Once upon a time, as most stories go, a man attracted to other men had lived his life amongst men who preferred women. However, it wasn’t too easy for him. In order to keep his relationships stable, his employment, and his safety, he had to keep his emotions secret to everyone. He couldn’t tell anyone, not even his closest friends or family. People like this man weren’t allowed to group together, for when they did, police could potentially raid the place. If anyone was caught anywhere near these places, they could lose their jobs and get arrested. These people couldn’t even be in the army, unless they kept quiet of course. This community, initially called homophiles, soon grew to become the LGBT+ community. This community started out with nonviolent protests by bringing awareness to the people and boycotting during the homophile movement. Then came the Gay Rights Movement, which was much, much less peaceful in comparison. The community said, “enough is enough,”, and they rioted and marched for their rights. They eventually gained their rights and protections against discrimination in the workplace, army, and any public space. In 2015, same sex couples were granted the ability to marry. And the man lived happily ever after, right? The story isn’t over yet.

Despite all the movement had fought for, the swing back to republicans had brought upon the repealing of protections for the community, my community. Discrimination against trans persons and homosexuals is now legal once again within the workplace and other public spaces. Trans people, such as myself, can be fired because of who we are. This means that I may have to postpone transitioning and remain closeted for the sake of having a job. Also, schools are allowed to discriminate against trans individuals who acknowledge their desire to transition. I haven’t acknowledged my desire to transition to any class other than this one, for I trust this class more than I trust any other. Transgender persons are only allowed to use the gender neutral bathrooms if they don’t feel like using the bathrooms corresponding to what they were born as. We can’t even join the army anymore.

There are people who say, “why can’t you be satisfied?” or “you already got your rights. Why keep fighting?”. It’s not over. It doesn’t stop at same sex marriage for us. The extinction of this hatred born from ignorance is where it will end. Nonetheless, this hatred and discrimination still exists. We were on the edge of greatness, until that greatness was snatched from right under our feet. Lucky for us, we can fix this. If ignorance is the root of the problem, then we must kill the root. Let us be known to the ones who hate us. Let them know why they should treat us like any other. Fighting hatred with hatred (as classic SJWs do) isn’t working for either party. We must show them the truth and educate them. On the other hand, we have done that before. In the homophile movement, we educated them via plays, pamphlets, and books. They didn’t listen up till we refused to stand by.

In the case education doesn’t work, we shall bring back The Stonewall. Till we regain our rights, and make them permanent, we will fight. We mustn’t stand by as our rights are stripped from us. We mustn’t let them succeed in deeming us less than worthy of the rights of everyone else.

Although we have been killed throughout history for who we are, we always come back. We may be a minority, but the extermination of us can never come to pass. No matter how much of us are erased from history, more of us will pop out and make history. We are immortal. We, as a whole, are immortal. Ignorance is only temporary.

If we keep on fighting, we will be able to reach our goal. One day, trans people such as myself will be able to transition in peace. One day, the LGBT+ community will be able to feel safe among society and will be able to be treated equally. Future generations within the LGBT+ community will not have to endure the treatment we had suffered for generations before us, and they will be able to be treated like any other. The future may appear to us as a blackened sky, but the rainbow will come after the storm.