Dear sister, dear brother, dear sibling of mine,
It pains my heart to see each one of you fade away. Disappearing into the night like supernovas, who fill the void of space with their brightness, before they die out.
In your letters, you say that nothing gets better. That for some it may but for you it will not. And sadly, you are right. Although we are all the time reminded that life eventually gets better and we find happiness, it is never true to everyone and much of life happens without our conscious decisions and not according to our plans. In many cases – our lives are the result of luck and its game with our various privileges and chances.
I am deeply sorry, my fallen sibling. Deeply sorry, because, once again, society has forsaken you.
Societies are not, however, concepts without faces. They are people. People like you and me. And sometimes I think that it is me within that society, dear sibling, that has abandoned you the most.
Every day, in every place of the world, there is one of you pleading for acceptance, hiding in the shadows, hoping no one knows the very thing that makes you – you. And the very thing you consider your darkest secret. You live in fear of rejection, fear for your own life and sometimes, the only fear you have left in you, is the fear of what lies on the other side of life.
Focused on positive messages and on bringing more light to our realities, it seems I have forgotten about you. But I didn’t, dear sibling. I know, who you are. I know you are and have been scared all your life. I know that you have given up on the possibilities that life may bring.
I feel I have abandoned you by not remembering your names, by reminding politicians about you with statistics instead of your personal stories. I bring focus to your actions but do not efficiently underline how other people’s actions have led to your decisions. Because even though I believe you have all the right to take your own life, I wish you did not have to.
I wish for a world where living means to thrive, dear sibling, not struggle. I do not believe it is in our destiny to fight for recognition of who we are. We should not be forced to battle, especially our families, who brought us to this world and should mean for us to be happy.
Our destiny is to live to our own expectations and be happy for who we are. Nothing more and nothing less.
And it saddens my heart that you still did not and do not have this recognition. It saddens me to know that for every successful and fulfilled trans person, there is another who was denied the possibility to be one.
You die, because the world is not ready for you.
I hope you are at rest.
It was Leelah’s suicide note that broke my heart, but sadly every day someone commits suicide or is being murdered, because they are trans. I have seen a number of reactions to this news, including trans people accusing her of not being strong enough or not being persistent enough to find for her own identity. And it is the most saddening fact of all. Because we should not be giving hard time to other trans people for their choices or judge what they can or cannot do.
If there is no solidarity between us, how can we speak of justice at all?
Please take a minute to also read Henry’s story who decided to go forward and live.
Seek help, dear sibling, sometimes life indeed gets better. And when it does, it is an amazing ride to enjoy.
EDIT:
Please sing this petition to ban conversion therapy in the US.
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