IDK why her death is hitting me so hard. Maybe it's because she was a CS major (I majored in CS in college). Maybe it's just the weight of everything. All I know is that if these right-wing fash hadn't decided to make us trans folks their scapegoat, Lia might be alive today. Like I said before, the blood of every trans person who has taken their own life is on the hands of the transphobes.
It makes me so SICK that this young woman died, and by her own hand. There is NO WAY this is not completely terrifying to every trans woman, including those who “pass”. You can lose everything. You WILL lose everything. And for WHAT? Our other Lia (Thomas… people, we have to reach out to every trans person of all ages, all walks of life…) is proof that there is nothing so PETTY, so CRUEL and RIDICULOUS that this vindictiveness won’t embrace. My philosophy is that everyone, anyone, could be a trans person who has not disclosed. So each of us must seize every opportunity to say everywhere that trans people need their lives and rights protected. We may be saving a person who’s close to the edge.
A well written heart-breaking piece. I have so many things I want to say based on this article.... She was too young...it's just not fair...many of us have contemplated or attempted this...fuck everyone who voted for these policies and fuck everyone who continue to advocate for our misery or extinction...and also, the best resistance I can think of is to try our best to live open and happy lives....to not let them steal our joy...to not give them the power or the satisfaction of deleting ourselves from life and society...and also just sending love to everyone out there in our community going through similar circumstances. You are not alone and we will get through this.
Yasha, I couldn't agree with you more. Though counter-intuitive, I think it's even MORE important for us to be visible. One of the reasons that the bigotry is so easily accepted by everyday people is that so few actually know one of us.
I went to Middlebury College. This hits close to home. I'm saddened at the thought of Lia not feeling like she belonged in a space where belonging is crucial. I hate that it is considered an act of courage to join a sports team for a trans person, in particular, trans women. In a hostile world, often sports teams and clubs are a place the youth can turn to to find community and a sense of identity beyond gender, sex, race, etc, a family. I played sports all throughout high school and I cannot imagine feeling like I shouldn't be there, simply because of who I am. It would have greatly affected my academic performance, my relationships, and most importantly, my sense of safety and mental well-being. I hope Middlebury will investigate its sports programs and do everything in their power to make sure no other students face the same awful feeling of rejection over something they have no control over. We are losing so many sisters and brothers every year, and yet trans people continue to be targeted relentlessly every day. Rest in power, Lia Smith. I'm so sorry the world failed to recognize the beautiful person that you are.
The current national wave of hostile, foaming-at-the-mouth transphobia isn’t going to just adversely affect individuals such as Lia. It will affect many cis women too - particularly those that aren’t gender-conforming. What about when bathroom bans ensnare non-gender-confirming cis women? How will women athletes feel when all of them may have to submit to invasive, privacy-violating genetic tests or physical exams to prove “eligibility” for sports - especially when the male athletes won’t have to? Cis women should think clearly about all this before caving to transphobia.
Trump and his Pedophile Government, and believe me the fact that both He and Congress have done everything they possibly can to Bury the Truth in the Epstein Files, proves He owns it All! Every single Transgender Suicide is HIS FAULT! He is a Murderer! Millions died from Covid, he and his pedophile friends in Congress are relentlessly pushing to commit Genocide on our Trans Community! He’s constantly lying to the world that we’re the pedophiles to deflect from the actual facts of what these Right Wingers really are…PEDOPHILES! THE GOP ARE G=GUARDIANS O=OF P=PEDOPHILES! And the only reason they don’t believe it is because Trump’s Propaganda Corps, the Main Stream Media Networks, LIE out of their collective Asses against the Transgender Community! The only reason we know so much about the true monsters in our society is because of the independent media outlets that cover them and Tell us The Truth! History will tell the truth about this timeline and it will show how dark it was! We are all under a thick orange cloud of hate and division because of the Trump regime! 👿👿
Stay strong, my brothers and sisters, because just as other empires have fallen, this empire will collapse, and it will burn itself to the ground as all other empires have and after the collapse there will be a better world!
Let it be one of Peace,Harmony and Love! 🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈🏳️🌈❤️❤️
Thank you, Stephanie. We will see the community through this, I just wish there was a site where someone like Lia could say, “I’ve had it, I need to get out and a safe place to go regroup” and other supportive parents like me could reach them and help.
IS there?
I’m just so sad for her…for everyone. And I can’t wait for these viscous people to reap their karma.
I sure hope karma does it soon! Unfortunately there seems to be a concerted effort by many in Congress,Democrats and MAGAT Fascists that have turned their collective backs and hearts on our community! History will not be kind to them and they will all be remembered as the Ones Who Abandoned Us in our Time of Need!
Heartbreaking, and a chilling reminder of what once was. Just before and after the turn of the millennium, we- my trans friends and I- were so sure that visibility and education were the keys to greater acceptance, and the ability to transition earlier and more safely than we had. So, to church groups and school groups of all levels, and in public presentations, from small groups to packed lecture halls, death threats or no, we told our stories. And access eased, and kids were able to transition younger, and adults more easily, and we thought, the fifty-by-thirty rule that therapists often cited back in the Stone Age, where fifty percent of us didn't see our thirtieth birthday, was vanquished forever. We couldn't have been more wrong. And my dead, those friends who fell on this journey all those years ago, are whispering at my shoulder that I -we- can't leave this fight, not yet, not if we're going to avoid going to funerals on the scale that our gay bothers did back in the 80's and 90's. Reason will not make the transphobes stop. Love will not make them stop. We will have to take to the streets along with everyone else that the current wave of fascism seeks to drive into the darkness.
America has a really hard time learning from history. That shows in every backlash against progress, this being the latest and one of the crueler examples. To screw with people for absolutely no reason, to pretend it's righteous (missing the self- part), to ignore the consequences like this young woman's death. It's time to stop being satisfied with debating all this, and to use force. We can't have more and more needless losses of life, we can't have hate dictating public policy. I'm ready to do anything necessary.
This is not merely trans suicide but trans genocide. What else can you call targeting us trans people because of their very existence, leading us to kill ourselves?
This such a tragedy which does not need to happen if the anti-trans groups would just let people live their lives in peace. This vial group if ignorant people must somehow learn that trans people do not pose a threat to them or anyone else. We must continue to call these ignorant people out loudly and clearly. I just wonder what they are afraid of and what proclivities they are hiding
My heart aches at the loss of another sister, a fellow traveler on this path that has grown so harsh and unforgiving. I pray, Lia, that you find the comfort and peace in your next journey that you were denied in this one. We are diminished by your absence, but will carry your story in our hearts as we continue the fight. Rest in peace and rise in power dear sister…
Thank you for this touching piece. My child is at Middlebury and knew Lia - just had dinner with her a few days before she disappeared - so this feels close for me too.
When will it stop? How did we get to this awful place.
IDK why her death is hitting me so hard. Maybe it's because she was a CS major (I majored in CS in college). Maybe it's just the weight of everything. All I know is that if these right-wing fash hadn't decided to make us trans folks their scapegoat, Lia might be alive today. Like I said before, the blood of every trans person who has taken their own life is on the hands of the transphobes.
. . on the the hands of the Republicans!
I don’t see many Democrats castigating transgendered people simply because they are alive & transgendered.
It makes me so SICK that this young woman died, and by her own hand. There is NO WAY this is not completely terrifying to every trans woman, including those who “pass”. You can lose everything. You WILL lose everything. And for WHAT? Our other Lia (Thomas… people, we have to reach out to every trans person of all ages, all walks of life…) is proof that there is nothing so PETTY, so CRUEL and RIDICULOUS that this vindictiveness won’t embrace. My philosophy is that everyone, anyone, could be a trans person who has not disclosed. So each of us must seize every opportunity to say everywhere that trans people need their lives and rights protected. We may be saving a person who’s close to the edge.
The LGBTQ+ people went through the same persecution before and during the 1960’s through the 1980’s.
How did we become more accepted and less persecuted?
By surviving and voting.
A well written heart-breaking piece. I have so many things I want to say based on this article.... She was too young...it's just not fair...many of us have contemplated or attempted this...fuck everyone who voted for these policies and fuck everyone who continue to advocate for our misery or extinction...and also, the best resistance I can think of is to try our best to live open and happy lives....to not let them steal our joy...to not give them the power or the satisfaction of deleting ourselves from life and society...and also just sending love to everyone out there in our community going through similar circumstances. You are not alone and we will get through this.
EXACTLY! I sent in a donation
Yasha, I couldn't agree with you more. Though counter-intuitive, I think it's even MORE important for us to be visible. One of the reasons that the bigotry is so easily accepted by everyday people is that so few actually know one of us.
OMG, spot on!
This hurts my heart. This young woman was robbed of the joy of living her personal truth. That is a violation of basic human rights.
I went to Middlebury College. This hits close to home. I'm saddened at the thought of Lia not feeling like she belonged in a space where belonging is crucial. I hate that it is considered an act of courage to join a sports team for a trans person, in particular, trans women. In a hostile world, often sports teams and clubs are a place the youth can turn to to find community and a sense of identity beyond gender, sex, race, etc, a family. I played sports all throughout high school and I cannot imagine feeling like I shouldn't be there, simply because of who I am. It would have greatly affected my academic performance, my relationships, and most importantly, my sense of safety and mental well-being. I hope Middlebury will investigate its sports programs and do everything in their power to make sure no other students face the same awful feeling of rejection over something they have no control over. We are losing so many sisters and brothers every year, and yet trans people continue to be targeted relentlessly every day. Rest in power, Lia Smith. I'm so sorry the world failed to recognize the beautiful person that you are.
The current national wave of hostile, foaming-at-the-mouth transphobia isn’t going to just adversely affect individuals such as Lia. It will affect many cis women too - particularly those that aren’t gender-conforming. What about when bathroom bans ensnare non-gender-confirming cis women? How will women athletes feel when all of them may have to submit to invasive, privacy-violating genetic tests or physical exams to prove “eligibility” for sports - especially when the male athletes won’t have to? Cis women should think clearly about all this before caving to transphobia.
!!!
No caving cis women!!
Trump and his Pedophile Government, and believe me the fact that both He and Congress have done everything they possibly can to Bury the Truth in the Epstein Files, proves He owns it All! Every single Transgender Suicide is HIS FAULT! He is a Murderer! Millions died from Covid, he and his pedophile friends in Congress are relentlessly pushing to commit Genocide on our Trans Community! He’s constantly lying to the world that we’re the pedophiles to deflect from the actual facts of what these Right Wingers really are…PEDOPHILES! THE GOP ARE G=GUARDIANS O=OF P=PEDOPHILES! And the only reason they don’t believe it is because Trump’s Propaganda Corps, the Main Stream Media Networks, LIE out of their collective Asses against the Transgender Community! The only reason we know so much about the true monsters in our society is because of the independent media outlets that cover them and Tell us The Truth! History will tell the truth about this timeline and it will show how dark it was! We are all under a thick orange cloud of hate and division because of the Trump regime! 👿👿
Stay strong, my brothers and sisters, because just as other empires have fallen, this empire will collapse, and it will burn itself to the ground as all other empires have and after the collapse there will be a better world!
Let it be one of Peace,Harmony and Love! 🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈🏳️🌈❤️❤️
Thank you, Stephanie. We will see the community through this, I just wish there was a site where someone like Lia could say, “I’ve had it, I need to get out and a safe place to go regroup” and other supportive parents like me could reach them and help.
IS there?
I’m just so sad for her…for everyone. And I can’t wait for these viscous people to reap their karma.
I sure hope karma does it soon! Unfortunately there seems to be a concerted effort by many in Congress,Democrats and MAGAT Fascists that have turned their collective backs and hearts on our community! History will not be kind to them and they will all be remembered as the Ones Who Abandoned Us in our Time of Need!
The collapse cannot happen soon enough!
Tragic. And unnecessary. Thank you for providing the context. Your work is so important.
Heartbreaking, and a chilling reminder of what once was. Just before and after the turn of the millennium, we- my trans friends and I- were so sure that visibility and education were the keys to greater acceptance, and the ability to transition earlier and more safely than we had. So, to church groups and school groups of all levels, and in public presentations, from small groups to packed lecture halls, death threats or no, we told our stories. And access eased, and kids were able to transition younger, and adults more easily, and we thought, the fifty-by-thirty rule that therapists often cited back in the Stone Age, where fifty percent of us didn't see our thirtieth birthday, was vanquished forever. We couldn't have been more wrong. And my dead, those friends who fell on this journey all those years ago, are whispering at my shoulder that I -we- can't leave this fight, not yet, not if we're going to avoid going to funerals on the scale that our gay bothers did back in the 80's and 90's. Reason will not make the transphobes stop. Love will not make them stop. We will have to take to the streets along with everyone else that the current wave of fascism seeks to drive into the darkness.
Amen.
America has a really hard time learning from history. That shows in every backlash against progress, this being the latest and one of the crueler examples. To screw with people for absolutely no reason, to pretend it's righteous (missing the self- part), to ignore the consequences like this young woman's death. It's time to stop being satisfied with debating all this, and to use force. We can't have more and more needless losses of life, we can't have hate dictating public policy. I'm ready to do anything necessary.
This is not merely trans suicide but trans genocide. What else can you call targeting us trans people because of their very existence, leading us to kill ourselves?
Your headline is so very true. For several years now, I label suicides like this as institutional murder.
This such a tragedy which does not need to happen if the anti-trans groups would just let people live their lives in peace. This vial group if ignorant people must somehow learn that trans people do not pose a threat to them or anyone else. We must continue to call these ignorant people out loudly and clearly. I just wonder what they are afraid of and what proclivities they are hiding
Exactly
My heart aches at the loss of another sister, a fellow traveler on this path that has grown so harsh and unforgiving. I pray, Lia, that you find the comfort and peace in your next journey that you were denied in this one. We are diminished by your absence, but will carry your story in our hearts as we continue the fight. Rest in peace and rise in power dear sister…
😭💔 Beautifully stated, dear Tessa. Thank you. Safe journey, sweet Lia.
Thank you for this touching piece. My child is at Middlebury and knew Lia - just had dinner with her a few days before she disappeared - so this feels close for me too.
When will it stop? How did we get to this awful place.
Thank you for the donation link.