Nex Benedict’s death may or may not have been the direct result of a hate crime; but to focus on that is to completely miss the point

The initial autopsy of the Oklahoma teen appears to indicate their beating was not the cause of their murder; but that doesn’t for one second mean we should forget that it happened.

Kier Starmer was ‘shocked’ by the jibe Rishi Sunak made against transgender people during PMQ’s earlier this month. How dare he say such a thing with Brianna Ghey’s mother present in the chamber? The event seemed to be one of few instances where the vast majority of major press condemned Sunak in equal measure for the insensitive comment. The whole scene, it seems, was shocking for the nation. Except for the trans community; most of us just had our heads in our hands. Should it really take a grieving mother being in the same room for us to be seen as real and threatened by those most powerful in this country?

Across the pond, scenes seem to have gotten far worse. Barely anyone batted their eyelids when an US state senator said of the LGBTQ+ that he ‘represented a constituency that doesn’t want that filth in Oklahoma.’ Yes, for the avoidance of doubt, the ‘filth’ in question is us; or rather, it is Oklahoma citizens like Nex Benedict, 16, who died shortly after being beaten by classmates so severely that they blacked out and had to be hospitalised.

Google their name now and you will see a slew of all the same headlines; that after initially investigating the possibility of their death as a homicide, Oklahoma police can now confirm that the initial autopsy has indicated that Nex’s death may not have been from the beating. Along with this announcement, the police department released bodycam footage of an interview with Nex while they were in hospital, in which, among many exchanges, the police officer advises Nex’s family not to sue; saying a case could be made that Nex, in fact, instigated the beating that left them unconscious, after they admitted to splashing one of the three assailants — who had been verbally bullying them and their friends — with water. This footage was released without the permission or knowledge of Nex’s mother.

In light of this news that Nex’s death may not have been the murder everyone thought it was, many of the sites that were covering the story seem to have lost interest; a youth died too young, a tragic tale for sure, but not quite as sexy as a vicious hate crime. But what I can’t quite believe everybody is glossing over is how there is no longer a story in teenagers being maliciously hospitalised by their peers. In October of last year, the Guardian reported an 11% rise in transgender hate crimes from the following year, hitting a record high, while the FBI recorded a 32.9% rise in hate crimes against people attacked due to their gender identity. In case you’ve somehow missed it, aggression is increasingly becoming the new normal.

It is not yet confirmed whether or not Nex Benedict was murdered. Their family this week announced their intention to launch an independent investigation into their child’s death, in addition to the still ongoing police investigation. But whatever the outcome, just as with Brianna Ghey and countless others, the voices of the powerful — in their silence as much as their condemnation of our lives — continue to green-light this community massacre.