07/02/2026
Why I Am Boycotting the 4th of July: A Survivor’s Protest
Independence Day is traditionally celebrated across the United States with fireworks, parades, and expressions of national pride. But for many who live on the margins of American society, the rhetoric of "liberty and justice for all" rings hollow. This year, I am making the deeply personal decision to boycott the 4th of July.
My boycott is not an act of casual indifference; it is a deliberate, quiet protest. It is a declaration from a survivor of childhood abuse and a transgender individual who feels fundamentally let down, targeted, and unsafe within the borders of my own country.
The Weight of Systemic Betrayal
To understand why I cannot celebrate this nation, you must understand the reality of growing up vulnerable within it. My perspective of America is shaped by the profound trauma of enduring severe exploitation and abuse starting at a very young age.
When a child is subjected to harm by adults, they look to the institutions around them—churches, communities, and the legal system—for protection and justice. Too often, however, those systems fail. The reality for many survivors is a legal system that feels like a revolving door for abusers, where institutional cover-ups shield perpetrators while victims are left to carry a lifetime of psychological weight alone.
When the structures meant to protect children instead allow abuse to persist or go unpunished, it shatters any illusion of societal safety. It creates a deep, enduring sense of alienation, making it impossible to join in the uncritical celebration of a system that allowed such harm to occur.
The Parallel in the Present: The Targeting of Transgender Youth
For me, the pain of past trauma is not just a historical memory; it is mirrored in the current political landscape. As a transgender person, watching the ongoing wave of restrictive legislation and executive actions feels like a modern continuation of systemic hostility against vulnerable children.
Across the country and at the highest levels of government, policies are being enacted that directly restrict the lives of transgender youth. From federal restrictions on gender-affirming medical care to state-level bans on sports participation and bathroom usage, the message sent to trans minors is clear: your autonomy, identity, and medical well-being are subject to political debate.
Major medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, emphasize that access to affirming care and supportive environments is essential for the mental health and survival of transgender youth. When the state actively rolls back these protections, it feels less like governance and more like a targeted campaign against a defenseless population. For a survivor of childhood abuse, watching the government strip safety and agency away from another group of vulnerable children is deeply triggering and impossible to ignore.
Reclaiming My Voice Through Absence
Boycotting the 4th of July is my way of drawing a boundary. It is a refusal to perform patriotism for a nation that has historically failed to protect me and currently seems intent on marginalizing people like me.
This day of protest is an acknowledgment of my truth:
A Witness to Flawed Systems: I am standing witness to the failures of the justice system regarding child exploitation.
A Voice for the Marginalized: I am standing in solidarity with transgender youth who are navigating an increasingly hostile political environment.
An Act of Self-Preservation: I am choosing to protect my own mental health by refusing to participate in a narrative of freedom that does not apply to my lived experience.
Independence Day is meant to celebrate freedom from tyranny. But true freedom must include the safety of children in their homes and communities, and the liberty of individuals to live authentically without fear of institutional persecution. Until America secures those fundamental protections for its most vulnerable, I will spend the 4th of July in reflection, protest, and solidarity with those who are still waiting for true independence.
