Earlier this week, the Young Americans for Freedom at UNCG  shared a meme that should rightly be referred to as hate speech targeting transgender and non-binary members of our community. The post itself, and the comments made by students involved in the organization, are factually errant and show a clear lack of understanding of the differences between gender and sex, as well as basic human biology. More than 38 major medical associations confirm that gender is non-binary. Discriminatory statements and misinformation cause a great deal of harm to members of our LGBTQ+ community.

Freedom of speech is a foundational idea of our country and society. That does not mean, however, that a person should be free to say anything they wish without social consequences. Freedom of speech cannot be used as a tool to try to justify or excuse what is utter cruelty. Organizations YAF mask behavior that targets the most vulnerable among us and undermines the wellbeing of those who already deal with the realities of daily discrimination. It is behavior that endangers the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ individuals. As the American Psychological Association puts it, “Many other obstacles may lead to distress, including a lack of acceptance within society, direct or indirect experiences with discrimination, or assault. These experiences may lead many transgender people to suffer with anxiety, depression or related disorders at higher rates than non transgender persons.”

This needs to be carefully drawn apart from the usual name-calling, and banter one finds on social media. Ideas like those in the meme shared by YAF are broadly hurtful to individuals who are already at high risk. They question the fundamental identities and worth of individuals. They deny the very sacred existence of beloved children of God. Often, as in this instance, a group shares a cruel and inflammatory statement and then uses the pushback and response of others as evidence for their world views. They use that response to their own cruel behavior to support their claim that they are the true victims. However you feel about the response, it is fundamentally not the same thing as the precipitating bigotry in the Instagram post.

The rhetoric of individuals like Ben Shapiro is not new. Organizations like GLAAD have tracked his long history of discriminatory comments. Shapiro and those like him, be it on the political left or right, make their living by being cruel and pretending they are not. They make their living by tapping into discrimination and weaponizing that for profit.

Wesley-Luther stands with our LGBTQ+ community. We stand with our transgender and non-binary staff and students. You are seen, and you are valued. You are sacred. We are grateful for your strength in living into your identities. We lament your daily experiences of discrimination, which can often be rooted in our churches. We commit ourselves to the work of healing and creating a better world free from this sort of hate. Hate speech has no place in our communities, schools, churches, and societies.

Wesley-Luther and the Spartan Open Pantry remain open and commit ourselves as affirming to all orientations and gender identities.

Most of all, we believe that our transgender and non-gender-conforming siblings are deeply loved by God. We believe you are truly living into who God created you to be, and we celebrate that.

You are seen. You are loved.

Andrew Mails-Saine
Director

If you have been affected by this week’s meme, or statements like it, and would like support, please feel free to reach out to me at andrew@wesleyluther.org.

If you are experiencing significant distress, please reach out to the counseling center. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available to support individuals at 800-273-8255 24-hours a day.