I'll never forget this poem, it really shaped my perspective on speaking up sooner rather than later. There was another poem that echoed similar sentiments, but I can only remember the line "I will not be an agent of death."

Stay strong girl! You have every right to exist in your most comfortable form, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Identity is an innate human right, you deserve the freedom of expressing that identity like everyone else!

Especially when so many pedojacket us which in turn causes trans folks to infight.

Definitely terrifying and can be surprising, but I think it's easier to demonize unfamiliar groups than to demonize a well-known one. I think demonizing and dehumanizing relies on some degree of the unknown to make all the hysteria and fear plausible. If the group is well known by the general public, it's easier to say "now wait a minute, I happen to know many trans people and they're very kind." It creates a strong base of informed allies to speak up on the group's behalf. It's not impossible to demonize a well-known group, I just believe it's easier when your target has no personal interactions to check against the fear mongering.

Even worse than the demonizing is how they dehumanize trans people. Don't get me wrong, demonizing a group is bad, but dehumanizing is so much worse.

I learned this lesson during a trip to the Holocaust Museum in DC. I walked through one of the train cars and tried to picture fitting as many people in there as the plaque said were crammed in. I couldn't. Then, I realized that I was trying to fit people in the car. Even though these were imaginary people existing solely in my head, I was still treating them like people. I switched to trying to cram that many human shaped objects in the car and realized it was easy to do.

The right is pushing dehumanization of people they don't like. Once you've accepted a group of people as "not human," all sorts of horrible options open up to deal with them.

You're not alone in this, and it's important to remember that many of these laws are gaining support based on falsehoods and misinformation. Additionally, a lot of people haven't had personal experiences with transgender individuals, but when someone close to them, like a coworker, friend, or family member, comes out, it often leads to a change of perspective and understanding. Personally, I intend to maintain red zone for now, while gradually opening up to others. If things still seem discouraging in a couple of years, I may consider leaving for a better environment. Remember, your well-being matters.