On the last Monday in May, Americans celebrate Memorial Day, which honors soldiers who died while in service. I'm for the observance. I think we ought to take every opportunity to remember those who were taken too soon for unfortunate reasons.
Every November twentieth, I along with others observe a different Memorial Day. This day is for people who died in a war that they could never escape from. A war that was at times fought in their very own homes. A war that was at times fought against their own families. These soldiers died fighting for their right to be. They died for the causes of love and humanity and the truth only they understood. These people stood up to a world that hated them and wanted them dead. They stood up to a world that taught them to hate themselves and wish themselves dead. They fought a universe for the right to live their lives.
And they didn't make it.
I would say they didn't make it home, but the truth is, unlike the returning veteran, there is no home for the transgendered. There's no opportunity to come back to shore and hug your family and meet your old friends for a drink. That's because the war against transgender is a war that is fought on every nook and cranny of life. It's a genocide that's propagated in your television sitcoms, and assisted by your city counsel. It's an all out attack on the unestablished by the established, and until every single person can accept every single person, the death march will continue. Until nobody is afraid to love their neighbors no matter where they sit on the gender spectrum, people will be murdered. Until it's accepted and respected that not everyone is able to use an outdated and unrealistic standard to understand themselves, our siblings will be murdered in back alleys and left to the rats. Until solidarity is the norm, lives will be lost on hospital beds and in ambulances as doctors stare and ridicule. Every second of every day, unless.
All my passion. All my hope. All my strength and all my love. Until victory.
-Charles Peckham
November 20, 2010
Chuck Damage-
ReplyDeleteWith all due respect, nah, you're not boring.
:-)
I would appreciate it if you read my blog, http://emilysvirtualrocket.blogspot.com. The blog is a virtual compendium of articles from newspapers, newsweeklies, and magazines, both popular and scholarly. The articles have a viewpoint toward transgender / transsexual news. If you like it, please put
"Emily's virtual rocket "under the title commonly called
"Blogroll". Thank you so much!
Sincerely,
ezs