Two stories caught my attention this week, one good, the other terrible.
First, a new Matrix sequel was announced. The fourth film in the blockbuster franchise will star Keanu Reeves, and Carrie-Anne Moss, with Lana Wachowski writing and directing. The second was the White House’s continued efforts to legalize the discrimination of trans people.
I was thrilled to learn that Reeves and Moss were reprising their iconic roles. But I was pissed off that this Republican administration of mostly white heterosexual cisgender men is determined to deny trans people their civil rights.
The Matrix and the anti-trans news are related in one ironic way: White heterosexual cisgender men love The Matrix, which was created by a pair of visionary trans siblings. In fact, many white heterosexual cisgender men have built an entire political religion around The Matrix.
In the movie, the character Morpheus, played by Lawrence Fishburne, offers Keanu Reeves’ character Thomas Anderson a choice. He opens his palms and reveals two pills, a blue one, and a red one. I remember sitting in the theater twenty-years ago during this scene and thinking the red pill looked a lot like a Hot Tamale cinnamon candy.
Morpheus then says:
“You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you…
