Seattle Area Trans Women Are Being Attacked by Groups of Men - In the Last Year, the County Prosecutor's Office Has Filed Charges in Four Such Cases
Seattle Area Trans Women Are Being Attacked by Groups of Men
Seattle Area Trans Women Are Being Attacked by Groups of Men - In the Last Year, the County Prosecutor's Office Has Filed Charges in Four Such Cases
Seattle area trans women need to start carrying guns and hitting the range...
One of the hard truths that members of majority groups struggle to internalize is that for many minority groups, the 2nd Amendment really doesn't exist.
See the case of CeCe McDonald. She was being attacked and assaulted by a group of bigots. Her life was in danger. She defended herself and killed her attacker. The prosecutor didn't accept her right to self defense and threw the book at her. Facing the prospect of murder charges, she pled down to second degree manslaughter. She was then forced to spend 3.5 years in a male prison. One of her surviving attackers was charged with second-degree assault and got out on time served.
Or consider the case of Jaia Cruz under very similar circumstances. The DA through the book at her and she was vilified in the media.
If you are a trans woman and you use lethal force to defend yourself, you can be sure of a few things:
In practice, if you are a trans woman, the 2nd Amendment doesn't actually exist as a tool of self defense. Gun rights folks love to say "better judged by twelve than carried by six." But what they forget is that there are fates in this world that are worse than death.
It's a bummer how the response to these sorts of stories always turns into "victims should be doing this or that," because why the hell does someone need to learn how to be effectively violent in order to just goddamn exist in this world, but I have to admit this isn't bad advice.
One other thing I would suggest trans women do is organize and travel with groups whenever possible. Because a) one armed person is still really vulnerable to being ambushed and subdued before they can do anything, if you have at least two people you can watch each other's backs, b) finding the good people who live in your neighborhood and helping each other out is a lifehack for so so so many things (childcare, learning new recipes, home improvement, saving money by getting donated clothes and kids toys and stuff, etc.).
It seems so bizarre because generally Seattle is one of the most trans-positive cities in the US.
I’m sure the people who did this came from outside the area. The example was on Capital Hill, a place known to be a gay neighborhood.
Formerly known to be a gay neighborhood, to be fair, but still generally a very inclusive area.
Capitol Hill has been a magnet for right-wingers coming to Seattle this year - most notably an anti-trans rally by a Christian theocratic organization from Spokane that led to counter-protestors clashing with police.
It's a pretty famous neighborhood for its queer population as well as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHOP/CHAZ) during the 2020 protests, which makes it a target for right-wing agitators despite its strong local community.
Always how it is. Philly is an amazingly, deeply progressive place that started what we would consider today's interpretation of "progressive" way way back in 1812. Racists and bigots absolutely exist in the city but for the most part, every instance of political violence in the past 10 years has either been actual Nazis (Patriot Front) shipping in via U-Haul, or goobers from the outer counties driving in specifically to shoot guns at windows and signs and drive out of the city with their plates covered, using one of those friggin remote controlled piezoelectric tint plate blockers
It's still near Oregon.
I wish there were a group of cis men who would be willing to open-carry where it's legal, on demand, and accompany any trans person to and from anywhere they gotta go. I'd do it if I weren't a pacifist, but maybe it's still useful even to just have a walking buddy.
It's a shame that this is where we are as a society, but then again, I'm just using the same argument I've been fed my whole life about guns being critical towards creating a more polite society.
Skip the middle man (literally) and arm the trans community.
community
This part is key. Organized mutual defense (and other kinds of mutual aid).
I do not disagree, but, not every trans person wants to carry a weapon — their existence should just be respected like any other person around here. I mention my thought because those people still need protection, for both their physical and emotional safety.
Idk. Being trans is hard enough, and being a cis white het man is pretty much easy mode comparatively. My thought was moreso that trans people really deserve it that we lean in more using the things we know we have at our disposal. I don't claim whiteness, but I am unquestionably white if asked by other white people, and I know for a fact that white dudes are much more likely to treat me with respect off the bat. I don't like that, but I can exploit it to keep people who are just trying to live their fucking life in peace safe. I can't imagine a more stereotypically 'American' cause than that.
I'd be down to do that, but it doesn't just have to be cis men. A gun should be enough of a deterrent for almost anyone regardless of who it's on.
should cis Men offer to walk trans women home? can an outreach like this be networked and would it be safer for them?
I am genuinely not sure how that kind of outreach would work, or how to protect anything that is out there from bigots weaponizing it, but I recognize that there's a need and that cis men like myself (especially those of us with some height on us) have a surprising amount of power to prevent other cis dudes from fucking around.
I am not much for toxic masculinity, but I've spent enough time embroiled in it to know that groups of guys will back off anyone who they think might have a weapon. Hell, I've personally seen gangbangers actively ward other gangbangers off from cat-calling a woman wearing a wedding ring. I learned later that this is common wisdom because the potential damage that a scorned husband can cause is ridiculous. I think there is something to just utilizing that effect for, y'know, good instead of evil.
Jesus Christ, the random bystanders joining in on the queer bashing too.
Yeah, but in at least one of these a random bystander high school student jumped in to defend a trans person, and in another a group of bystanders showed up right after an attack to help out. Most people are good, it just doesn't take very many bad ones to make terrible things happen.
Bit of a silver lining to some really shitty incidents, I guess.
https://youtube.com/@squidtips
He is on the front lines protecting trans folks in Seattle.
Never heard of him before but he seems awesome, thanks!
why is it always trans women in the news, and not trans men?
A lot of the violence against trans men is in the form of rape/other forms of SA, and we eventually learn not to go to the police when that happens. (Ask me how I know!) So it won’t make the news, either.
There are more MtF transpeople than FtM.
This is not well-supported by a consensus of research.
ARM UP.
They are being attacked in a gay mecca. Hiding the fact that they are here and who they are is exactly what these fucks want.
Arm up, get allies on board is more in the line with the seattle ethos. We don't put up with that shit around here:
Fuck no. I'm proud to be out. If they want trouble, the queens are gonna make it a scene 😘
Washington, and especially Seattle, should be a safe place to be yourself. These monsters are the ones who need to hide what they are.
As a minority in America, 100% agree and also take classes including active drills because speaking as a hunter, you will need to learn to regulate yourself in a even low stakes situations.
Don’t trust myself sadly
If you are against or incapable of owning a firearm, I will recommend you purchase a high powered flashlight. You can blind a would be a tracker from further away then you think, especially if you get a flashlight that is so strong the flashlight nerds call them "throwers".
I dont know if lemmy had flashlight nerds, but reddit does for sure.
o/