Another news article

[Jadhe]

I'm not sure how old this article is or if you have already seen it, but I found it at the same time with that other article I posted earlier.
First, I decided not to post this here, as it's very sad little story. I don't know why I changed my mind, but here it is.
Sometimes it's just good to remind ourselves that there are some very terrible people living amongst us.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/200 ... rime_x.htm
(edited: no idea what was wrong with it...but just copy and paste it to your address bar, that works)

"I'm going to bury him in the prettiest dress I can find," Guerrero says. "With makeup. His tombstone will say 'Gwen."

That last sentence just made me feel both sad and angry.


Oh, and if this isn't the right place to post these kind of things, then just tell me. I don't really know where else I could post these.

[CJ]

Hi Jadhe,

The link is dead; it takes us to USA Today's "document not found" page. Do you still have a copy of the page on your hard drive?

Love,
CJ

[Carolynn]

Gwen Araujo, beaten to death by four of her ex-class mates on Oct. 3, 2002. She had been living as a girl since she was 14, was murdered at 17.
Link: www.gender.org/remember/, then scroll through the depressing list of murdered transgenders to Gwen Araujo to see a photo taken the year of her death.

[Jadhe]

Apparently I did something wrong. Oh well, just copy the url and then paste it to your address bar. That works.

[CJ]

Hi all,

Here it is:

Location: Newark, California
Cause of Death: Beaten to death, allegedly by four ex-classmates.
Date of Death: October 3, 2002
Source: San Francisco Chronicle, October 17, 2002

Notes: Araujo had been dressing as a woman since she was 14 years old, and was murdered at the age of 17. During a house party, she was revealed to have been more a male. After this revelation, at least three individuals — Michael Magidson, Jose Antonio Merel, and Jason Cazares — allegedly beat her, dragged her into a garage, and strangled her, before disposing of her body in a remote location 150 miles away. All three of the above suspects are in custody awaiting trial on murder charges with a hate crime enhancement. A fourth suspect, Jaron Chase Nabors, pled out in exchange for testimony, receiving a 10-year prison sentence.

[Alexandra]

http://www.gender.org/remember/index.html#

[Jadhe]

That site is both beautiful and sad. It brings a tear in my eye to see all those names listed there like that. It's a cruel world we live in.

[Beauty]

Most of the deaths on the site are TS related, but there was one man who was killed when helping a woman across a street.

I forget if it was one man or two who killed him, but they thought he was a crossdresser because he had to hold them woman's purse as he helped her. He wasn't even transgendered.

Beauty

[Alexandra]

Are we putting SOs and GGs lives in danger by going out together?



I'm telling you folks, we have to clear Washington of these TG-unfriendly politicans if we're to make changes. :evil: :evil: :evil: How many Teena Brandon movies have to be made before TG deaths (and and related hate crimes) become a higher priority? The concerns of the transgendered is waaaayyyyyy down on Karl Rove's notebook list of all things important to the president.

[CJ]

I was beaten once by three idiots. My GF and I were taking a peaceful stroll on the sidewalk in our neighbourhood. It was early evening. This car passed us by and suddenly braked before reaching the next corner. The driver put it in reverse and, when they got back to where we were, they stopped the car and piled out, coming towards us. My GF just told me to ignore them but they kept coming towards us. I told them I didn't want any trouble. One of them replied that I should've thought of that before "putting on those fancy shoes." I think he was drunk. Before I knew what was going down, he punched me in the stomach and I fell to the ground. He and one of the others started kicking me before I had any chance to defend myself (not an easy thing to do when you're wearing heels and fake nails). My GF started screaming and jumped on their backs, pummeling away, before too much damage had been done. They scrammed as other people had started to gather to watch the show. She caught these bullies' license plate number and said we should go to the police. I refused. We were close to home, so we just went home. I wasn't too injured (sore ribs mostly) but I cried all night. I didn't so much cry for myself as for the simple fact that such ignorance and stupidity still find a home in this world. It was several years before I went out en femme again and, to this day, the look of pure hatred on the face of the one who sucker-punched me remains vivid in my mind the very moment I take one high-heeled step out of my front door.

Do we put our SOs in danger when we're out en femme? It could be. I know this: if it hadn't been for my GF that night, I might've suffered a tad more than bruises. As it is, I chalked it up to another learning experience, the lesson being this (and it's always the same for me): treat others as you'd have them treat you and don't treat them as you wouldn't like to be treated.

Peace,
Christina

[Beauty]

Wow Christina... that's very deep.

I'm sorry that happened to you.

I was in the process of typing the answer saying, "Yes we do put them in danger, but they know this. . . "

When I previewed my post, I saw that you had posted this one. You know first hand, so I don't need to type anything else.

How long did it take before you went out again? Do you think that event had anything to do with breaking up with your GF later?

Again, I'm soooo sorry that happened to you and pissed that anyone would dare touch someone because of HATE

Beauty

[Alexandra]

by the way, everybody and their SOs ought to be carrying pepper spraya

Cars backing up after immediately passing you is a clear sign of possible danger . . . leaving the scene right away is a safe response until you're SURE its safe.

[Beauty]

Hi Alexandra,

Good point. I never thought about caring pepper spray.

Beauty

[Alexandra]

you can buy one at your local "spy shop" for about $25. I've two . . . one with a keychain ring and another that looks like a pager. "They" say you can get up to 40 blasts from one of these small canisters.

IMO the pager one is better because it is less likely to be used AGAINST you should the perp get ahold of it.

ps: don't "test fire" one in your living room. It puts out a wide and long blast that truly stings everyone in the room and the stink lingers for days.

(no, I didn't do this but the saleman told me he did).

(no, I've never had to use mine though either.)

[CJ]

Hi Alexandra,

Hmmm. Pepper spray. I hadn't thought about that. It's not particularly legal here so it might be hard to get a hold of, but it's a good idea, I think.

I believe I may have "allowed" that to happen to me because of the slight delusion that my physical strength and bulk as a male wouldn't be too hampered by my wearing a skirt, heels, and nails. How wrong I was. In that first rush of self-defense adrenaline, I actually formed my hand into a fist, only to receive a short, sharp pain as my nails dug into my palm! No doubt pepper spray could've saved the day as much as my GF did (she was also slightly injured in the melée, suffering scrapes when she was thrown to the ground).

Beauty,

This whole incident happened fourteen years ago, here in Montreal. Only when I moved back to British-Columbia in 1997, and went to live with my brother for a year in a very small town, did I feel safe enough to go back out en femme. Since moving back here, about four years ago, I've only been out three or four times. The urge is there, but, you know, it's just a matter of being all dressed up and having nowhere to go.

To answer your question, Beauty, no, my GF and I didn't part because of that specific incident (in fact, this all happened at the very beginning of our seven-year relationship). No, as I may have mentioned, she was a bit of a dominant person--a bit too dominant (in every way you can imagine); it just led to a power balance in our relationship that started weirding me out. I have to admit, though, that, on the night I took those kicks, I was tremendously grateful for her own bulk and physical strength as well as for her fierce determination in not letting herself be cowed by mere males--drunk ones, at that!

So, pepper spray. I'll look into that, actually. Thanks, girls. You rock!

Love,
CJ