Our Transgender Child Needs Acceptance

As a parent of a transgender child, I am writing in response to the article in the Jewish Link, July 14, 2016 entitled, “Transgender and Judaism.”

Our house is an observant Jewish household. After experiencing anxiety and depression for many years, our child came to us and told us that their gender was different than what we had thought. (I am using the gender-neutral pronouns “them” and “their” out of respect for my child.)

We weren’t sure what to do at first, but when our child was allowed to express their true identity, they became so excited. Their anxiety and depression lessened (but unfortunately did not disappear completely, as our child is still experiencing gender dysphoria—a form of hatred of their own body).

After speaking with doctors, therapists and many parents, we decided that this is who our child is.

But our child is still extremely vulnerable, enduring both private and public struggles.

The private struggle stems from our child’s inability to change their body. The public struggle comes from the ignorance and misunderstanding of our community.

The public struggle is literally one of life and death for transgender children (and adults). Indeed, there is a clear danger of losing children who are not allowed to express their true identities. Forty percent of transgender children will attempt suicide sometime in their lifetime. This statistic lowers to two percent in children who are allowed to express their gender identity.

If (God forbid) our child was born with a heart problem, you wouldn’t advise him or her to just “stick with it.” You would advise us to seek the best help available. And we did go to top therapists and doctors, as well as parents and support groups. We want our child to live and prosper to their full potential.

Ultimately, all we ask is that our child and family be supported and accepted for who we are.

Sincerely,

An Eshel Parent

Honor and Protect Our Men in Blue

Forty thousand dollars a year may not be the best salary in the world. Yet on July 7, five men who loved their job and earned this salary died in a cruel shooting. Not all people are ready to put their lives on the line for $40,000. But following this tragedy, David Browne, the Dallas police chief, told the public that “we are hiring,” and job applications went up by 344 percent. Civilians heard Browne’s message to “get out of that protest line and put an application in. We’ll put you in your neighborhood and we will help you resolve some of the problems you’re protesting about.”

Although we can never get back Michael Krol, Michael Smith, Lorne Ahrens, Patrick Zamarripa and Brent Thompson, there are now 467 new brave Americans who will seek justice for people like these five men, and find people like their killer, Micah Xavier. So now we have to make sure, fellow Americans, that we defend our men in blue, the ones in new uniforms and the ones who have been wearing them for years.

Batya Goldberg