How The Pyramid of Hate Applies to The Transgender Community
Examine this picture. If you can identify yourself as allowing or participating in one of these actions. No matter how fleeting or unimportant you think your discretions are, think carefully about the fact that the people on the pyramid levels above you are standing on your shoulders to get there.
This graphic is used by the Anti Defamation League to illustrate the building blocks of Anti Semitism and Racism. It is not off the mark at all.
Think about this in terms of transgender people and how this pyramid can be used to bring the struggle we face into focus.
ACTS OF BIAS: Do you remember the last time you made a joke about a transgender person? Do you think of us as mentally ill? Maybe an open target for ridicule?
ACTS OF PREJUDICE: Do you know someone who has come out as transgender? Have you insulted them for who they are? Do you avoid being in the same room? Do you purposely leave them out of gatherings, events, meetings, conversations that you would have included them in if they weren’t transgender? Do you forbid your kids from being friends with a transgender child?
ACTS OF DISCRIMINATION: Do you think employers should be able to fire transgender people from their jobs? Should landlords or mortgage companies be able to deny…
