I do not attend your school. I am a member of the transgendered community. Whether you realize it or not, Zach Calef’s editorial is being passed around our entire community — nationwide, and has completely enraged thousands of people. The way his article is written, he seems to be saying that murder in this situation is okay. Trick someone, and sure, go ahead, kill them. It’s okay by him.

To suggest that Lida tricked the boys into having sex with her, and that justifies her murder, is a crime in itself — one of stupidity.

Was Zach at the party that night?

It is just as plausible that the two murderers KNEW that Lida was in fact a boy, and raped her while she was drunk. When the girl Tina discovered Lida was a male, and started shouting about it — it’s just as plausible to believe that the two boys murdered her so that the rest of their friends would not think they were gay.

Think about it. What is one of the worst things any young person can call another? Faggot. The two boys were jocks. Imagine their embarrassment if word got out that they had sex with a boy. They weren’t insane. They knew exactly what they were doing.

Or at least this theory is just as plausible as Zach Calef’s, because the truth of the matter is we don’t really know what happened that night, do we? All we know is that a young 17-year-old was brutally murdered.

Were they temporarily insane when they buried the body? Do insane people try to cover up their crimes?

It is a shame to have to read a column like Calef’s. It only fuels the flames of hatred in an already bigoted society. The next time a transgendered individual is murdered, Calef can feel proud that he helped put the knife in the killer’s hand. Instead of compassion, he shows only prejudice against people he has no understanding of.

What evil has any transgendered person ever done to him, to make him feel so prejudiced against us? He has no clue as to how difficult our life is already. We do not need him pre-judging us.

Not a hate crime? Calef’s article is hate crime.

Stefani Moore

New Hope, PA