Amber. Ashton. Kandis.

Amber Monroe was murdered this week. She was twenty. She was twenty fucking years old. 

Ashton O'Hara was also murdered this week. Ashton was a little older: 25.

Now there are reports of a third trans person murdered this week: Kandis Capri.  No word, as yet, on her age. I wouldn't want to bet she was older than thirty, though.

You wanna know why I'm doing this damn show? Because three trans people have been murdered in the US this week and every time you tell a joke which relies on 'but it turned out to be a tra**y!' as your punchline YOU LEGITIMISE THAT. Every time you tell a joke about how nasty and disgusting sex workers are YOU LEGITIMISE THEIR MISTREATMENT. Every time you treat rape like it's a fucking laughing matter YOU LEGITIMISE IT, and you leave the rapists in the room - and statistically there WILL be rapists in the room - chuckling in reassurance that it's just a bit of fun really.
And I can't stop ANY OF THAT. I can't stop the rapes, or the harassment, or the murders, and I can't even stop you yukking it up at your shit jokes about them. But I can tell you, as loudly and as angrily as I fucking can, that THAT SHIT IS NOT OKAY. That it ISN'T 'just bantz'. That it has fucking consequences. That it has a body count. That it leaves blood on your hands.

That's it. It's not enough. But that's it.

Amber Monroe.
Ashton O'Hara.
Kandis Capri.

Say their names.
And have a think about what was likely the last word they heard before they died.