speak the truth, even if your voice shakes

At the link is a graphic description of the violence and abuse Chris Brown inflicted on Rihanna that night 4 years ago. The article is literally several paragraphs detailing the horrible violence and what Chris did to her.

And yet, here are the comments on the article:

i don’t have the words to articulate how upset this makes me.

gardenvarietygnome:

Lived experiences demonstrating the reality of intersecting oppressions.

sistahmamaqueen:

content warning: stories of injustice, violence, hate, and poc/trans/queer death

*Trigger warning for mild descriptions of violence and hate speech*

The first time I was the target of anti-transgender violence I didn’t know I was transgender.

I heard the three guys coming up behind me, talking, even laughing a little. I know they chose me specifically to jump, and I know it was about how I was perceived. My clothes, the way I walked, even the shape of my body at the time, in the throws of an eating disorder, expressed a failure to fit into my prescribed gender box. If asked I imagine the three guys would have said I was a fag, but what they were seeing had nothing in actuality to do with who I was or wasn’t fucking and everything to do with my gender performance.

…Homophobia and transphobia both stem from the compulsory gender binary. Homophobic violence and bullying is more about perceived gender non-conformity than someone’s actual lived identity. The attacker sees something that tells them:this person isn’t fitting right into the gendered order of things. To maintain their own sense of self within the gender hierarchy they lash out, targeting the aberration and attempting to put that person “in their place.”

maggiemooie:

fracturesintheframework:

1. Posting pictures of massacred bodies. These people were people and they gave their lives heroically for the removal of an evil disgusting man. Their bodies in death should not be used as shock footage or horror footage. We are well aware of the fact that brave men and women are being…

Excellent, especially the first point. I’ve seen some brutal shit reblogged on my dash, it really isn’t necessary. I have a horrible feeling some people take a sick fascination in it. 

This is why I really can’t bring myself to watch videos of protesters being brutally being. I think I’m able to understand what’s going on without seeing it.

(via mssswitch)

pansexualpride:

On December 1st Chloe Moore, a transgender woman living in DC, pepper sprayed a man after he reportedly hurled transphobic slurs at her and pushed her. The man then chased Moore, threw her to the ground, pinned her down, and pulled out a badge identifying himself as Officer Raphael Radon of the DC Police Department.

Radon and his friends have their own version of the story, of course, but Moore’s is backed up by an uninvolved witness. The Washington Blade discovered that the two police officers who responded to the scene determined Radon started the altercation and may have committed a bias-related assault. But supervisor Captain Michelle Williams overrode their recommendation and had Moore charged and arrested. Officer Radon has not been charged with anything.

“What’s especially disturbing about this case is that it features several flagrant violations of MPD’s general order on dealing with trans people,” said Alison Gill, a DC Trans Coalition attorney. “Medical attention was apparently not provided promptly, and the use of degrading, transphobic language is expressly forbidden.” DC does have some good civil rights laws on the books, and there are many officers on the force who have been willingly trained by the DC Trans Coalition and its allies in cultural competency. Gill’s statement continues,

“What this incident shows us is that training self-selected volunteers is only a small step toward ensuring that MPD officers fully comply with DC’s human rights law. We want to see a swift rejection of this kind of behavior from the highest levels within MPD, along with a real plan for making sure that every law enforcement officer knows and follows the law, including mandatory training for the entire force.”

Last week Change.org set up a petition to the DC Police Department saying Officer Radon should be suspended pending investigation, Moore should have the charges should be examined and dropped if they’re found to be based on discrimination, and that police officers should undergo mandatory training. I couldn’t agree more. Click here to sign the petition.

(via marauderfang4931)

radmax:

“Not too long ago, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) stepped in it something big, when they actually polled their audience on the question of whether it was OK to execute gay people. The media powerhouse defended the poll at first, saying that they were trying to reach out to their…