Trans rights are human rights, so let's raise some money
Crime Writers for Trans Rights is raising money for the Transgender Law Center
A group called Crime Writers for Trans Rights is raising money for the Transgender Law Center, and we’ll get to that, but first…
About a month ago I was taking my 10-year-old daughter to the Liberty Science Center. She was off from school, and they had a new exhibit on the Titanic, which she was very excited to see. She’s such a little dork. I love it.
As we were driving, out of nowhere, she asked me: “Why do some people not like trans people?”
It made me think of those parents who say how difficult it is to explain homosexuality or queerness or transness to their children.
I never had an issue explaining those things to her. Some boys love boys, some girls love girls. Some people love both. For some people, how they look on the outside doesn’t match how they feel on the inside, and in the pursuit of being happy, they make the brave choice to change. She’s growing up in a generation that’s more exposed to these things. She understands them just fine.
As to her question, I found myself at a complete loss for words. After a moment I told her, “Some people are just assholes.”
Then we had a longer conversation, in which I first apologized for my language, and then, talked about how some people are afraid of things they don’t understand, and they respond with anger or violence. We talked about how religion sometimes teaches people that anyone who doesn’t look like them or live by a set of arbitrary rules is bad.
And I reminded her that whenever we see someone being bullied for who they love, or how they look, or how they feel on the inside, we should stick up for them. We should be their friend, because that’s what they need most in that moment.
They need a friend.
She gets all this. She’s a good kid. I hate that she’s growing up in this world.
Every now and again some dipshit will come along and say authors shouldn’t talk politics because it could alienate potential readers.
My books are full of queer characters and left-wing ideas so I don’t think I’m risking readers amongst the conservative set. And what a cowardly thing to say. If you care more about sales than people, well, that’s one way to live, but it ain’t for me.
I want to say this as clearly as I possibly can: Trans rights are human rights. Trans people deserve the same love and safety and protection as anyone else. If anything, they deserve our admiration, for seeking their own truth so deeply, knowing that some people will hate them for it.
At this point…
At this point in a previous draft of this newsletter, I got angry. Really, really angry. It’s hard not to be angry right now. But then I saw this story about a guy named Larry, in Wisconsin, who showed up at a hearing to speak in support of a state bill to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
A lot of people showed up to speak against the bill. And Larry had to sit there and listen to them. By the time it was his turn to speak, he apologized, because he’d been given the chance to hear their side. He no longer supported the bill.
As mad as I still am that so many people are needlessly under attack, I think it’s worth tempering my anger and saying: folks, we’re all human, and there is a storm raging within all of us—we don’t know what anyone else is going through.
Given my audience I expect I’m speaking to the choir here, but I hope this gets in front of at least one person who needs to hear it:
Shouldn’t you give other people the same compassion you’d ask for yourself or your loved ones?
A little compassion goes a long way. So in the spirit of that, instead of using a lot of choice words and cleverly-constructed putdowns (and believe me, I had some good ones), I’m going to offer some compassion, for the people whose beliefs I disagree with.
I will not condone the right to have those beliefs. No one has the right to look at someone else and say: That person deserves less than me; that person deserves to be afraid.
But I will allow that we live in a complicated world, and yeah, sometimes things you don’t understand can be scary.
We have to be kind. We have to be. Look where fear and derision has gotten us. Look at the world we’re handing to our kids. It’s a fucking mess.
I’m hopeful for guys like Larry, but it underscores the fact that data doesn’t often work to change minds—if it did, kids wouldn’t be dying of the measles. Larry had plenty of data available to him, but I’m guessing he chose the things that best fit his worldview.
Then he heard stories. The stories of the people who were being affected by this.
This is how the world becomes a better place. Listening to each other. Seeing each other.
Stories connect us. All of this, all of what we do—it’s the machinery of empathy.
Which brings us all the way back around to the original point: I’m excited to join with a bunch of other storytellers for Crime Writers for Trans Rights (this is the link, right here, these words, you can click on them, for some reason Substack isn’t always underlining links in my posts…).
Proceeds will go to the Transgender Law Center. There are some really great items available. Mine (linked here) is a consult session. This is something that I normally charge $150 an hour for. Maybe you’ll get it for less. I hope it goes for a bit more.
We’ll get on Zoom, or if you’re local to the NYC area, we can meet for coffee or a cupcake (I know a really great cupcake place), and we’ll talk about your ideas, or your book, or the publishing industry, or pretty much anything you want to talk about. We can brainstorm, or dissect craft, or you can ask me to help you understand the querying process. Whatever you want; it’ll be your time.
I know a little about a little: I’m a USA TODAY bestseller, I’ve written eight books, and co-authored some more, and written comic books and short stories. I’ve worked with James Patterson and wrote a Star Wars story. I used to work in publishing, I teach in an MFA program, and I’m a regular instructor for Writer’s Digest. I love working with other writers, so, I think it’ll be worth your time and money.
And if you’re not in the market for that, I hope you’ll consider bidding on the other items in this auction. I mean: Charlaine Harris, Gillian Flynn,
… pals like and S.A. Cosby and … too many luminaries to name.Bidding opens this Wednesday, March 26. Whatever gets raised for my item, I will match with my own donation. I hope someone comes out big and makes me regret that.
(I won’t really regret it; the cause is just.)
Up at the top of this, I shared a snippet from the comic book Preacher. I read it way back in the late 90s, when it first came out. It never left me. It’s beautiful in its simplicity. And it’s a sentiment I come back to on a nearly daily basis as a father.
The chief thing I strive to instill in my daughter is a sense of social justice. To be one of the good guys.
To be kind.
In the spirit of all of this, it’s also a good time to support trans storytellers. I would encourage you to read Alina Boyden (Stealing Thunder and Gifting Fire), Emma Alice Johnson (Unicorn Wasteland), Torrey Peters (Detransition, Baby), and Maya Deane (Wrath Goddess Sing). I can personally and enthusiastically recommend all of these books. I’m currently reading By Way of Sorrow by Robyn Gigl, which is excellent.
If you want to take things a step further, give Queer Crime Writers a gander. It’s a great group, and they’re doing the work.
Even if you can’t donate, even if you can’t afford new books right now—maybe there’s someone in your life, maybe someone you haven’t spoken to in a while, who could use a friend at this moment.
Reach out. Be a friend. Be kind.
That’s something.