Perelin: Hate Speech Must Be Confronted and Denormalized

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Sunday, November 20th was our annual trans day. A day to remember and honor the lives taken by violent anti-trans bigots. When it was first enacted in 1999, the young man now accused of killing five people and injuring another 17 at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs was not yet born. I was.

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I am delighted that our new Mayor, Mark Sutcliffe, attended a memorial service Sunday night at the Canadian Human Rights Memorial.Ash murmured“Gender-based violence has no place in our society.” Capital Pride hosted another rally for community members Thursday night.

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Anti-transgender violence has killed 300 people since 1999, making 2021 the worst year on record, according to activists. newly elected County Somerset.Ariel Troster pointed out on twitter How “sad and infuriating” it took an hour to read the names of last year’s victims at Sunday’s memorial service.

As a longtime queer activist, she’s used to offensive comments online. She told me she noticed a “great shift in the tone of the comments” during that period. The number of accounts is growing worryingly. Such comments are “designed to incite anger and violence,” she says.

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The “grooming” accusation is not innocent. This is a dog whistle, designed to spur extremists to more violent actions. Not everyone who utters these types of violent slurs engages in physical violence. of course not. But everyone involved in anti-LGBTQ physical violence starts with verbal abuse.

Many of you may remember QAnon’s hysterical conspiracy theories. According to Hillary Clinton, young children were captured as sex slaves and hidden in the basement of a Washington pizzeria. The man who drove from North Carolina and opened fire on the pizzeria (which, by the way, has no basement) was trying to save children who weren’t prisoners and weren’t even in the non-existent basement. (Pause here, if you want to protect children from adult sexual predators, you can start by prosecuting documented cases of rape and sexual abuse by Christian clergy. can.

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Anyway, Troster has noticed that Ottawa-based Shopify has allowed a product that “stops grooming the kids” on its platform and has demanded founder and CEO Tobi Lütke remove it. .

Shopify has refused to remove the e-store. It’s upsetting and disappointing. This rhetoric contributes to queer people being targeted for physical violence and death. It’s hate speech. No business on any platform. please put it down

I stopped pretending I could ignore this sludge. Hate speech directed at queer people and others needs to be confronted and denormalized. It must be challenged at every turn, and for one, I will never remain silent.

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I’m not alone On Wednesday and Thursday, her 150 activists from around the world gathered on Sussex Drive to attend the Dignity Network conference and discuss how Canada can become a leader in the field.

“From Uganda to Canada and beyond, homophobia and transphobia are hurting our communities around the world,” says Pepe Onzeima of Sexual Minority Uganda. “But we are committed to changing this by healing our communities, building the support they need, and ensuring our rights and safety are protected.”

Amid growing homophobic and transphobic hate, Dignity Network Executive Director Doug Kerr added:

Let’s fight for human rights for all, starting with the right to live one’s life without fear of violence. Silence allows prejudice, hatred and violent attacks. please talk. So we can stop counting corpses and celebrate the living corpses.

Bridget Perelin I’m an Ottawa writer.