Sept. 23, 2025 7 AM PT
To the editor: I used to be surprised to learn contributing author Josh Hammer’s current op-ed (“A fringe on the right is twisting Charlie Kirk’s memory,” Sept. 19). I recognize and need to learn various views. However perpetuating false details about and dehumanization of a extremely weak and persecuted group warrants a considerate, fact-based response. Right here is my try:
Hammer makes use of the time period “transgenderism,” a phrase broadly seen by advocates as dehumanizing and dismissive, generally used as anti-trans rhetoric relatively than fact-based dialogue. His implication that transgender individuals are uniquely susceptible to commit violence is contradicted by the precise knowledge.
Trans people are statistically way more prone to be victims of violence, whereas most mass shootings proceed to be carried out by cisgender men. Claims of a so-called epidemic of violence by trans individuals sometimes come up from misinformation and biased political discourse following high-profile incidents.
Whereas I’m not Jewish or an professional in Jewish historical past, I perceive how devastating dehumanization by false information has been for this neighborhood over time. That’s what makes Hammer’s article, through which he states quite a few instances that he’s Jewish, notably disappointing. It’s painful to see ways traditionally used to marginalize one group now directed at one other, particularly after we understand how damaging and harmful this sample may be.
Dean Carter, Santa Barbara
