Let me be clear.

What is happening right now on Capitol Hill is #obscene.

#sarahmcbride should not be subjected to the hate that she is getting for simply existing.

#transphobia is not okay.

Sarah is a woman. She should be allowed to use the correct facilities.

(See below for my experiences).

But, I also hate that people in our community seem to be #policing her decision to abide by the rules so that the community she is representing can be represented.

I’ve seen several YouTubers and folks on here respond to her response negatively, saying she’s letting the community down. She is not.

I don’t think she’s acquiescing. She is allowed to respond in her way to the challenges she is facing. It is not down to us to tell her how she should react. She is not letting us down. She is surviving and she needs our support.

That means highlighting the hell she is being put through and highlighting how cruel and unfair it is. Not piling on.

I know first hand how this dehumanizing behavior feels. 23 years ago, after transitioning and having used the correct restroom for nearly a semester, someone at the Guildhalls School of Music and Drama (where I was a third year student), decided to complain. For the rest of my third and fourth years, I was forced to choose between the men’s room (wasn’t happening) or be constantly late to class because the only single stall room was three floors below ground in the backstage area used by stage craft folks. It had no lock. You had to pee holding the door closed.

I did what Sarah is effectively doing. Allowing the hate to loudly show how impossibly stupid it is. Leave her alone.