I was on a flight the day after the presidential inauguration, seated near a passenger who was struggling to connect his tablet to the plane’s Wi-Fi.
I was raised on “Mr. Rogers,” so I know the value of kindness and being a helper. I leaned over to help and went back to reading my book as he started streaming a certain cable propaganda channel that calls itself news.
He seemed to have no interest in the use of headphones, therefore sharing the propaganda with everyone around him, and I became instantly, horrifically mesmerized. My ADHD brain refused to allow me to concentrate on anything other than the sound of Fox News.
In general, few things annoy me as much as people in public spaces using their devices without headphones — I know, I sound like I should be shouting “Kids, get off my lawn!” — but I wasn’t even annoyed this time. I felt like an anthropologist conducting a study.
I hadn’t even considered what this network would have to say on the day after their guy was back in office. I was surprised by what I heard. There was very little celebrating, it was all fearmongering. The talking heads focused on the candidate who had not been elected, and the threat she would have — in their view — posed to this nation.
Among her greatest threats, her support of the so-called “trans agenda.” They explained that trans people are one of the most dangerous forces in the United States.
As a trans person myself, I do not think about trans people nearly as much as these fearmongers do. As a Floridian, I am concerned about the insurance crisis, global warming and the increase in severity of hurricanes, I feel like I must take out a small loan to buy eggs, and I’m worried about many other issues that we all face, regardless of gender identity.
It is bizarre to me that two months ago, at 10,000 feet in the air, I learned that I am one of the biggest threats to this country. All this time, I have just been living my life, raising a family, pastoring a church, blissfully unaware that my very existence threatens the fabric of our nation. The man on the plane and millions of people just like him are being spoon-fed hate. They think they are being nourished by this message, but they are being poisoned by fear.
It is funny to me that this man had no idea that one of these dangerous trans villains was right there, breathing his same air and providing him with tech support. Eventually, a flight attendant came by and told the man to put on headphones, thus concluding my anthropological study for that day.
I’ve had a handful of additional unfortunate moments in the past few months, in which I found myself exposed to the irate rantings of Fox News, in waiting rooms and other unavoidable spaces. Each time, I again discovered the coverage centers on fearmongering about trans people.
Most recently I just about fell out of my chair when Fox News said that trans people are the only people in this nation who have rights, while we oppress everyone else. They spoke of the current administration and what this network sees as the incredible work they are doing to protect this nation from trans people.
The current conservative obsession with such a small percentage of the population is more dangerous than many might realize. The hatred and lies spreading about trans folks extend beyond the viewership of any one network or the supporters of one group of elected officials. We can see it infecting the ethos of our entire country.
Ignorance and hate are contagious. Transphobia is spreading even faster than measles on a playground of the unvaccinated. We must inoculate our community against the virus of transphobia.
Unfortunately, many among our community have been infected for years and have been spreading it to others. What can we do to cure this problem and stop hatred from tearing the LGBTQIA+ community apart? The answer is solidarity.
We all need to care about each other. We need to care about racism. We need to care about reproductive rights. We need to care about protecting immigrants, whether documented or not. We need to care about each other, which means caring about everyone’s rights to live, love and work. We each need to care about other people’s survival as much as we care about our own.
We could change the world if we just care enough about one another’s issues. Let’s care in a way that transforms us. When they are throwing rocks at you, I commit to standing close enough that the rocks will hit me too. When they come for one of us, let’s understand that they are coming for all of us.
Let’s be all in. Let’s be a community of solidarity. We might not fully understand one another, but we can fully fight for each other. The time is now for us to give it all we’ve got. The time is now to love one another so powerfully that our love can overcome the hate that harms us all.
Rev. Jakob Hero-Shaw is the senior pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Tampa, MCCTampa.com. He is a proud husband and father in a family that was legalized through marriage equality and adoption.
