Those who know me will remember this – when my friend Claire was attacked by a group of adult men on her way to meet me at a vigil for the murdered 16-year-old Brianna Ghey.
The spreading of hate has real consequences, and for those politicians and others who have done this over the last many years I have nothing but contempt – especially for the ones who should know better. Which is all of them!
The consequences hit, and hurt, and in some cases kill, real people. I’m sick of reading this and this and this and this. And reading about the toddlers attacked in a Belfast park for having a transgender parent.
My reaction to feeling bullied has always been the same, and it isn’t to kowtow or hide away. I wrote about it a little here. But I’m not unaware of the risks involved in being visible and refusing to be cowed.
So for several months now, I have worn a bodycam. Very few people even notice it. Most of the time it is switched off, but if I start feeling uneasy, it will be in standby mode, and if I feel unsafe then it will be running. There are, sadly, certain places not far from home where it will be routinely running.
I’m a little shocked that this has seemed such a logical and sensible thing to do. It says quite a lot about the state of society that that sould be so, I think. I sincerely hope that society can do better in future. It does not have to be this way.
Sophie Baskerville 