The Lilac People

by Milo Todd

When people hurt bad enough, they’ll grab any idea to make their own lives better, no matter how illogical.

“They’re pandering to the people who were already hateful and looking for reason and protection to be so.

“A country is only as strong as its most vulnerable people. And you, son, if you may forgive me for saying, are on the lowest rung of the ladder. You’re a canary, Bertie. Transvestites are the canaries of the world. You know from our own library that bad people always go after transvestites first, no matter the country or culture. They are the first ones removed when an environment turns poisonous. What makes it more worrisome is you represent everything. You represent housing and job security and access to healthcare. You represent workers’ rights and voting rights and full stomachs and freedom. And perhaps most importantly of all, you represent the right to body and personhood.