In the wake of non-binary teen Nex Benedict’s murder in an Oklahoma high school bathroom this week, here’s a Washington Post OP-ED focusing on far right Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik.
There’s some good but infuriating background here. Archive.is link above.
Wow reading that made me angry… what a shitty excuse for a human being. An uneducated “former real estate salesperson” inspires other uneducated psychopaths to threaten people with violence… and revels in what she’s done…
In a podcast interview this week about the violence that follows her posts, Raichik smiled and said she’s proud of being called a stochastic terrorist — someone who inspires supporters to commit violence by demonizing a person or group.
“Honestly, like, that makes me feel really important,” Raichik said."
You know what gives me hope? The experience of my kids in high school here in Florida, believe it or not. My oldest started the GSA (Gay-straight Alliance) club at her school, as did my second at another school. Penultimate child was part of a group that talked to the county superintendent about the problems faced by students; youngest is trans and literally all the other students take it in stride, teachers call by chosen name, nobody cares. Nobody. All this hate is coming from OUTSIDE the schools.
Which is so, so different from when I was in school. My 3rd grade teacher committed suicide because he was gay and couldn’t handle it. At the middle school talent show of my youngest, a teacher did a drag performance! Nobody cares, all were supportive because it was fabulous! Such progress. There is no way they can really drag us backwards when the kids, in general, have their heads on straight.
Now are there some brainwashed kids or just straight up bullies? Sure, I’m sure there are. But it’s not accepted, is seen as wrong, no “boys will be boys” bullshit.
This is a wonderful comment. Thank you for your insight!
Nex was a cutie. This being both a sexual issue and a racial issue, we absolutely talked about it at my college’s GSA. The comfort I take from it is that this happened in Oklahoma. While I live in a conservative pocket of the PNW, hate crimes here aren’t nearly as common as out there. Hopefully there’s nothing extra to worry about during an election year.
I hope her meeting a cream cake, face on, like Anita Bryant.
