Trans Joy, Trans Rage
03.10.2023 | Today, the state capitol was meant to host a “detransition” starring Chloe Cole, an anti-Transgender activist, CPAC speaker, and darling of far-right media. The rally brought about twelve attendees (counting media members); its opposition numbered somewhere between seventy-five and one hundred members strong.
The day began with a Trans Day of Joy rally from 9AM-12PM. There were booths for mutual aid, self-defense, radical education, and Queer topics like help changing your name. The crowd socialized, snacked, and laughed together, always mindful of their surroundings. The counter event had been publicly threatened by white nationalist groups including White Lives Matter CA and the NorCal Active Club (part of the Rise Above Movement). This would seem to have been simply cheap intimidation, as these groups never made good on their threats.
At noon, the crowd of activists marched to confront the anti-Trans “detransition” rally. They gathered on the street adjacent to the detransition rally, which had ten or so people meandering with signs decrying medical care for Trans people. Well-known right-wing streamers eagerly made their way to film the pro-Trans group. A small group of right-wing agitators attempted to penetrate the group and were repelled. The scuffle brought a middle-aged woman off the capitol lawn; after shouting that she had a gun, she brandished a handgun, pointed it into the pro-Trans crowd, and threatened to shoot before being pepper sprayed. She was escorted away by police and treated for pepper spray exposure (see photo); despite brandishing a firearm being a crime in the state of California, it appears she was not detained.
This attempted “detransition” rally was part of a larger assault on the lives of Trans people. From the first year crimes against people on the basis of gender identity were tracked by the FBI (2013) to the most recent data available (2020), the percentage of hate crimes committed with bias against gender identity rose by 440%. A Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism study of 37 major U.S. cities showed a 38.6% increase in total hate crimes with the ten largest metropolitan areas showing a 54% increase. The same study showed a 51.3% increase in hate crimes committed against Gay males. This comes amid a legislative onslaught, again with a specific target placed on Trans people, seeing nearly 240 anti-Queer bills introduced in the U.S. in just the first 78 days of 2022. This has been justified by the steady increase in inflammatory and discriminatory rhetoric, like decades-old homophobic ramblings about “grooming,” from almost all major right-wing figures and news outlets with millions of viewers between them.
There is a change log entry on this post.
Sources
California Penal Code § 417 PC
“FBI Releases Updated 2020 Hate Crime Statistics.” FBI, FBI, 25 Oct. 2021, https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/press-releases/fbi-releases-updated-2020-hate-crime-statistics.
“Victims.” FBI, FBI, 18 Nov. 2014, https://ucr.fbi.gov/hate-crime/2013/topic-pages/victims/victims_final.
“New Report: Anti-LGBTQ+ Grooming Narrative Surged More than 400% on Social Media Following Florida's 'Don't Say Gay or Trans' Law, as Social Platforms Enabled Extremist Politicians and Their Allies to Peddle Inflamatory, Discriminatory Rhetoric.” Human Rights Campaign, https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/new-report-anti-lgbtq-grooming-narrative-surged-more-than-400-on-social-media-following-floridas-dont-say-gay-or-trans-law-as-social-platforms-enabled-extremist-politicians-and-their-allies-to-peddle-inflamatory-discriminatory-rhetoric.
Riedel, Samantha. “An Oklahoma Donut Shop Was Firebombed after Hosting a Drag Event.” Them, Them., 3 Nov. 2022, https://www.them.us/story/oklahoma-donut-shop-firebombed-drag-event.
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“Nearly 240 Anti-LGBTQ Bills Filed in 2022 so Far, Most of Them Targeting Trans People.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/nearly-240-anti-lgbtq-bills-filed-2022-far-targeting-trans-people-rcna20418.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/11/20/colorado-springs-lgbtq-clubq-shooting/
https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/active-club-network
