"First They Came" Redux

For a reminder, we will start with Martin Niemöller famous poem:

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

This time, they are first coming for trans people. Statistically, you are likely not a trans person, as they comprise about 1.14% of the population. Source. On Friday, the CDC removed from its website all references to transgender people, gender identity and equity. See the full horror of the ramifications here. Read it in its entirety, PLEASE. Other agencies did some scrubbing, too, but then their sites went back up. The CDC sites are important because they relate not just to words, but to medical research, data collection, and other critical information.

While I am not trans, I have friends who are trans, and I know trans people, and the parents and siblings of trans people. I bet you do, too. Notice that I wrote “friends who are trans” as opposed to “trans friends”.

I do not pigeonhole people by their identity: not gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, race, country of origin, none of it. My friends are my friends. Period. Full Stop. Part of this arises from my genetic limitation. I was born with prosopagnosia, and so I don’t see faces¹. A lot of a person’s identity is defined by their face, and so I look for other ways of identifying people. While this is a limitation in many ways, it makes it easy to accept people for who they are, and not what they identify as.

As individuals, we cannot do anything about the EO that made the CDC do what it did. We can certainly complain to our elected officials, but there is a separation of powers and CDC falls under HHS, which falls under the Executive Branch, so, tragically, the EO holds.

But as individuals, there is a lot we can do for the humans who are impacted by this obvious discrimination. First and foremost, call or visit your friends who are trans. Hug them. Tell them that you value them as people, and couldn’t care less that they are trans.

STOP!

I have been accused in the past of microaggression for saying “I don’t care”. That it is harmful to not acknowledge differences.

So let me be clear about what I mean.

The sub-humans who say “I don’t want you in my bathroom” care that someone is trans. It matters to them, and they are mean and obnoxious. The bathrooms in my house are for anyone who is here and needs a bathroom (including both trans men and women). I am fine with being in a public bathroom with a trans woman. Because she’s just another woman in that public bathroom.

When the sub-humans say that a trans person is not entitled to medical care, they CARE about what treatment another person is getting. I don’t care what treatment people get, however I DO care that all people get the medical care they need.

When someone wants to deny human rights to trans people: housing, education, jobs, being served in a story or restaurant, I CARE because that is wrong. I don’t care if they are discriminating on the basis of gender identity or anything else - to me, it’s ALWAYS WRONG.

So I’m sorry if I didn’t say something correctly. My heart is in the right place. Yours should be too. Literally and figuratively, embrace your friends who are trans. Stand up for them if you see someone treating them badly. Call out any sub-human’s bad behaviour.

Also, support trans people. If you are hiring an employee, and a trans person is the most qualified, hire them. I have friends who are trans who applied for jobs, went through phone screens, were eminently qualified, and knew when they walked in for the interview that the interviewer knew they were trans, and didn’t get the job exclusively because of that. THAT IS MORALLY BANKRUPT.

If they are running for office, and you align with their policies and issues, work on their campaign and vote for them.

If they produce something, like a book, or a line of fragrances, etc., buy from them. It’s an easy way to show support.

We need to step up NOW and do everything we can for trans people because they are the first in the line of 2025 version of “first they came”. This fascist regime is no different than the Nazis in the 1930’s. They are coming for the vast majority of us, they’re just starting small, with 1.14% of the population. We MUST do all we can to stop them.

1. If I am in a group photograph, I can only identify myself by my clothing and jewelry. I could not identify myself from one of those picture sheets the police show you to pick out the right person from head shots.