Debating the South, Transgender Day of Remembrance, and GSAs

Southern questions:  There's a vigorous discussion going on today at our Facebook page about whether it's appropriate to generalize that the South is "ignorant" or "hateful" and so on.  Such a characterization ignores the countless people fighting back and working for change.  It also enables the tendency of many in the country to write off our region and not bother assisting with the change we readily acknowledge we need.  What do you think?  Log in and join the discussion.


Transgender Day of Remembrance:  It's so vitally important that there is a day to bring into focus all the members of the transgender community that we have lost to violence.  Maryville held its first event yesterday, the same day  Memphis held its annual event.  Nashville's observance at Vanderbilt was earlier last week.  Bianca Phillips makes it clear why it's such an important annual reminder in Tennessee:

Duanna Johnson. Tiffany Berry. Ebony Whitaker. These three transgender women were killed in Memphis over the past six years, and they're a small number in the hundreds of transgender homicide victims nationally.

Passing laws that include gender identity and increasing awareness are life and death matters in our state and around the world.

GSA of Greater Nashville kicks off:   WSMV covered the first meeting of the Gay Straight Alliance of Greater Nashville yesterday and its unique form of organization is likely to get some notice:

Organizers say this is the first community GSA in the United States, as most GSAs are only offered in schools.
While the group is open to everyone, they cater to Nashville residents under 25.

This development is another example of imaginative leadership from our youth.

-Chris Sanders