You forget the message hidden inside every single one of those
statements.
>
> You are less than I am. You are not worthy of the rights and
respect that I am worthy of.
>
> You are not human.
>
> It is very easy to kill something that you do not see as human.
>
> It is very easy to kill a transperson.
>
> Rev. Joshua A. Holiday, Servant&Messenger
> The Joshua TransGeneration
>
> When things don't go expected as planned, do you still remain
faithful?
>
> 1Peter2:9 Ye are a chosen people. Who, after being in the darkness
for a long time, are now coming out into the marvelous light.