Transgender Contributions to the Military: Honoring Albert D. J. Cashier and Others Who Served

Last week, the Trump administration removed all references to trans people from the Stonewall National Monument continuing a pattern of attacks on that community. This upset me but worse, someone on my Facebook wall responded, “Who needs trans people?”

I cannot imagine anyone making that comment about any other group of people but once it becomes ok to demonize this group, who’s to stop them from demonizing everyone else they don’t like or understand?

Today when people (at least the haters) think of the trans community, they get worked up over the idea that young children are being “mutilated” (they’re not) or that biological males are taking over biological female sports (they’re not). Truth be told, the personal trainer asked me, “why do we even call them trans at all, why not just call them people?” Fair enough, I think most people who are scared of trans people have either never met one or have and didn’t know because they are just like the rest of us.

When I was a kid, a man named Fred moved down the street. My dad was a psychopath but he wasn’t racist. I had no idea he was Black because no one said, “Fred is Black.” He was darker than me but everyone is darker than me. My point is that like I didn’t know Fred was Black until he…