The LGBTQIA Alliance of Vermont stands in solidarity with the brave protestors in Charlottesville, VA, and expresses sympathy to the family of Heather Heyer.
Alliance Liaison Brenda Churchill of Enosburg Falls echoes the statements put forth by other leaders from within the LGBTQIA communities: “Hate and bigotry must never be met with silence or half-hearted rebukes. All political leaders, from the Federal administration on down, must explicitly, and unequivocally, condemn this violent extremism”.
The recent events in Charlottesville are a stark reminder that the racism and white supremacy which has been allowed to fester for generations has become emboldened by the policies, rhetoric, and support of the current Presidential administration. There are no two sides. The violence being acted out is horrifying, but it is merely the latest manifestation of the growing, and unveiled, racist, anti-immigration, anti-Semitic, sexist and anti-LGBTQ hate in our country. The LGBTQIA Alliance of VT stands proudly with our sisters and brothers who are African-American, First Nation, Immigrant, Jewish, Latino, Muslim, People of Color, People with Disabilities, and all marginalized people targeted by the hate and discrimination that is coming from all directions, from the White House to the streets of Charlottesville.
These forms of white supremacy and hate, the explicit as well as the hidden and structural, the historical and the present, are intimately connected. So, while there are no Klan rallies or torch-wielding white-supremacist marches in Vermont, we must declare our total opposition to all of the forms that white supremacy can take. The LBGTQIA communities are only too familiar with how hate and intolerance can feed and create violence against marginalized communities. A report released this week by The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs has identified that there have already been more hate motivated homicides of LGBT people in the first 6 months of 2017 than in all of 2016. The estimate is there is one LGBT hate related death every 6 days, with the highest number being transgender women of color. The reports of violence extended across the country; hate has no boundaries. Vermont’s LGBTQIA communities are reminded of the death in 2016 of transgender man Amos Beede, and the devastating impact of the massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fl. Alliance Liaison Keith E Goslant of Montpelier has stated, “I believe in the words of Martin Luther King Jr, that: “Hate can’t drive out hate. Only love can do that.” At this time, we must keep each other close, stand together, hold on to and support each other. Today I choose the emotion of love, for myself and I offer it to my fellow Vermonters, because love is a radical act of rebellion.” We’re not going to accept bigotry, we’re not going to accept hate, and we’re not going to accept violence.