It seems we are staring this new year the same we did last. With a Black trans man found dead in New York. And like last time, no one on social media is talking about it, because we don't talk about dead trans men.
Danny Siplin was 33-years-old, he was a community builder, a dedicated son that drove his mother to work every morning, and he loved the snow.
He was found dead near his car on a bridge in Rochester. Police have alleged there was no foul play involved in his death, but details of his death have not been released to the public. The media reporting his death misgendered him on TV and in articles. He was described by his mother as someone who "give the shirt off [his] back,".
Sam Nordquist's body was found almost a year ago, also in New York, also after he had gone missing. Sam Nordquist was de-gendered by the New York Times, which initially had correctly referred to him as a trans man before changing the language to "person". Sam, a 24-year-old Black trans man, had been tortured and raped for three months before he was killed and his buddy dumped and dedicated. The media also failed him, not just by misgendered and de-gendering him but also by using photos of him pre-transition. Something that his Wikipedia page has also done.
He was described by his mother as someone who "give the shirt off his back,".
It has also been almost two years since the murder of TK Hill, a 35-year-old Black publicly transgender man, who was shot and killed in front of his home at the start of 2024. TK had been a community organizer and an LGBT salon owner. TK Hill was also described as someone who would "give the shirt off his back,".
As I mourn the death of Danny Siplin, I am still mourning the death of Sam Nordquist and TK Hill. I mourn the deaths of all trans men whose names go unspoken, whose names go erased, who have been defined as people who give and give and give - even when they had very little and faced such great and terrible adversity.
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