You know I support LGBTQ+ human beings, right? I mean, anyone who reads my blog or my social media posts is aware of that. How could they not be be? It goes without saying that I support the rights of transgender and gender-nonconforming children, teens, students, adults to be who they truly are and have access to gender-affirming health care and all the rights given to every person in our country.
Right?
But a massive wave of hate and ignorance is rolling across this country. Trans people are being actively endangered and harmed by laws passed in state legislatures. Even those who live in states where this hasn’t happened are feeling the fear and dread which comes from witnessing this attack. How could anyone feel safe when they see that people just like them are being singled out in laws meant to eradicate them?
There’s no way to feel safe anywhere when people are coming after the essence of your true self with plans to outlaw who you are.
I trust the lived experiences of trans kids, teens, students and adults that they know who they are. I trust the research of scientists and doctors that affirm their lived experiences and support it. But does that go without saying?
For those of you who look to faith to understand God’s creation: I believe that God created the world full of infinite variety and yes that means those who are LGBTQ+ and - - to be even more specific for the purposes of this post - - that means those transgender and gender-nonconforming. All are meant to be here and all are loved.
For those who don’t look at the world through a faith-centric lens, it’s not a whole lot different, in my view. We know nature is full of amazing variety. We use the term “naturally occurring” for a reason. Gender and sexuality are not strictly binary in nature. All who are here are a part of that complex and diverse system of life.
Whether you believe in God or not: all are meant to be here and all are worthy of love.
Yeah, but it really goes without saying* that I believe that.
No.
You know what goes without saying?
- Protection under the law
- Safety at school
- Opportunities for employment
- Life-saving health care
- The right to use public toilets
- Well-being
- Life
If we don’t say it? That’s what goes. It will just go away. It is going away. If we choose silence, it will keep going away.
That’s the dark side of that old expression. “Without saying” is really just another word for silence. In this case it means silence when people are losing their most basic rights. How can we choose to remain silent when people are living in terror and may die, or may have already died? LGBTQ+ acceptance reduces suicide. Speaking out and taking action to support LGBTQ+ people reduces death.
We can’t be silently supportive in our hearts. We need to be beacons, billboards, sign posts and banners loudly proclaiming:
You are meant to be here. You are worthy of love. You are not alone.
Everyone we know needs to see us bear witness. There need to be so many banners and beacons and t-shirts and Facebook posts and testimony at public meetings and candidates who are vocally allies that no one could possibly look around and think, “Huh. I guess nobody cares about this.”
Into that silence creeps ignorance. And hate. And a desire to control who is acceptable and who is not.
Let no one be confused about where you stand.
*Meaning of Idiom ‘It Goes Without Saying’
When we say something goes without saying we mean that it is obvious; it is generally understood or accepted; it is so well-known that it doesn’t need to be spoken or explained. - - Idioms Online
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