It’s easy to feel hate towards people who have wronged you.

Just ask the trans community who have often been sidelined and abused throughout history by cisgender (non-trans) individuals. To lash out at general society can be all too tempting

A new hash tag that has originated in the past few days, #fuckcispeople, does just that. It’s a blanket statement many in the trans community have adopted, and posted en masse. Some have used the opportunity to discuss the mistreatment and transphobia they have faced throughout their lives. Others have resorted to letting out uncontrollable anger.

Either way, the hash tag isn’t helping the cause. Just the opposite; it risks doing more damage to a community that is becoming increasingly inward facing.

Blanket hatred is never acceptable. Regardless of race, religion, gender, sexuality or class, hate only damages one community whilst alienating the other. We see the harm hate has done to communities throughout human history, and it’s felt in the trans community too.

We’ve all suffered prejudice from cis people at one point or another throughout our transition. Whether its misgendering, verbal insults or even physical abuse, the harm many trans people have faced because of a number of cisgender individuals is undeniable.

But we cannot fight hate with more hate. The world does not work that way. It never has.

Openly attacking more than 99% of the world’s population, grouping in allies and loved ones with bigots and transphobes, only serves to remove us from the wider society. It makes us seem hostile and unreasonable.

Not to mention stupid. Bigotry in all forms is illogical – how can you judge an entire group of people for the actions of a select few? It’s hard to take the opinion of anyone seriously when they resort to attacking everyone rather than those who have oppressed.

Using anger this way is nothing more than wasted energy. Anger can be a great tool to trigger social change, but it needs to be applied correctly within context. Anger can become a tool, it can galvanise energy to focus on changing perceptions in ways that may cut down or even stop the daily oppressions some of us face.

I’m not alone in the trans community in feeling this way. There are others who have taken to Twitter to show their disdain for the hash tag, pointing out what it really is – dangerous ignorance. Prominent trans activists such as Paris Lees and Hannah Buchanan have criticized the movement, and in turn have been personally attacked by its supporters, told to ‘shut up’ or having labels thrown at them just for voicing an opinion.

The trans community has historically faced many difficulties, and with a long road to equality before us, we must continue the fight. However, generalizing those who differ from us is not the answer. By doing so, we risk alienating potential allies and may provide our opponents with ammunition, something we cannot risk. I’m all for anger, just not in this way.