Like many when I saw the initial report about the Tennessee school shooting, I thought, oh, no! Yet another reason for the bigots to hate trans people. My second thought is that she must have suffered so much abuse that it was understandable, if inexcusable. I thought about how her actions were not helpful to the trans community. So many already think of us as pedophiles and groomers. The last thing we needed was for the bigots to think we were violent as well.

I would like to say that I was relieved when I found out the shooter was actually a cis woman. In my heart of hearts, I knew that the damage had already been done. Your comment about what is exploding on social media just confirms my deepest fears. When is it going to stop? When will rational people sit down and listen and overcome their hatred and irrational bias? I am in deep pain at the moment, for those who lost children and family members, and also for a community which is so often demonized and doesn’t deserve it. I’m feeling a little hopeless at the moment.