What Gregory Abbott, his team, and supporters are doing to trans kids and their families in Texas is abhorrent, evil, and—if you’ve been paying attention—infuriatingly unsurprising. We’re going to keep our words short here because so many people have already said what needs to be said better than we ever could, but here is what we have to add to this conversation.
Left of the Dial is a queer and trans run operation and we will continue to put queer and trans people first.
The best way to support trans youth in Texas right now is through direct monetary support. @ErinInTheMorn has started a thread for parents raising funds to move their families to safer states (relative to Texas, anyway. Trans kids are always more vulnerable than their cis counterparts no matter where they live).
If you have the ability to contribute, we suggest you do so this way, or by contributing to one of the many organizations fighting to support those families. @alephnaught2tog has begun collecting information on many places you can donate. Find an organization whose work you want to support and give what you can.
Remember, this too, like everything else, is an issue of intersectionality. It’s too early to say exactly how this will play out, and to what extent or degree, but we know trans people of color and trans people with lower income will suffer more than their wealthier, white counterparts. Keep that in mind when you think about who’s being affected by this and when you decide where to put your money.
Again, direct support is ideal. If you need more incentive though, anything we make off of our Left of the Dial live session catalog now through Bandcamp Friday will go directly to supporting trans youth in Texas. We have a lot of incredible stuff over there.
And if you do donate directly—to a family or to an organization working on the ground in Texas—send us proof of your contribution, and we’ll find something cool to send you. We’ve got a handful of covers folks have played in live sessions that we can’t include on our Bandcamp releases. We can send you those.
If you donate $25 or more, we’ll send you one of our extremely soft and cozy Left of the Dial tee-shirts, some stickers, and thank you note from our studio dog, Pacey. Just DM us a screenshot of your receipt, and your address and t-shirt size.
