Another trans woman murdered - 13 for the year so far

[PaulaQ]

This is the second murder of a transwoman of color in North Texas so far this year that we know of. Ms. Shade was murdered in Dallas on July 29. Apparently the price for our increased visibility is the lives of some of us. I can't begin to describe how this makes me feel.

Be careful out there, folks.

[Michelle789]

Paula, this really, really sickens me. Yes, there has definitely been a backlash against us. Those who are "nice" take it out by calling us "sir". Those who are mean take it out by murdering us.

Yes, be careful is damn right. And I would advise those who have cars to seriously offer people rides, whenever possible, to those who are less fortunate to not have a var.

I really, really am starting to understand vegetarians and vegans now. The only way we can value all lives equally, is to not murder animals. The fact that we survive off of eating meat is the very reason people murder, lie, cheat, steal, marginalize, and enslave. If we value a chicken or a cow as being of "lesser" value than humans, than why not value someone as "lesser" value for being a woman, black, transgender, gay, having low IQ, not being manly enough for a man, not being feminine enough for a woman? The only thing that bothers me about some vegetarians/vegans (not all) is there are some who believe an animal's life is worth more than a human right. No life is worth more than another. An animal isn't worth more than a human. Wait, we are animals. Humans are nothing more than glorified animals, and we certainly act like it, more often than we think.

And that includes to all the passable transwomen out there. Stop viewing yourself as being better than the non-passable ones.

To all the ones who are sufferred worse GD. Stop viewing yourself as being "more trans" than the rest.

We have to start in the trans community by valuing all transgender people as equal. Seriously, wake up America. I challenge everyone to ask yourself one question. Why do you value your own kind of people as more valuable than others?

And, no, you're not safer in so-called accepting cities like Los Angeles either. I know for fact that four transwoman were murdered in L.A. last year, and two this year. Those are only the ones that I'm aware of - there may sadly be others.

[phylis anne]

these people that harm others because they do not understand them or thionk they are self appointed societal enforcers should be given a taste of their own medicine. America from it's early days until present has always trashed detroyed or otherwise alienated from society what it does not understand or what it is afraid of , I hope her soul finds peace no one deserves this no matter the race ,lifestyle etc .
hugs phylis anne

[Dana44]

I think it is a sad reflection of our society. I live in a place where a man attacked a Lubys restaurant and shot women and the men who tried to protect them. It wasn't over until over eighty people were dead. He was after women. He was killed there and no answers. Some times the sick come after what bothers them. They should be found and given the correct justice. He did get that there yet it is a sad reflection of society. It sure changed the gun laws here. One must always be careful.

[Jennifer-GWN]

Paula;

This gives me reason to pause. I'd not even give this a thought here in Canada. Perhaps I'm overly nieve or short sighted. Are things that different in the U.S. or is it just defined pockets. I travel regularly to the U.S.; granted the main area I visit is a trans Mecca to some degree. Should I be so nervous to be fearful? Is it that bad. 13 is more than 1 or 0 as any senseless death is a tragedy.

I guess I should educate myself on some of the situational details associated with these death so as to be a more informed woman of the trans persuasion.

I just fail to understand how a society as seemingly progressive and preach human rights at a global level can be so polar on so many beliefs.

Sadness indeed. Jennifer

Curious.

[Michelle789]

@Jennifer - Please be careful even in L.A. and San Francisco. Read my post #2 about how many transwomen were murdered in L.A. in the past two years. And please do not walk in Hollywood at 2:00 in the night. Please be careful everywhere and at all times of day and night.

@Dana - Someone who murders 80 people will likely be murdered in a future life. The 80 people who he killed in this life will all witness the murder, but do nothing to stop it. Each one will think the other one already called the cops.

[Leah Lynn]

Why??? Why is the human race so hateful and destructive? Why are we targeted so often? Why haven't we learned to live in harmony with each other?

I truly fear for the human race. We are going to destroy ourselves, and for no honest reason, but bigotry and ignorance.

Leah

[PretzelGirl]

I just sat here 5 minutes after hitting reply before touching a key. Responses to this have just become impossible. What is tougher is that you just can't pass a law and it changes. It takes social change. Social change requires education and then time as the acceptance level turns.

This is now more murders reported in the US than all of last year. I suspect it is a combination of escalation due to increased visibility and probably some level of identifying our sisters better instead of them going unreported. We do need better pursuit of those that perform these atrocities. I don't see a lot of news of people being arrested and maybe those reports go under the radar.

[Robin414]

This is sickening, I sometimes feel like its a war and we need to arm up against it! I know, education and time will win out of course but people being mudered while we wait!!? I'm feeling the race movement of the 50's and 60's, the bigots eventually die, just not soon enough! I saw a video of a TG woman being beaten in a McDonald's by two woman when she used the ladies room. I swear if I were there...I've never hit a woman or even a guy wearing glasses (yah, I'm old school) but I swear if I were witness I'd would have gone phsyco...bat s..t...crazy and caused some serious physical damage to the perps AND the building!...OK, venting. ..I'm not a hater and don't propagate it but I would have more than broke up the fight let's say!!

[donnaS]

I agree with Leah Lynn, Why, can't people live their own lives and stay out of everyone else's. Why can't we do what makes us Happy. We don't hurt anyone with our life style.

[PaulaQ]

Thanks to the laws of the great state of Texas, her murder can't even be investigated as a potential hate crime.

It's OK to hate us, I guess, at least here in Texas.

[jaleecd]

I think the entire country is in a state of unrest. people who can't define their angst strike out at any target, without identifing the real reason for their rage. No answers, other than be super careful.

[grace7777]

What is tougher is that you just can't pass a law and it changes. It takes social change. Social change requires education and then time as the acceptance level turns.


How true.

I think as more people get to know people who are transgendered, they tend to become more accepting. Acceptance is just going to take time.

I have only had one really scary moment. Fortunately, I walked away and the person did not follow me. Knowing the dangers we face, I am still going out en femme. I have to be me, and I do not want to be confined to my apartment.

A lot of the time I use public transportation and it has not been a problem. I have a car, but I am trying to go to more of a car free lifestyle. Many people get attacked going to their cars. I am working on being more aware of my surroundings.

[Starling]

Most people who hate us would never think of going beyond a smirk or a catcall; it's enough for them to feel superior to the faggot, or whatever they think we are. But there are too many millions in this country who are so unhappy with their own lives, so willing to throw them away, that they lash out murderously, without empathy or even fear of their own death. They are like suicide bombers.

You could call them crazy, but they have been driven crazy by their lives. And the hell of it is, it's difficult to tell the mere haters from the potential killers. It's going to take a lot of education to overcome that awful reality.

:) Lallie

[kimdl93]

I'm sorry to hear of another victim. I do wonder if any analysis has been done of the circumstances. We had a tragic murder of a transwoman of color in Tyler a couple of years ago. She was engaged in the sex trade and died at the hands of a john, a local college jock with whom she had on ongoing involvement. I wonder how often life circumstance force transwomen into dangerous situations such as this. I suspect these circumstances contribute to the mortality rate.

[steftoday]

Thanks to the laws of the great state of Texas, her murder can't even be investigated as a potential hate crime.

It's OK to hate us, I guess, at least here in Texas.

I lived in North Texas for a few years. Knowing what I now know, I would never live there again.

[PaulaQ]

And with today's announcement of Ashton O'Hara in Detroit, we are at #14 for the year.

The list thus far, and their ages: 12 on this list are trans women of color.
Ashton O'Hara, 25
Shade Shuler, 22
Amber Monroe, 20
K.C. Haggard, 66
India Clarke, 25
Mercedes Williamson, 17
London Chanel, 21
Kristina Grant Infiniti, 47
Penny Proud, 21
Taja de Jesus, 36
Yazmin Vash Payne, 33
Ty Underwood, 24
Lamia Beard, 30
Papi Edwards, 20

[Algoma]

Todays posts go from having a great of experience at Dress Barn and Torrid to being killed. As scary and sad as murder is I am taking the positive side of this, in that there are more Dress Barns than murders. Think of how far society has come in the last couple years, TV shows, Jenner, Time, etc.... I do comfort my self in the fact that this is a very small group that is out for us, and a small percentage of the murders are targeted at trans woman, yes even one is too many. The US can be dangerous and even in boy mode we need to be careful and aware of your surrounding at all times.

We all need to speak up more and force our politicians, and society to recognize this is a hate crime. This is not a joke, we are not a joke. It may take time for acceptance, and it won't come from everyone. But it is coming.

Be safe, Hugs Algoma

[PretzelGirl]

I haven't seen a second reference to confirm, but it may be 15. What a horrific week! :brokenheart:

http://www.therainbowhub.com/kandis-capri-may-be-latest-trans-woman-slain/

[Christina Kay]

So very sad. Please try to be safe everyone .
Thoughts and prayers for those girls.
Christina

[PaulaQ]

And with the murder of Tamara Dominguez, the toll is at 17:
http://www.kctv5.com/story/29806858/transgender-woman-killed-after-being-run-over-multiple-times

What kind of a society do we have that can't recognize our humanity?

[Badtranny]

I just saw an episode of I Am Jazz and they were addressing a comment on one of her Youtube videos. Apparently some wonderful person wrote something along the lines of "somebody please kill it or I will kill it myself".

Jazz is a 13 year old trans girl who has done nothing to warrant that kind of hate. Well besides just being brave enough to live out loud.

Perhaps that's the real issue here isn't it. There is a certain segment of the population (that will remain nameless here cuz of rules and whatnot) that will not unbind themselves from traditional notions of gender and sexuality. Many of these people have non-traditional yearnings of their own, and frankly that makes them the most dangerous because they hate this about themselves. In my 47 years on this earth, I have learned a lot of things, and not the least among them is that people will usually only hate you for what they hate about themselves. A man who has resisted homosexual impulses his whole life will hate homosexuals because he perceives them as unable to resist like he has. Why can't they just choose to be straight like he did? Of course they won't ever admit it.

In regard to trans women, we cast our hater nets a bit broader because we have the added danger of straight men being attracted to us. Of course the standard rule of hating what they see in themselves applies, but there is also hating that they are attracted to us, along with the shame of being attracted to us. Even if a straight dude is attracted to a woman he finds out later to be trans, the shame of what everyone else will think is enough to push them over the edge. Can you imagine being so widely disliked that merely being seen with you is so shameful that a man would rather go to jail for murder than admit his attraction?

The world is turning slowly, but I fear it may get worse before it gets better as the aforementioned population will probably get even more violent before they finally fade away.

[whowhatwhen]

There's too many violent people walking around in general and a lack of access to proper mental health care.

[PaulaQ]

The biggest thing we fight is that fearing those we perceive to be different from ourselves is apparently an evolutionary advantage.

Overcoming this is hard. Cruelty seems to be the natural order of things.

[Michelle789]

Paula,

You are very correct about cruelty being in the natural order of things. Sadly, our entire system of life on this planet is based on one life killing another to survive. Every animal survives off of other animals, or plants. Eating plants is considered to be more humane than eating animals, but then again plants are a life form. Some people even believe plants have souls. But when we eat fruits & vegetables, we normally eat what the plant produces, not the actual plant itself. There are exceptions, we do eat some rooted vegetables like garlic and potatoes. Some animals evolved to eat plant life instead, and likely they are more highly evolved because they choose to eat the product of a plant, and not actually take a life.

I saw a documentary about sea life once, and they were saying about how with crabs, the mother spawns 500 baby crabs. Most will end up being some other fish's lunch. Only a few survive.

It seems to be nature to produce life with the intent that most of it will die and be somebody's lunch. For every living crab you see, just remember that it had nearly 500 brothers and sisters whose fate was to be lunch for another crab or sea creature.

In the human world, sometimes we kill out of instinct.

Most of the time, rather than killing, we allow our fellow humans to live, but they must live under terrible conditions. We humans produce most of our population with the intent of them being slave labor to support the privileged few. This could manifest itself in why patriarchy encourages us to have so many children. Think about this. If most people can't afford the cost of living, and most people can't afford to buy the products and services produced by the rich, then who is going to spend the money to make the rich get richer. Ah, by having more babies, and giving them each a limited income, allows them to spend just enough money so that the rich can make more money. Why do we care about the unborn baby, but once the baby is born, we don't care about it? Ah, because patriarchy thrives on having new babies be born. Patriarchy breeds a select few people to continue to benefit from the system, while it breeds the rest of the population to be slaves to make the privileged few more privileged. Patriarchy also discourages us from committing suicide, because if every non-privileged human being took their own lives, there would be no slaves to make the rich get richer.

This also manifests itself in agricultural societies where farmers had lots of children. The purpose of the kids was to be slave labor for the farms, and to then take care of the parents when they got older. Only the strongest 2 or 3 children would be bred to actually go out, get married, and have children of their own. All the rest were bred to simply be slave labor for the farm, and to be caretakers for the parents when they got old. Many of the children would also die at young ages of natural causes. But once again, everything is for the privileged few.

Sadly, we do this to each other too in the trans community. We lack empathy for those who are less fortunate than us. We lack empathy for people who endured circumstances which we don't understand.

And when passing transwomen reject non-passing transwomen, they're perpetuating the same behavior.

When trans people who have done things a certain way in transition are closed minded to how others transition, we are perpetuating the same behavior.

It seems to be instinctually programmed into humans. A small percentage of humans, probably those who have well-balanced use of both sides of the brain, are able to overcome this thinking, and actually empathize with people.

I our "civilized" society, we kill each other emotionally and verbally, and we breed people to accept their assigned role in society. But we depend on other people's "lesser valued" lives because the select few need the lesser valued lives to serve them.

In the animal world, the select few also need the lesser valued lives to survive. But rather than enlisting them as slaves, the select few simply eat the lesser valued lives for lunch.

Same basic principle, just implemented differently in the human world. This creates the illusion of freedom we have in the modern world. This illusion that we can do whatever we want, and aspire to be whoever we want, is created to motivate us to stay alive, because the elite few need the lesser privileged majority to serve them.

This is why our world hasn't changed much even in 2015. Because we still operate under animal instincts, under a set of social rules. Some people operate under animal instincts, without any social rules, and commit violent crimes.

Part of me really understands vegetarians now. I believe a lot of vegetarians and vegans feel the way they do because they deep down inside feel that we should value animal lives more, and therefore value other humans more. I believe that the only way for us to truly break out of this vicious cycle of "kill or be killed" is to stop eating other animals for survival. Learning to survive off of water, fruits & vegetables, and sunlight itself, and not eating other animals, for when you eat a chicken or a cow, you are partaking in killing the animal. You are partaking in committing the murder of a life form whom we value as "less than" human. All of us meat eaters somehow believe that the life of a chicken or a cow is not worth as much as another human being. We need a true change of consciousness. As long as we eat other animals and value animals as worth less than humans, we will always perpetuate the murder and slavery of humans we value as less than us.

[Emogene]

I not surprisingly check the news about transgender issues on just about a daily basis. Frequently there are articles about the death of yet another trans person as the result of murder. An yes, I agree it is heinous that this happens but I need information in order to more clearly grasp and understand the magnitude of the problem. My head likes facts rather that rhetoric.

I agree that the loss of just one person, regardless of who they are, is a loss to us all!

The above is my disclaimer in an attempt to not stir up a firestorm, the following is in fact an honest search for a meaningful number that allows myself and others to see what the 17 hate crimes/murders year to date resulting in the death of transgender people really means.

I posted the following online in response to a news article but had no response beyond a single, 'Wow'.

"Trying to put into context the number of deaths, year to date for transgender persons, I looked up the Uniform Crime Report, 2013, table 16. Under the heading of murder and non negligent homicides the rate of death nationwide was 4.6 deaths per 100,000 of population. The actual rate of death, of course, varies by jurisdiction. That year 13,483 deaths were reported, an average of 36 or 37 deaths per day. Does anyone have a rate per 100,000 of murders committed on transgender people?"

Thanks everyone for your reply.

[Kaitlyn Michele]

wow is possibly the only response

God forbid you don't have the statistics per 100000 to help you truly understand the problem with people murdering these women because they are transsexual...

[PretzelGirl]

Tied to a bumper and drug behind cars, lit on fire, brutally beaten until unrecognizable, run over by a car three times.... I am a person that generally looks for stats in things and the horror and hate here says enough by itself.

[Michelle789]

I agree with Sue. I like stats too. But in the case of TG murders, one murder is one murder WAY too many. Stats really only predict the probably that any one of us could be murdered in our lifetime. The reality is many TG who are murdered are often underprivileged, live in not so nice neighborhoods, and don't have cars. Many are forced to be out after midnight, either because they are sex workers, or because the only work they can find, even if it's not sex work, requires them to work past midnight. Sometimes they just want to live their lives, and may have gone to a party or to hang out with friends, and walk home late at night. In all fairness, what's wrong with being out late at night if your job requires it, or if you just want to have fun? Right?

Even living in a nice neighborhood doesn't make you safe. The best thing you can do to avoid getting murdered or beaten or raped is to learn the same safety tips that ciswomen learn from the time they're 5 years old. I personally know a transwoman who doesn't drive not because of her race, not because no one will hire her because she's TG, but because she has epilepsy and cannot legally drive because of her medical condition. She has to walk and face catcalling and TG harassment every day because she doesn't have a car. I only face getting called "sir" sometimes because I have a car. It's not fair. It totally sucks that because so many of us are economically underprivileged that a huge amount of us cannot afford cars.

Oh, and not to mention the people who are murdered by their boyfriends or family members. It's not always being out at 2 in the morning that causes this. Sometimes it's acquaintance hate crimes too.

Yeah, it's ultimately the result of people who hate us for being ourselves. People who perceive a transwoman to be as serious of a threat as pulling a gun and threatening to shoot you. People who perceive being a transwoman to be an automatic terrorist. When the real terrorists are the people who murder trans people. People who are so fearful of the unknown their instinct is to murder. People who are so mentally deranged they feel a need to take another life. People who don't value human life. People who don't even see us as human.

[Badtranny]

Hmmm, interesting. Soooo......

It seems like what you're really trying to do is put these murders in perspective. Like, per capita and shit?

I have a couple of questions for you.

1. are you out and living life in the danger zone like the gals that have responded before me or are you skulking around in only safe spaces?
2. what is the minimum number of murders for the crime of being an authentic whole person would you consider too many? 20? 100? .00002%?

[Claire Cook]

Paula,

These are truly horrifying stories and serve as real wakeup calls to us. The fact that transwomen of color are especially targeted is doubly troubling.




There is a certain segment of the population (that will remain nameless here cuz of rules and whatnot) that will not unbind themselves from traditional notions of gender and sexuality.

The world is turning slowly, but I fear it may get worse before it gets better as the aforementioned population will probably get even more violent before they finally fade away.

Melissa, I fear that given the current political and social climate in this country things will just get worse. In addition to the latent fears that you mention, there are cultural and (I'm sad to say) religious bases that lead to these reactions against us. Yes. these people are not about to change.

[Emogene]

Yes, Badtranny, you hit it exactly on the head, I am trying to put it in perspective. And yes, I am very aware of the human toll when a person dies having been an investigator for some years; people do kill themselves and others in quite nasty ways. Still deal with the PTSD at times.

And yes, to satisfy your curiosity, I don't live in the big city but in a smaller community with a very diverse and accepting, generally, populace.

My point is not that one death or even a 1,000 deaths are any less heinous but rather what is the actual rate of death.

In order for society to respond, you need facts. If, as we suspect, the death rate for trans people as the result of murder exceeds that of the population as a whole then you have a solid, irrefutable point upon which to base a demand for action.

Society is use to dealing with 13,000 deaths annually. Faced with that figure, the allocation of finite resources by police departments, where few agencies will ever deal with the murder of a single transgender person, is not likely to change without their political masters being forced into the reallocation of dollars. Like it or not, that is reality.

[Kaitlyn Michele]

you really don't get it all and should quit while you are way behind...

[Anne2345]

Seriously, Emogene? You would come *here* with *that* response? Wow.

You are correct, though, in that it's all about the facts. And here, on *this* issue, the facts kinda really speak for themselves in quite the persuasive manner . . . .

[becky77]

I see what you are saying Emogene, so 13 Trans women killed is not that much but also in the scheme of things they are murder statistics and if they were victims of say mugging or some other crime where they were not particularly targeted I might agree.

After all people get murdered everyday, the problem is how and why they are murdered, that kinda makes the statistics not matter.

The way I see it is you have a criminal, he/she targets people looking for money. Sadly the victims are just unfortunate, in the wrong place at the wrong time.
With trans people they are targeted just for being themselves, not because of money or drugs, just because they dare to exist.
These are not victims of crime, they are the crime!

If someone like you wants to make them disappear into statistics, what hope is there?

[Emogene]

OK, One last try here. Please read the content clinically without righteous indignation.

You know murder and assault and discrimination against transgender people is a problem, I know it is a problem and you all know that it is a problem, a serious one.

The larger media outlets, the public in general and our political masters do not know it is a major problem.

If one has a problem, one must identify it irrefutably and without question in order to have the tools to force the media, public and ultimately the politicians to respond. That is what I am asking for here, I am not a statistician and can't perform the analysis of raw data required to prove to the satisfaction of the above groups that we have a major, sustained, ongoing and quite probably increasing problem as we become more prominent within society.

We can continue to wail and beat our breasts, and we can reinforce to ourselves within our little group that we have a problem, and wail and beat our collective breasts. Has that worked for us in resolving our problem? No, things are just as bad and possibly worse.

But if you wish to change society, you have to have solid facts to take to the media, thence to the public and as a result of significant and sustained general public outrage and indignation to the politicians who control our world.

Do you think military leaders say, today I am conquering our enemies, because our cause is right and just? Or do they plan, assure their power base supports them and then they accumulate supplies of weapons and personnel and when the time is right they strike with overwhelming speed, surprise and violence of action.

OK, this girl is not condoning, I am mad and powerless and have no way to affect the way we are treated. I am frustrated. I will speak no further on this topic and we can all go our separate ways deploring the world and doing nothing.

[Anne2345]

Emogene, I think you are entirely missing the point here. I don't know what the statistics are, and I really don't care. Because statistically, the TS population is such a small minority of the general population that we are statistically irrelevant to begin with, IF this becomes a war based upon stats and stats only.

This has little to do with statistics. This has EVERYTHING to do with what is right and wrong, what is human and inhumane, and what constitutes hate versus inclusion and love. Feelings, emotion, and an overpowering sense of righteous indignation are our most effective weapons against the hate and naysayers. A showing of our simple humanity and humanness and realness are much more effective in the media than spouting off a bunch of numbers that most people won't pay attention to or understand to begin with.

[CONSUELO]

I don't want to get into the stats argument but I would like to point out that the TS community is small and the TS community of colour is even smaller, so the 13 deaths so far could indicate a high rate.
But that is all irrelevant when you consider the death of an individual, especially one with whom we share an important characteristic.

[LeaP]

Facts themselves don't matter. They only matter in context. When the general public's response is either a collective yawn or "good," even in the face of really horrific beatings and murders, the problem is the context.

[Kaitlyn Michele]

E.

You are just making lots of assumptions about how the world works. I don't think they are right..you have no basis doe them

It's about the hatred and dehumanization of us. Stats won't change that. And frankly the media covers these murders quite a lot.

[PaulaQ]

The basic problem with your desire for better statistics to put this into perspective is that it feeds into the erasure we get as trans people - that is, the powers that be tend to take the line "well, if we don't have a statistic for it, it must not be a problem." Unfortunately, this attitude kills a great many of us, because it also applies to healthcare issues such as HIV.

There have been 18 murders that we know of so far this year. This is more than last year, and the year isn't over yet. There are likely many more because there are many factors that make analyzing these statistics hard:
1. Trans people's identities are often erased upon death, even a murder, because the victims are identified as cross dressing men, not transgender people.
2. Another example of erasure is that sometimes the person is only listed on their death certificate under their dead-name, assigned at birth gender, so it isn't even obvious a trans person has been murdered.
3. Some states (Texas, where I live is one such), will not categorize trans murders as potential hate crimes, and thus focus additional law enforcement resources on them. So no doubt, some murders slip through the cracks because of this - they are not required to report these murders in any way that brings them to national attention.

This also ignores our very high suicide rate - our suicide attempts are frequently the result of violence and other discrimination we face. We know that 41% of us, on average attempt suicide. This is also indicative of a great deal of violence directed against us. To make matters worse, mental health care for those of us who do attempt suicide is often terrible. In some places, you are better off sitting on top of a suicidal trans person, and hoping that they'll simmer down and decide to live than you are call 911 and hoping the police don't take them to some hell-hole of a psychiatric hospital that makes them worse.

As it is, we know that there have been 18 murders so far this year, and there are about 700,000 of us, as best we can tell. Since most of the murders were of trans women of color, we can presume that the pool of most likely murder victims is much smaller than 700,000.

Unfortunately, no one gathers good statistics about us. Therefore, we can just die, and no one cares, because if what happened was a huge problem, they'd have statistics for it, right? Since there's no statistics, there's no problem! I've listened to government officials use this type of illogic - "We don't measure that. Well, we don't have any statistics that say that happens. So it must not be happening, because if it were, we'd measure it..." This type of thinking kills quite a few people. And it's not just a law enforcement thing - it's a health care thing. For example, trans men, and trans people in general, have a high incidence of HIV. So here's a natural question - does PrEP (Pre Exposure Prophylaxis) treatment benefit gay transgender men, because their sexual activity with other men puts them at high risk for HIV infection? And you know what the answer is? We don't know. Nobody measures it.

So I hope you can see that the lack of statistical data about us is a serious, serious problem.

OT: @LeaP - that is the best forum avatar ever. You win.

[LeaP]

OT: @LeaP - that is the best forum avatar ever. You win.

Thank you! Fun, huh? And they say we are too serious around here ...

[whowhatwhen]

As it is, we know that there have been 18 murders so far this year,.

*19
:(

The world is a terrible place let's nuke it and salt the earth so nothing may ever grow again.