Kappa Beta Serving the transgendered community since 1988

Monday, November 20 is The Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day set aside to honor those in our community who have been the victim of violence. This day was begun in 1998 to commemorate the unsolved murder of Rita Hester of Boston, MA, who died of multiple stab wounds. There will be ceremonies in various cities around the world. She was not the first, nor will she likely be the last.

Rev. Ted Haggard, pastor of New Life Evangelical Church in Colorado Springs has long crusaded against gay rights. Earlier this month, Rev. Haggard was forced to resign his position after being accused of engaging in the very activity he fought against.

What do these two disparate stories have in common? Upon reflection, I found a number of things.

While I cannot personally identify from the gay perspective, I do know whatever point on the continuum one may self identify, it is not a matter of choice. No rational human being would choose a life often filled with guilt and ostracism.

Human beings are often conditioned to deny acceptance of that which they do not understand, what they perceive as "different" from themselves or what they themselves fear becoming. I see this in Rev. Haggard. His conditioning was such that he fought a crusade against the very person he is. This man literally fought himself.

I believe at the core, the fundamental issue is that of human dignity. Whether a person is gay, straight, black, white or TG, if the rights of one are denied or threatened, the rights of all are threatened.

In his 1986 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel said “wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must, at that moment, become the center of the universe.” Gender orientation could easily be added to that statement.

In our world are many "centers of the universe." Even those of us who say we only wish to live our lives and be accepted as the persons we are sometimes deny acceptance to those who are different then we, or even those we subconsciously fear becoming.

This, in my opinion, is a source of much of the violence against transgender people that is being commemorated on November 20. While most of us have not been subjected to physical violence, we know the fear of being "outed." We know the fear that should our true selves become manifested, the result could be loss of family, career, and friends.

In essence, although our bodies may not have been battered, we know the agony of a battered soul.

Thankfully, most of us also know the joy of a healed soul. We know the peace of mind in arriving at a point in life when we can say it truly is a blessing to be who we are and that our lives can have a purpose greater than ourselves.

As we pause this coming Monday, let us not only think of those who have suffered violence at the hands of the misguided, let us stand up for those who are subjected to discrimination even now. Let us realize anew that when one is discriminated against, so are we all. Let us set the example of pride in having "found our way." We owe this not only to ourselves. We owe it to a hurting world that needs us.