I am a cis-het older white male. I was an SIU student during the 1980s. I remember sitting at a campfire one fall weekend evening, when a woman friend of mine started talking about a new disease that was going to change society. It was contagious and deadly. That was how I first heard about AIDS. Recently, my wife and I were talking about the people we knew from that era who died of AIDS, friends from high school and college. I am pretty sure there were guys I lost track of after I left SIU that died of AIDS. I remember the stigma of homosexuality vividly.
I go back to my alma mater, Southern Illinois University fairly often. My oldest kid is a fifth year senior there. I came down for Homecoming, and my kid told me about a protest they were going to. TPUSA had an anti-LGBTQ speaker come to talk. The original location was going to be on campus, but the university determined it was not an appropriate venue. It was moved to, of all places, the Carbondale Public Safety building. Yes, the police station.
Trans-exclusionary activist speaks at Carbondale PD after event relocated from SIU campus
I went to the protest. I was probably the oldest person there, though there were a few older women about my age. My kid gave me their trans flag to carry. Pretty sure some of the kids were surprised someone like me was there.
It is extremely concerning that the police invited TPUSA to do the event at the Carbondale Public Safety building. For the police to host an anti-transgender speaker is exactly the wrong message to send. Transgender people are the victims of violence at rates far greater than most other groups. The current culture wars targeting LGBTQ people increases this violence. I will never know what it is like to be targeted by powerful people like that.
Another concerning factor about the event is that SIU TPUSA is a registered RSO of a publicly funded university. It was held at a publicly funded city government building AND the press and the public were not allowed to attend. This appears to be a clear violation of the Illinois Open Meeting Act. That the Carbondale Police enforced keeping the press and the public out is extremely concerning.
It is a moral imperative that our society accepts, embraces, ensures the safety, and encourage the success of LGBTQ people - the same way society accepts, embraces, ensures the safety, and encourages my success as a cis-het older white guy.