Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Hey NBC, Will You Interview A Trans Brazilian During The Games?

When the Olympics kick off in Rio this August, we will see during the broadcast coverage in addition to seeing all the pageantry of the opening ceremonies,  the competition,  and the shots of the natural beauty of Brazil in and around the Rio area over the period of the XXXI Olympic Games from August 5-22.

File:Map of Brazil with flag.svg
There are also moments during the NBC coverage when they aren't updating the national medal counts, will take some time to address the news making issues that cropped up either during the runup to the Games or during the Olympiad itself.

And they will have a few non Olympic news stories to choose from.  From the Zika virus outbreak to the contentious attempt to impeach Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to wondering whether the Olympic venues would be ready on time, the NBC media team will have a lot to talk about that's non Rio Olympic competition related during the breaks between the competitions they wish to televise during their upcoming prime time broadcasts..

I also hope that one of the issues that will get discussed in a time in which we trans people are getting heightened attention is the off the charts violence aimed at my Brazilian trans sisters.  

While we are justifiably concerned about the 11 trans women we've lost this year, our Brazilian sisters look at our trans murder rate in the US with envy as they are sadly the runaway leaders when it comes to the near-genocidal slaughter of our trans siblings.

The anti-trans hate equation is in full effect in Brazil no thanks to a lethal cocktail of anti-trans hate peddled by the Roman Catholic Church and fundamentalist Christians, guns, anti-trans discrimination, no trans rights protections at the federal and state level,  and indifference by law enforcement to vigorously prosecute crimes committed against trans people.

Hope the NBC Olympic commentators take the time to discuss that ongoing human rights problem and give it the international visibility and attention it deserves while the entire world's eyes are trained on Brazil for the Olympics.

 

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