When I heard about the tragedy in Orlando, I was devastated. Admittedly, I had become numb to hearing about each mass shooting catastrophe after another. Shock had been replaced by confusion; confusion as to why these events were becoming more and more common yet nothing was being done in response to them. However, this recent event hit very close to home for me. Being a gay male in The South, I often seek out gay clubs as a place to be completely open and feel safe while doing so. To have that sanctuary defiled by this awful act was mortifying. Furthermore, it was a sobering reminder that I have people in my own backyard who would rather me be dead than be happy. However, what really frustrated me is when a large portion of the population tried to discredit the fact that it was an attack against the LGBT community. Hardly anyone was calling it a hate crime, which is what it was. Instead, people shied away from using that term, insisting that it was a terrorist attack. While it indeed it was an act of terror, it was also a targeted violent assault based on prejudice (i.e. a hate crime). So why were people trying to ignore that fact? I realized that this reflected a much larger issue in today’s society.
Our country has made great strides in recent years regarding LGBT rights. The Marriage Equality Ruling was truly groundbreaking, but there is still much to be done. Outright homophobia has become increasingly frowned upon by the majority of society, which is a great accomplishment. However, another problem is becoming more apparent as time goes on; erasure of the problems still facing the LGBT community. This is a subtler version of homophobia/transphobia/etc. While subtle, it can be just as damaging. With the Orlando shooting, people didn’t want to label it as a hate crime because that would show that our community is under attack and still faces oppression. There is a misconception that homophobia still doesn’t exist, that gay people really don’t face any problems. People try to devalue our struggle, and in turn devalue our identities as a whole. These people who think we somehow made a choice to be this way are constantly attacking our identities.
Another perfect example of this is the recent bathroom bill in North Carolina. Here we have an act of legislation that is forcing transgender individuals to use the bathroom opposite of their gender identity. In doing so, society is discrediting their own gender identity and trying to force them to revert back to what they had already rejected. Society is essentially saying that a transgender identity isn’t valid. This perpetuates a dangerous mindset, one that does a lot more damage than people realize.
There is a devastating issue of mental and emotional oppression of the LGBT community that is too often ignored. In a society that devalues the struggle LGBT people face, that discredits our own identities; it perpetuates a mindset of complacency and willful ignorance. Ignorance persists even in the face of overwhelming instances of this damaging theme in our society. We are bullied in school mercilessly; told we are lesser, an abomination, abnormal. We live in a society that doesn’t allow us to reconcile what we feel on the inside, and it’s literally killing us. LGBT youth are twice as likely to commit suicide, and approximately 49 percent of transgender individuals have attempted suicide. LGBT individuals represent almost 40 percent of all homeless youth. This is supposedly a country where it is “okay to be gay, bisexual, transgender, etc.” but is it? One in 12 trans women of color are murdered and transgender homicide rates are at an all-time high. Meanwhile we have horrific incidents like the one in Orlando and the one that was thankfully prevented in Los Angeles where we are being intentionally targeted and massacred. Yet people still want to deny the fact that this society is still perpetuating a mindset that is killing us.
My parents are always wary of me being completely out. They realize that there are twisted people out there who want to harm me over something I have absolutely no control over. They don’t want me to broadcast the fact that I am gay. What they don’t realize is that we have to scream to be heard. We still face oppression and still are getting ignored. If we don’t speak up, then nothing will change. LGBT youth will keep getting kicked out of their homes, will keep committing suicide. Transgender people will still face scrutiny over a decision that they did not make lightly in the first place. We will keep getting killed for simply trying to exist. While we have made amazing progress, it’s not near enough. We are here, we exist, and we are still under attack. Something must be done.
