Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Most just horrifying news.

First from Richmond, Indiana, where a 59-year-old Black cisgender woman Michelle Dionne Peacock was killed by a neighbor wielding a blade, in part due to his perception that she was a transgender woman. From TransGriot

 According to the affidavit, Tommy Wayne Earl who also confessed to the crime stated “I had enough!” Earl told investigators that the dispute stemmed from a dispute he had been having with the victim for several months. Even referring to the victim as “a male acting like a woman” continuing on saying that the victim who is a CIS woman (assigned female at birth and identified as female) was using the gazebo near his (Earl) apartment and wasn’t happy about it.

Earl slaughtered her over a series of petty disputes and shows no remorse. According to the GoFundMe set up by her daughter to help with funeral expenses, Michelle had been relentlessly bullied by Earl and made reports to the management company. Michelle was a cancer survivor and had relocated to Richmond, Indiana about five years ago. If you can contribute to her final expenses, perhaps that will help ease the burden of her family who will also have to endure a trial.

This is a bizarre story simply because she was not transgender. But it shows the deep seeded anti-trans venom that wrecks so much violent and agony in our society. Earl is in custody facing homicide charges.

Rest in power, Michelle Dionne. Your life will be honored and your death acknowledged.

A few days later on July 2, a Portland man was killed for defending a trans woman friend from someone who was verbally harassing her. From Oregon Live:

Colin Smith stepped in. And that’s when, police say, Smith was stabbed to death. He was 32.

“It was a hate crime,” said Danielle. “She was trans, he [suspect] didn’t like it, and Colin — defending his friend — was in the way. And that’s what happened. It’s just tragic.”

Colin is remembered as a good and kind person who would always step up to support his friends. The suspect Rahnique Jackson, 24, was arrested by US Marshalls a few days later. He is expected to be arraigned Monday for 2nd-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon.

Rest in power, Colin. Your heroism will forever be part of your story. So we have two very different individuals who died because of anti-trans bigotry. And neither was trans. It is the worst case scenario extending the impact of anti-trans school policies and employment policies. Of course there’s an impact on cisgender heterosexual people. A less representative community hurts everyone.

But the sacrifice of Michelle and Colin will likely not receive much media attention although they are victims of this hate.