thexfiles:

when we tell you, straight people, not to speak over us, not to make this about yourselves, we are not saying that you are not allowed to mourn. we are not saying that you are not allowed to hurt. we are not saying that you are not allowed to grieve. you are. we are not saying that you should not be raising awareness. you should be. you better be.

we are asking you to listen to us, actual, literal LGBT people, first and foremost. we are asking you not to speak over us. we are asking you to stay silent on things that do not directly affect you the way they are affecting us. do not say that you understand what we’re feeling. you don’t. do not say that this is hurting you as much as it’s hurting us. it’s not. 

this is a time for you to be listening to us. this is a time for you to share our thoughts and feelings before your own. this is a time for you to demonstrate what fine allies you are constantly toting yourselves to be. 

AMENDED: that said, this is also a time for white LGBT folks to be showing our latinx + muslim LGBT siblings the same courtesy. we should not be speaking over them, as the tragedy occured on latinx night at pulse and our muslim siblings will no doubt be facing amplified harassment. we need to listen to them, too. race was a huge factor in these murders and this cannot be overlooked.

by deliberately (yes, deliberately – you are looking for ways to twist our words) misinterpreting our posts and making it seem as if we are the bad guys for not wanting to be spoken over (”oh, so are straight people not allowed to mourn? we’re hurting too, you know!!”), you are making this about yourselves. you are not hearing us. you are not understanding us. it’s transparent and it speaks volumes about your priorities.

you need to stop. i don’t want to hear it.