On Instagram, a father whose child has since come out as trans recently told the story of how punk rock band Against Me! provided him with a shirt that they no longer make to gift to his child.
The father explains that his child’s mom was extremely religious and likely didn’t support their child’s identity, telling viewers it was a “bad situation.” Because of this, he decided to try for sole custody, which he won.
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Coming from a transgender punk rock-loving leftist, this event sounds awesome.
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He explains that their first act was to get a gender-affirming haircut for his child. He then shopped for clothing online and noticed his kid was getting into punk rock bands naming the Dead Kennedys and Against Me! as examples, noting that Against Me!’s lead singer, Laura Jane Grace, is transgender
According to him, his child wanted the T-shirt depicting the artwork for Against Me!’s debut album, Reinventing Axl Rose. Unfortunately, the band no longer made this shirt, and the father took it upon himself to contact the band directly to which they sent him the shirt, noting that it was not charity but mutual aid.
He ends the video by quoting Joe Strummer, stating he was correct when he said: “Authority is supposedly grounded in wisdom, but I could see from a very early age that authority was only a system of control. And it didn’t have any inherent wisdom. I quickly realized that you either became a power or you were crushed.”
This story not only highlights a noble deed from Against Me! as they continue to fight for trans youth, but also highlights the exceptional nature of the father in this video for validating his child’s existence and accepting him no matter what. As I’ve stated before, having a child isn’t akin to going into a Build-A-Bear—you don’t get to pick how they are going to turn out. And as a parent, you have to be able to adapt to this fact and make an active effort to be a part of your child’s life.
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