The Blood of Our Youth
Our youth are dying. Painfully. Horrifically. Brutally. While we bicker and squabble over who has the best idea for furthering LGBTQ equality, the most twisted of those who hate us are murdering our babies. They may not be our own children, but LGBTQ youth everywhere need a safer, saner world in which to grow up, and we are the people who can make that happen. Unfortunately, I think we often forget that they are out there dying while we fight amongst ourselves over whose goal is the most urgent and whose strategy is the most sound.
Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, murdered November 14th in Puerto Rico.
Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado was murdered just 6 days ago, on November 14th, by somebody who was cruising for sex. The murderer believed Jorge was a woman and then resorted to murder upon discovering that Jorge was anatomically male. (I am not going to use pronouns to refer to Jorge, because I don’t know if Jorge identified as male or female.) Not content to simply end this 19-year-old’s life, the murderer cut off Jorge’s arms… and legs… and head… and partially burned the remains. The police officer who was initially working on the crime suggested that Jorge had it coming for living that “type of lifestyle.”
Jason Mattison Jr., found murdered last week in Baltimore.
Jason Mattison Jr. was found dead in a closet at his aunt’s house in Baltimore last week. Jason was an openly gay young man with a sunny disposition and a perpetual smile. His murderer raped him, gagged him with a pillowcase, stabbed him repeatedly in the head and throat and stuffed his body in a closet. Jason was 15 years old.
These two stories may be painful to read, but I’m certain that our discomfort pales in comparison to what Jorge and Jason suffered in the last moments of their lives. Sadly, these are not isolated incidents. They are simply the two most recent, most publicized cases out of a seemingly endless stream of atrocities being committed against LGBTQ youth around the world.
As I wrote previously, today is the international Transgender Day of Remembrance. For a list of all of the reported murders of trans people this year (including those murdered for loving or appearing to be trans people), check out the 2009 page at the Transgender DoR site here. (The candlelight vigil and march starts at 6:00 PM today at the Center, and the indoor memorial service starts at 7:00.)
Murders are certainly not limited to the trans community, nor to youth. The streets of our global village are awash with the blood of our fallen, young and old, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and straight, of all religions, races, ethnicities and cultures. But the horror doesn’t stop there. Murder is just the tip of the iceberg. We are being evicted from our homes, denied employment, beaten, harassed, raped, disowned, degraded and dehumanized. I cannot think of a better reason for us all to fight for equality, in whatever role fits us best. I wonder, though, how many of us remember the children’s faces when we are caught up in the picayune details of politics.
