Opinion
By E.V.E. Sacheverell
By now, most of you will have heard about the shooting at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. Most of you will also likely have heard about the fact that the shooter, Audrey Hale, was allegedly a transgender man. Yet, what those of you who are cisgender may fail to understand is the way in which this tragic event could very well hasten the timeline of the genocide against the transgender community.
The Republican Party fearmongers about everything from drag queens to pronouns. In order to see this, you need only flip to Fox News, read their articles, or read or watch any of the news from any of the multitude of other far-right news sites. Recently there has been a shift in their focus from the broader LGBTQ+ community to specifically targeting the transgender community.
What will truly come of this tragedy is yet to be seen, but Republicans are already calling for the disarming of the transgender community. To say that that’s new would be a major understatement, but this writer fears that finally, they’ll have their way. Unlike communities of cisgender heterosexuals, the transgender community is constantly sitting on a precipice. That precipice is the difference between our rights and free-falling into unchecked oppression.
Laws are already being enacted across this country targeting transgender people. In Florida there is a law that would make it legal to kidnap the children of those suspected of being transgender parents, or if their child is suspected of being transgender. In other states there have been drag bans enacted, which may seem unrelated to transgender people.
Yet, the laws surrounding these bans are often so vague that they target anyone dressed differently than what is considered ‘appropriate’ for their sex assigned at birth. These laws are nothing short of what was done to queer and transgender people in Nazi Germany, along with the other cohorts who saw their rights rapidly stripped away until all that faced them was the gas chamber ahead.
Up until this point, we have been able to count on our allies to keep us just barely above the water, but now it is questionable as to whether we will have as many to count on. Other communities, communities with exorbitant amounts of privilege, do not need to worry about losing their friends over one member of their community committing an unspeakable act.
That is because the innocence of others in their community is considered a given. However, for the transgender community, our innocence is not a given. We are held to an impossible standard, one where a single misstep means increased, ill-begotten scrutiny.
I live my life simply. I go to school, come home, do my schoolwork, and write in my spare time. When I’m not doing these things, I’m with my partner or friends, trying my best to enjoy my life. Yet, any time I go to the bathroom or the doctor or to an interview for a job I worry that I’ll be clocked and that I’ll be in danger. That danger varies, for it could be anything from being murdered for being in the ‘wrong’ bathroom to not receiving adequate healthcare on the basis of my identity.
Now, I may have to contend with the fear that my second amendment rights will be taken away, or that, because of the actions of an individual, my entire community will be declared mentally unstable and stripped of other rights.
Some of you may be desensitized to what’s happening in this country currently with the constant shootings that go on here. These senses of complacency are exactly what members of the far-right desire. They desire that you not think about the repercussions or the possibilities, because if you don’t you won’t do anything about them.
These shootings will not just stop. No matter who’s committing them, we ourselves must be committed to the safety of our nation. That safety does not lie in taking the rights of oppressed minorities, but rather in the safety of them. As we speak, children are being gunned down, minorities are being gunned down, Americans are being gunned down. Without our youth and without our diversity our country will not only be lackluster, but authoritarian.
You won’t be able to speak up in defense of others, you won’t be able to protest, and most of all you won’t be able to vote. Perhaps it’s a little cliche, but it’s essential. The fate of this country hinges on our foremost right: The right to vote.
E.V.E. Sacheverell is a writer for the Voice.
Voice writer Hope Goodrich edited the article.
Comentários