to the people who aren’t trans women who are oh-so-sad about Leelah but didn’t give a shit til today and won’t give a shit til next time this happens
What y’all don’t seem to fucking understand is that nearly every trans woman you’ve ever met has been close to suicide and/or otherwise in mortal danger at least once (to say nothing of all the trans women you’ll never meet because they’re fucking dead).
What y’all don’t seem to fucking understand is that constantly conjuring up or not conjuring up the will to live is a defining characteristic of being a trans woman; that nearly all of us are constantly battling the same things Leelah was before she died.
And even more crucially, what y’all don’t seem to understand is that YOU are the people who create these conditions. YOU, the dismisser of abuse, the spreader of rumors, the Rocky Horror fan, the TWEF, the truscum, the doctor, the radical queer, the cop, the chaser, the partner, the unreliable friend, the vagina feminist, the vulture, the liberal, the predator, the rapist, the ‘ally,’ the drowner-out of trans women’s voices, the trans man hosting TDoR, the person who keeps transmisogynistic friends around, the person who thinks Leelah’s death is ‘so sad’ but refuses to connect it to any larger political context, the nice and well-meaning person who lacks accountability, the blogger who turns a trans woman’s death into an opportunity to garner social capital. YOU are to blame for this. YOU are why this keeps happening. YOU are no better than Leelah’s parents - not til trans women are categorically loved, supported, and protected in a MEANINGFUL way (and, by the way, not just the rich thin white ones who are factually the least endangered but excite you most after they’re dead).
Where are you when the trans woman in YOUR community calls out for help? Do you even believe her? Are you an apologist for her abusers, or are you there to support her like you’re there to denounce Leelah’s parents? And how far does that support go, anyway?
Where is this rage and sadness you’re all suddenly feeling when the living trans woman offers her analysis of her situation and you either ignore it or argue against it because it’s uncomfortable to you? Where are you when you see others doing that?
Those, of course, are rhetorical questions. We both already know the answers, don’t we? You’re nowhere and you don’t give a shit til you have something to gain from it. Fuck you and butt out.
