Wednesday 7 January 2015

A Dying Wish

I've resisted blogging about the suicide of Leelah because I didn't want to jump on the bandwagon or appear to be saying "I told you so" but here I am blogging about the suicide of Leelah...
When I read Leelah's suicide note, the thought that overwhelmed my mind was "oh, darling, if only you'd known! You weren't alone! There's millions of us out here just like you; been through much the same kind of shit too!".
Then, in reflection, I compared our parents - I was lucky. My parents didn't put their beliefs before me so, even though it seemed impossibly hard at times, when I did finally tell them I was Trans they didn't try to 'cure' me or isolate and abuse me but told me "no matter what, you will always be our child".
And I say I'm lucky because I know my parents' response is not the standard one. Many Trans people are not as lucky as me. Perhaps they're not as extreme as Leelah's parents but, sadly, rejection is far too common the response than unconditional love.
And then, of course, Leelah was right - society is fucked up! But some of us are trying to fix it - have been trying to fix it for years - but, sadly, some of us aren't and some even go along with a society they know is fucked up all in the name of a "quiet life"... and then there are those who deliberately try to stop us fixing it. They like things just the way they are! Children killing themselves is just fine and dandy by them! Heaven forfend people should be judged by their character rather than their gender identity!
So society isn't fixed yet and Leelah, and thousands like her, die as a result.
So society has blood on it's hands and, just like Mrs Macbeth, we can't wash it off no matter how we try.
So some of us ignore it and, when they can't ignore it, they distract themselves with shiny things that dazzle them but do absolutely nothing to fulfil Leelah's dying wish:
"Fix society. Please."
#Leelah #FixSociety