Editor:
I am uncomfortable with HRC taking a leadership role on Transgender Day of Remembrance.
HRC spent over a dozen years fighting transgender inclusion in the [Employment Non-Discrimination Act] bill and essentially made themselves the lesbian and gay enemy of the trans communities. Elizabeth Birch literally said gender identity would be included in ENDA over her dead body. The last ENDA scandal was not the first time HRC and Barney Frank acted to remove trans language from the bill.
In the mid-’90s, the first time the ENDA bill was introduced, there was an uproar because the then-HRCF wanted trans language removed from the bill. Apparently they had asked Sen. Jeffords, who had sponsored the bill, to remove the wording. I asked the HRCF communications director about it and he said that was a lie and to call Sen. Jeffords’ aide and he would tell me that was a lie. I called the aide and he told me that HRCF had asked him to remove the transgender language. He knew this because he had written the trans-inclusive language.
Now HRC wants to present themselves as caring and trans inclusive. This feels disingenuous. What are they supposed to say: “We approve of killing transgender people”? The problem is not just me: Many transgender people who are acutely aware of HRC’s history with transgender issues want nothing to do with the organization and will not support any organization that works with it. This is like the John Birch Society organizing a memorial for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
There are events happening with Day of Remembrance that make no sense at all, such as a tea dance. This is a funeral for transgender murder victims and should be regarded seriously.
Before HRC takes a lead role on Transgender Day of Remembrance, they should first atone for the damage they have done to the trans communities. But personally, I have no idea how they would do that.
Cei Bell Philadelphia
Editor:
Last week, when enjoying a night out with some coworkers of mine, a man assaulted me in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. After approaching him when he walked through my group of friends, he punched me in the face and then slammed my head down on the pavement. I blacked out for a few minutes, but my friends and a passerby came to my rescue. Thankfully, a police officer was stationed in the neighborhood and arrested the individual. When arrested, he repeatedly said, “He was coming on to me.”
I suffered a bloody nose, black eye, cuts on my face, broken glasses, a concussion and a bruised side. These wounds will heal. But I won’t allow this to scar my soul and change me from being the proud person I strive to be. And this incident will not change that. My parents automatically pinned this individual as crazy. That is too easy. To say that this person acted out on insane impulses excuses the behavior and makes it the exception when I think this is a reality. There are many people who would physically assault someone because they are gay and assume they are coming on to them. This gay-panic defense only fuels intolerance, ignorance and homophobia. When these become the norm in our society, that is when insanity is achieved.
My response has been that I want to process this incident, deal with it, share my side of the story and move on. Hopefully in sharing my story, others will learn that we live in a world where we are not the same, but still all equal.
While I continue to watch these amazing “It Gets Better” videos on YouTube, I want to initiate a conversation that we still have a long way to go. I wish I could have told Asher Brown, Seth Walsh and Tyler Clementi, “We need you. We need you here to witness that evolution of progress in this society. But it is still a process. Even when it gets better, some days it is hard, and that makes it feel worse. But, that’s OK. That is life. And we all want you here to experience it.”
Alexander Kacala South Philadelphia