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Today is #TransDayOfRemembrance 
. We’re supposed to reflect and remember the victims of anti-trans violence.
Several years ago Dave Wheeler went on air and broadcast a handful of harmful beliefs he had about trans people.
#TransAwarenessWeek #TDoR2020
CW: Violence
1/18
. We’re supposed to reflect and remember the victims of anti-trans violence.Several years ago Dave Wheeler went on air and broadcast a handful of harmful beliefs he had about trans people.
#TransAwarenessWeek
#TDoR2020 CW: Violence
1/18
These are only words to some, but to me they’re the statements that make me afraid to go out in public. They encourage people to harass me, hurt me, and murder me.
And they were broadcast to thousands of listeners as though they were facts. 2/18
And they were broadcast to thousands of listeners as though they were facts. 2/18
He was fired from the station, but he started a podcast continued to say offensive things about other vulnerable communities. He even tried to sue his former employer. Not the actions of someone who learned their lesson. 3/18
But him losing a prestigious radio job was supposed to a lesson to others about consequences. Saying harmful things will result in people not wanting to listen to you and companies won’t want you to work for them. 4/18
At least maybe his followers would take that message and silence their misconceptions about trans people long enough to, I don't know, get to know us? 5/18
So here’s the problem. He never apologized for what he said. He never took it back. All the statements made by him and his new employer Energy 106 skirt this. I assume he and his followers still think that way.
He's back on air and celebrated on billboards like a hero. 6/18
He's back on air and celebrated on billboards like a hero. 6/18
Whether you feel he’s “done his time,” “deserves a second chance,” and “won’t do it again” I’m not concerned with. I trust he’ll be more careful. I believe he won’t broadcast transphobic things anymore. 7/18
What is important to me is him being hired back in a prominent visible position says that consequences don’t stick and his statements are okay.
This once again empowers his fan base who would confront me in a bathroom, punch me in a bar, murder me in an alley… 8/18
This once again empowers his fan base who would confront me in a bathroom, punch me in a bar, murder me in an alley… 8/18
I’m not saying every Wheeler in the morning fan is going to try to kill me, but if someone does have their hands around my neck I’m going to assume they don’t listen to BOB FM. 9/18
It's not hyperbolic. Wheeler’s fans have already been harassing and stalking a vocal member of the trans community.
There are a group of people who dug up and publicly posted her private info to try and hurt her.
It’s just on the internet, but what if they escalate? 10/18
There are a group of people who dug up and publicly posted her private info to try and hurt her.
It’s just on the internet, but what if they escalate? 10/18
They go under multiple accounts and handles. They’re anonymous. I can’t make them stop. The people standing up for her can’t make them stop. You can block them but that doesn’t take away their ability to do harm. 11/18
Who could tell them to stop?
Maybe the station they’re defending? The DJ they’re glorifying?
It could go away if Energy was prepared to say that the original statements were wrong, they support the trans community, and ask people to stop trying to defend the station. 12/18
Maybe the station they’re defending? The DJ they’re glorifying?
It could go away if Energy was prepared to say that the original statements were wrong, they support the trans community, and ask people to stop trying to defend the station. 12/18
Because I don’t think these people are defending Dave Wheeler as much as they’re defending the harmful things he said.
How powerful would it be for the station to step in and stop the harassment now before it escalates? 13/18
How powerful would it be for the station to step in and stop the harassment now before it escalates? 13/18
Energy 106 has made statements to try and placate their critics. They won’t denounce what he’s done, make him apologize, do anything that could start to undo the damage they continue to do by keeping him on air. 14/18
Instead they’ve gone silent because when they were challenged they weren’t planning to do the work. They weren’t prepared to be the allies they claimed to be for years. They weren’t willing to lose the listeners Wheeler brought. 15/18
The recent harassment has been brought to station manager Adam West’s attention but he responds saying he's unaware. People are screaming at him to do the right thing, but he's learned to ignore our pleas on social media, on the phone, on the street, in an alley? 16/18
It’s easy for them to look the other way, but we can’t. We might lose another person to violence. I could lose a friend.
And then who knows, maybe I’m next? 17/18
And then who knows, maybe I’m next? 17/18
So this trans day of remembrance, remember the victims, but also remember those that don’t want to be victims. And if you could take a moment to spread the word, let program director Adam West know how you feel.
[email protected]
@adamwestradio @energy106fm
18/18
[email protected]
@adamwestradio @energy106fm
18/18
