http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/nov/16/essence-of-person-can-belie-03/

Duanna’s story is infuriating and tragic (I’m still shaking from the video after already hearing the story) and I wish I could say a novel case of hate crime committed by supposed “upholders of the peace.” When I think “diversity and tolerance” Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas and Mississippi (Nina Simone would attest to that last one) usually hit the bottom of my list. Truth is, these stories must be brought to the public’s attention - and not just the LGBT community - if we’re ever to see progress being made to prevent future incidents like this.

On the other hand - and this may just be my interpretation of the tone in your post, so sorry if I’m being presumptuous (I got problems with that, sometimes) - I think it is an unfair and even somewhat masochistic notion to insist that LGBT and allied activists aren’t doing enough in the fight against intolerance simply because they haven’t spent time bringing Duanna’s case to the media; or that by not doing so, they’re somehow ignoring/taking away her tragedy’s relevance. This is not to say that there aren’t more secularized activists out there…which is just weird.

It’s hard not to be completely overwhelmed with all the bullsh•t acts of hate and violence that plague the LGBT community today. And while Duanna should certainly not be thought of as just “another victim” of said hate, it’s important to remember that any push in the right direction is a push towards remembering and defending Doanna Johnson and all of the unsung or less well-known victims of hate. If we can overturn this marriage ban *NOW*, then that’s what we should be focusing on; as it will serve as one less excuse that people who beat and murdered Ms. Johnson can use to validate their own fear and misguided ethics.