What is one to say about the murders at Colorado Springs? Not enough information has emerged on motives, but killing people in an LGBT club does smack of hatred. I am devastated at the news of this attack on Transgender Day of Remembrance. Yet I still believe that the public at large are not buying into the anti-trans narrative. I'd like to illustrate this with two tales from Britain this month.
The first is the attempt by a group of J K Rowling supporters who wanted to unseat Joanne Harris (a novelist known for works such as Chocolat) as chair of the Society of Authors' management committee. The Society of Authors is a trade union for published writers and I was a member for several years till I left the UK. The reasons for the attack are complex but Harris's support for the trans community is, she believes, the main one. The resolution was resoundingly defeated by over 80% of members and an open letter by many authors praised her as chairman and condemned the “seemingly coordinated attacks against her by a small, but vocal, minority, who have become known to many of us who use Twitter as persons who regularly use their own platforms to intimidate and bully those who do not agree with their ideologies regarding trans and non-binary people.”
The second is a similar attempt to change the National Trust. This is a charitable organisation that, since the 1890s, has bought up land and historic buildings for preservation. The many gripes of the takeover group included criticism of the trust's inclusivity policy and attendance at Pride events. These are apparently "divisive" and a waste of money. The resolution was defeated by twice as many as voted for it. None of the takeover groups candidates were elected.
Both organisations are predominantly middle class and therefore represent only a portion of the British population. Neverthless they are both influential: the National Trust has over 5 million members and the Society of Authors represents people of considerable public influence.
I remain convinced that the transphobes are getting more vocal only because they are shrinking to an ever diminishing minority. And a pretty lunatic one at that. I think the trans community and its allies will prevail in the end, though we are going through dark times now.
Sue x
Truly awful events at Colorado Springs. Hate speech from those who have a platform - and should know better, IMO - often emboldens attackers directly and indirectly.
ReplyDeleteSo much for not making Twitter a hellscape, eh? The collapse of that rotten system and a replacement with something better can't come quickly enough. I keep reading good things about Mastodon.
As to the news about the National Trust and the Society of Authors, I was heartened to the public draw ranks against those who seek to discriminate. There's whispers about some of the anti activists being funded from behind the scenes... but one should be wary of what one reads on the Internet 😉
Thanks, Lynn. I can't adequately put into words what I feel about killing trans people on Trans Remembrance Day. I remain confident, though, that most people feel revulsion at things like this and at the hate that has erupted in Western society in the last few years. I believe it will be defeated, and these two recent votes show how decent folk have opportunities to show what they think despite all the noise. Sue xx
DeleteInteresting post Sue, thanks for sharing. Fingers crossed that the trans community and any allies do indeed prevail in the end.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lotte. Trans people have always existed and I am beginning to feel that that message is getting through. Sue xx
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