Staff Reports
Transgender individuals are flocking to the r/transguns subreddit and posting photos of themselves armed with rifles and tactical gear. They express fear of persecution and genocide and feel the need to defend themselves against transphobia, discussing ways to engage in combat. Some users even consider bringing a gun to an LGBT Pride event citing fears of violence against the transgender community. The subreddit’s users believe that transgender people are at risk of violent persecution and must be armed to defend themselves. They draw parallels to the narrative of transgender activists who assert that transgender people are victims of violent persecution and are assaulted and killed because of their gender identity. As per the FBI’s report, in 2021, two people were killed in anti-transgender hate crimes, compared to three who were killed based on their racial or ethnic identity and one who was killed for being gay.
‘Paranoia’: Transgender Gun Community Features Fears Of ‘Genocide’, Mental Illness https://t.co/Wl7VM4sg5s
— US Burning (@UsBurning) April 9, 2023
Joseph Burgo, a psychotherapist and vice-director of Genspect, says that the trans identity is, in fact, a psychological “false self-image” that embodies a personality structure that wards off and conceals many forms of mental illness. Transgender identity embodies a self-concept that is defensive in nature, and those who question and challenge the trans narrative, feel an existential threat, hence the paranoia and the rising calls to violence.
Transgender identity embodies a cult-like mentality that culminates in an “us-vs-them” persecution complex, which dissuades transgender individuals from questioning the narrative of the transgender movement. The subreddit r/transguns is symptomatic of this cult-like mentality, where even the mere consideration of alternative approaches to the transgender issue puts one in the ‘transphobe’ category.
The transgender movement is feeding a paranoid and false narrative. The r/transguns subreddit is a consequence of this paranoid narrative and has become an outlet for its most radical adherents. The conservative movement denounces the violent behavior advocated for in the subreddit, which is not a solution to the larger problem of assisting transgender individuals. The conservative movement calls for genuine support for those struggling with their gender identity rather than advocating for arming and fighting.
