Transgender murders-one a month

I think that the legal classification of "hate crime" is absurd. I think it is, itself, a "hate crime".

That being said, I hope justice runs its course. We don't need special classifications for this though, murder is already illegal even if it's not legally determined to have been hateful.

Hey, Wiyaka. Craven is right on this. They shouldn't be classified as hate crimes, they should be classified as murder born out of hatred for one's self.

It is my strong feeling that when a person is slain because of who he/she is, the perp is someone who longs to be transgendered,(or whatever) and hates themselves for it. Instead of turning the weapon on themselves, they feel that they can purge their own misgivings by killing those who are symbolic of that suppression.

although it is slightly off topic I am not sure you are right Letty - if that's true then white racists have desire to be black?

MOUN, I was speaking mostly from a sexual perspective, but in thinking about the racist angle, that might fit; however, in the case of people who exterminate because of race, that's a type of fear so they're not so different from a psychological viewpoint.

Craven,
Until all people are treated the same and have the same legal rights, we need some term for this type of thing, whether against transgendered people, people of color, differing spiritual beliefs, whatever. It's simply a matter of equal rights.

Granted murder is wrong, but does doing it to someone that is different any better? I think that what the courts are trying to do is punish those that are motivated by hate. I don't see that as a good way to bring about social change and eliminate bigotry, but it may deter a few.

Letty,

I agree with you on some of this, but I haven't gotten the research done on it to give a qualified statement. One influence is what they learn from their families, friends and parental misguidance. Another is that old fear factor, fear of the unknown. Sam and I work on this daily with people.

Once society gets past this "male/female" thing and understands that it's not the plumbing we have, but who we are as people that counts, we can all live easier lives. In the mean time, people will continue to warn Sam and I to be careful in our traveling.

I find special classifications aimed at achieving equality both ironic and misguided.



No. And if I am mudered it will mean the same to me whether or not that person did so out of legally defined "hate".

The "hate crime" classifications above and beyond muder makes some murders more weighty than others and all based upon a flimsy nearly impossible-to-proove criteria.



IMO, it can help generate more bigotry. But it's on too abstract a level to quantify.

As for the "they hate themselves" thing, well I'll just say that it's the kind of thing that gives pseudo-psychobabble a bad name.

I second that.

Damn. And to think I spent all those years in a psych class for nuttin'

Letty,

I think you miss MOUN's point. I'm seeing your statements as murder of a transexual as being of different degrees. Basic human rights are just that, nothing more, nothing less. The US constitution allows all people the same rights. Transgender people are denied these rights, as are gays and lesbians. Why? because we're different.

Historically, those that were different have had to fight for their basic human rights. Native Americans were denied their basic right to practice their own Ceremonies, even in their own homes, by federal law signed back in 1888. Why? The government was fearful of the Ghost Dance and it's effect on native people trying to fight assimilation. President Carter signed the Freedom of Religion Act in 1978, eliminating this fear of imprisonment. Yes, I said Federal prosecution and imprisonment for practicing their beliefs! In 1924, Native Americans were given US citizenship...in their own land. Women sufferagettes fought and eventually won the right to vote areound 1912, after decades of protest and being jailed for protesting. Black were finally given their basic rights under the Civil Rights Act in the 1960's.

Now, we in the LGBT community are fighting for our basic rights to marry and live as we truly are. We're also fighting for equal rights just to live! The murder of this young woman is as bad as some that occured in the South, at the hands of the KKK. The courts would not hesitate to charge someone with a hate crime if it was racially motivated,nor if a Caucasian were treated the same by a group of another race. But a young transgendered woman? Well...

I realize that this is lengthy, but for once I tend to agree with MOUN that motivation by hatred is wrong, no matter who it's directed towards.

Aren't most murders committed out of hatred?

Hopefully not the same class repeatedly.

Just a little levity to lighten things up a bit.

Well, As I once observed, there are TWO emotions-love and fear, but different things motivate different people.

Let me try and clear up my position:

Murder for profit

Murder for power

Murder for insecurity

and the list goes on and on.

p.s. Maybe it just seemed like the same class.

There are the increasing numbers of murders done by youth that don't see anything wrong in killing someone and sadly, those that don't realize that live is not like a movie where someone is killed in one movie only to reappear in a later one.

Whatever the cause, it's still taking another's life.

Is that really true in the US?

Our murder rate is actually going down, here.

Wiyaka - is the number of transgendered folk murdered in the US greater than expected based on their representation in the general population?

Deb, here the general trend has been downward pressure on the overall rate. There are some stats that make people think youth muder is on a big rise but that is largely fueled by focus and not statistics.

Some stats (some junk science too):

http://www.cnn.com/US/9901/02/murder.rate/

http://www.cjcj.org/pubs/myth/myth.html

http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/html/qa277.html

http://www.children.smartlibrary.org/NewInterface/segment.cfm?segment=2048

Your first question should be whether or not the stat is true. I have never seen anything that supports it that did not reek of junk science.

Here's an example: http://www.tgcrossroads.org/news/archive.asp?aid=410

It should not be hard to spot the scientific errors and innacuracies.

Ok - thankee....