How Two Recent Cases Of Violence Illustrate The Lives of LGBTQ People
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 24 March 2024
⏱️ 16 minutes
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Summary
While some states have protections for queer and trans people, many other states have passed laws that restrict the rights and visibility of transgender individuals.
The stories of Nex Benedict and Dime Doe illustrate both those trends.
Benedict died by suicide the day after a physical altercation in their school bathroom. Benedict had been bullied by other students for more than a year.
Dime Doe, a Black trans woman, was killed in 2019. Last month a man who had been in a relationship with Doe was found guilty of killing her. It's the first time a hate crime against a trans person was brought to trial.
What do these cases tell us about the lives of trans and queer people in America?
If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, consider this listener, as a heads up. Today's episode mentions suicide. |
| 0:05.8 | My first thought was, what if they get hurt? |
| 0:10.0 | What if somebody hurts them because of who they are? |
| 0:13.0 | Not because of what they do or what they believe, |
| 0:15.5 | but who they are. |
| 0:17.1 | Brandy Sanders is a mom of two. |
| 0:19.3 | Her youngest child, who's now 24 years old, |
| 0:22.0 | is non-binary. And when a child came out as a teen, Sanders worried |
| 0:25.9 | about their safety and wanted to support them. |
| 0:28.7 | When my youngest came out, I just had this urge to get resources to help navigate this journey. |
| 0:37.0 | Sanders lives in Oklahoma and is vice president of the Oklahoma City chapter of P Flag, that's |
| 0:41.6 | parents, families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. |
| 0:44.8 | She spent more than a decade in her community helping parents of queer and trans youth better |
| 0:49.5 | understand and help them. |
| 0:51.6 | Oklahoma legislators proposed more than 50 bills in 2024 alone that |
| 0:56.3 | the ACLU frames as anti-LgibQ, everything from dictating how educational curriculums |
| 1:02.0 | deal with gender to restricting bathroom use and sports |
| 1:05.2 | participation, among other things. |
| 1:07.6 | Oklahoma is also where 16-year-old Next Benedict died. Every parent is going to think what if that was my kid? |
| 1:17.0 | You know, every school has a kid like next. |
| 1:20.0 | In February, Benedict, who's non-binary, was found dead at home. |
| 1:24.6 | They had gotten into a fight at school and the restroom, the day before. |
... |
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