Remember Their Names
On Nov. 20, 2022, five lives were lost, eighteen lives traumatized physically and mentally, and the entire queer community of Colorado Springs, CO and the United States shaken to its core. This is yet another instance of targeted violence against queer and trans bodies, in a larger national trend where 2SLGBTQ bodies are four times more likely to fall victim to violent crimes. That the shooting at Q Club fell on the eve of the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance adds a certain cosmic insult to injury, and added to our collective grief. Our hearts are with the victims, and their blood and chosen families. Say their names with us:
Raymond Greene Vance (he/him)
Kelly Loving (she/her)
Daniel Aston (he/him)
Derrick Rump (he/him)
Ashley Paugh (she/her)
We grieve alongside our queer and trans kin at the lives lost due to institutionalized violence faced by our 2SLGBTQ community all over the world. We rage, not only at the utter inaction of the state to protect our civil rights, but at current leaders who have the power to prevent violence against our bodies and our sacred spaces, as well as gun violence in schools and communities across the country, but choose not to.We deserve better, and we will fight for better. Our collective grief and rage is valid, cathartic, and sacred, and is one of the things that binds us together in our larger movement towards social, political, and economic equality for 2SLGBTQ people in this country. But in the process of reclaiming our bodies and our right to exist equally with others, we must not allow the oppressors to take away the most important thing we have to sustain us in this fight: JOY
Joy as liberation and an authentic celebration of who we are. Joy as a community builder and life-sustaining force for one another. Joy as defiance to institutionalized patriarchy and violence. Joy that we must create, sustain, and pass down to future generations of queer and trans kin, if we are to create a brighter tomorrow for our community.
You can learn more about Trans Day of Remembrance and watch last weeks livestream session here:
