Stop the Bigotry and Sensationalism

Last week’s letter from Monica Shieman (“Transgender Movement is Offensive to Women”) and Stacy Spink’s letter from a few weeks ago about being a “broken record” demonstrate that despite great advances in inclusion and diversity in Castro Valley, there continues to be those who reject the fundamental humanity of our neighbors.

As we have seen with Spink’s never-ending letter writing campaign to The Forum, he asserts opinions about the LGBTQ+ community to minimize its existence. Shieman authored a horribly transphobic letter that purposely misgenders and seeks only to take away the struggles that transgender Americans face. Trans women are women. Trans people are human, and being transgender is not a mental illness as she asserts.

When someone tells me who they are, I stand ready to accept them for the person they say they are. It’s not for me to dehumanize them and dismantle their identity in the pages of a community newspaper or social media.

Bigotry and sensationalism might bring attention to the letters to the editor, but not every letter needs to be published. Editorial judgement is a perfectly reasonable tool to be used to protect the vulnerable and marginalized in our community.

The Castro Valley Forum should stop amplifying the broken record of those who erase and normalize hate towards the LGBTQ+ community, a community made up of our neighbors, friends, and children.

–Michael Kusiak, Castro Valley