Victoria trans woman speaks out to counter hateful comments

Our Place Society removed a social post featuring a transgender woman that it put online during Victoria Pride Week after it received hundreds of hateful comments. But shortly after removing the post, it reposted it in the hopes of challenging views and changing opinions. The post Victoria trans woman speaks out to counter hateful comments appeared first on CHEK .

Our Place Society removed a social post featuring a transgender woman that it put online during Victoria Pride Week after it received hundreds of hateful comments. But shortly after removing the post, it reposted it in the hopes of challenging views and changing opinions. It started with a post on the Our Place Society Facebook page , featuring a resident, Amanda Rogers, a trans woman living at Our Place for the past year.

Julian Daly, CEO of Our Place Society, wrote it, and posted it to celebrate Pride Week. But he wasn’t prepared for what happened next. “We didn’t think much of that.

We just put it up there,” Daly said. “We had the most extraordinary reaction We had over 800 comments to our Facebook site. Well over 600 of them were comments that can only be described as hateful and hostile.

Attacking Amanda, attacking us, and attacking her as a transgender woman,” Daly said. The original post detailed Rogers’ arrival in Victoria with her boyfriend. After their breakup, she spiraled into drug addiction, homelessness, and overdosed.

Since then she’s entered detox, and is now in transitional housing with Our Place, waiting for permanent housing. “The reason why I decided to share it is so other trans people in the Our Place Society could feel the safety and freedom, and that all of us can feel the security amongst the LGBTQ community here,” Rogers said. Daly took down the original post, but with Roger’s permission, reposted it.

It now includes a statement with support for Rogers. “We didn’t take it down because we succumbed to the hatred. We took it down to protect Amanda,” Daly said.

“We’re speaking up on it because we feel that now is not the time for silence on these issues when people are being attacked and hated in this way, and shown such a tsunami of hostility and hatred. It’s time to stand up and stand with them. And Our Place stands with Amanda.”

“I’m hoping that people will understand more about who I am as a trans person. And to know – Julian come here, –that our love with Our Place stands united,” she said pulling him into a hug. The current, updated, post doesn’t allow for comments.

But Daly says this time the response has been overwhelmingly positive. RELATED: Victoria Pride Parade highlights unity in Canada’s most gender diverse centre The post Victoria trans woman speaks out to counter hateful comments appeared first on CHEK .