The Heroes of Club Q, Remembered - INTO
In Memoriam

The Heroes of Club Q, Remembered

Henry Giardina · Updated on

In the wake of the recent shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, the queer community is trying to turn grief and rage into constructive community-building. Meanwhile, mainstream news outlets have been quick to mislabel certain of the heroes and victims of the tragedy. Veteran Richard Fierro, who left the service due to his disgust with the military-industrial complex, was transformed into a “proud vet.” Meanwhile, a trans woman who saved lives that night was turned into a “drag queen.”

But the stories the mainstream news tells aren’t giving these heroes the respect they deserve.

For instance, bartender Derrick Rump, the “glue” of the Club Q community, gave everything he had to his friends.

It’s important to be aware, too, of the ways the mainstream media is already twisting the story:

Trans writer Thomas Page McBee remembered trans man Daniel Davis Aston, one of the victims of Sunday’s shooting.

 

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A post shared by Thomas Page McBee (@thomaspagemcbee)

As did “Like a Virgin” and “Food 4 Thot” cohost Fran Tirado:

 

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A post shared by Fran Tirado (@fransquishco)

Some of the Club Q victims could use our help right about now:

Let’s leave things off on righteous note:

 

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A post shared by Nico Wilkinson (@nicothepoet)

Henry Giardina (he/they) is the editor of INTO. He lives in Los Angeles. Past publications include the New York Times, The Believer, The New Yorker, The Paris Review Daily, The Atlantic, Film Comment, and Gizmodo. He is @punkgroucho on Twitter.

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