cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/22334414
Summary
Two transgender women, Dahlia and Jess, were attacked at a Minneapolis rail station, with onlookers cheering their assailants instead of helping.
After confronting a man yelling transphobic slurs, the situation escalated into a violent assault involving four or five others, leaving both women unconscious.
Advocates attribute the rise in anti-trans violence to emboldened transphobia fueled by misinformation and political rhetoric, including Donald Trump’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies.
The local trans community is responding with solidarity rallies, self-defense classes, and firearm training to prepare for a potential increase in attacks.
Police are investigating, but no arrests have been made.
I’m really not dismissing anything. I’m saying that they absolutely could have ignored those men. But I also do not think they did anything wrong in confronting them - unless they used force themselves, which we won’t know unless a video comes out.
Those men threw the first punch, and I’m saying that you should be ready for something like that, and you should do whatever you can to defend yourself.
“Confronted” does not imply violence, I have no reason to believe the women were violent initially. You’re acting like they started the fight when confrontation could range anywhere from a full-on shouting match to asking them to stop saying that bullshit.
A guy did try to punch them, he didn’t miss, they weren’t long-gone after that because more men joined in. All I’m saying is it’s wise to keep a firearm (or Taser, or pepper spray) in case of an assault like that, and they’re right to defend themselves in that case.
I don’t think they started the fight. Apologies if that was my implication. I just have a vivid image in my mind of the people who committed this crime. You can’t reason with that type of person. If they say something fucked up you’re better off just ignoring it. These are not citizens in the traditional sense. They’re looking for a reason to start a fight. They have nothing to lose.