I didn't know any gender non-conforming or trans person, my change of heart all happened at a distance. Good thing too, because I'd probably end up with a massive savior complex where I'd inadvertently do more harm than good by obsessing over them and trying to make amends for my past bias. /4
Since then I have voted for the Citizens' Initiative that led to Finland passing a new gender recognition law in 2023, I've raised money for the Trans Justice Funding Project, and donated to a number of other trans charities, including Mermaids on Hbomb's DK64 streams. I do what I can. /5
So why do I care? What my bias didn't let me see is that trans people... are people. Empathy is the value that got me into church, and to grow in empathy I had to leave the church's way of thinking. I have since met trans people, so I know they are in fact normal people (or unusually cool.) /End