I don't think you are trouble. I think many of us see the way LGBTQ rights are getting rolled back, primarily because of Christians wanting to press their religious beliefs on everyone else, and don't like what we see. Sure they are your friends, but you have to know that hating on trans people strikes at the very heart of what America and freedom is supposed to be all about (assuming you American). More people than ever before are willing to take stand, particularly against pure blind hatred.

People who would discount, marginalize, hate, and discriminate against others based on their gender identity are no one's friends. They are narrow minded bigots who do not deserve your sympathy, nor do they deserve the friendship of the people you care about. I imagine some of the hostility comes from thinking Christians were nice people and come to find out people you've known and cared about can harbor such hatred for innocent people was probably a huge shock.

Be proud that you have friends ready to stand up for what they believe and support you when the hating starts! This is a victory. Don't make it a defeat by internalizing the conflict raging all around you and making it something to feel shame over. You are worth fighting for, by the way.

I'm not religious, nor have I ever been, and having lived in many places and countries, I've seen religious persecution more often than I care to count. I hold no illusions that any particular group isn't without their own discriminations against others that perhaps don't fir the fold they've created. I'm not tearing up inside because the people I've known forever and have trusted with more than my life in some cases are horrible people. Quite the opposite in fact.

It's the fact that I know them to be good people. They they have been kind and generous and if push came to shove and my life was on the line even though they hate me now they'd still save me.

What hurts so damn much is that I can't pass it off as strangers or close-minded bigots, because even though I know they are decent people in less than a second my worth went to less than dirt. It's that I've torn apart the nicest group of people I've ever know by simply existing. So yeah, your're right; I'm ashamed. I practically burn with it, but I can't really help that. I've done nothing but bring hardship in one form or another to everyone I care about since coming out. All because I can't stand myself, because I can't look in the mirror without wanting to cry, because every time someone uses a masculine pronoun of says sir it feel a bit like I'm getting hit in the throat. It makes me feel so incredibly selfish that I'm subjecting all the people that I love to this just because I'm unhappy...

You and I have a very different opinion of what it takes to be a good person in this world. I believe that being able to respect other human beings, their differences and their choices is the fundamental quality that makes me a decent human being. Judging someone harshly and hating them for simply being who they are is what makes someone a fundamentally bad person.

Now all villains wear top hats and black cloaks. The most dangerous villains were the one's who hid behind good christian morals and smiling faces. It is the way the fool themselves and others into believing they are nice. Nice people don't hate people for any reason, much less simply for being transgender. Come on, please tell me you understand that!

Literally everyone on the planet can seem nice in their everyday life, when the sun is shining brightly and everything's going their way. The true test of our character is how we react when our values are being challenged, when we are asked to accept people for who they are are, and when we're expected to give a basic level of respect to every human being, no matter their skin color, sexual orientation or identified gender. Far to many people fail out of that simple test.

Don't ever think religion is the problem. Religion is a social construct, an adopted set of personal beliefs designed to control people and force them into tiny pigeon holes. Nobody makes someone become or chose to stay religious. Also, there are varying degrees of religious preoccupation. Gay and transgender people go to church all across the nation. It's only those individuals who enjoy the excessive amount of control and exclusion offered by more fundamentalist churches who can't seem to find any acceptance for their transgender brothers and sisters. That is a choice the wake up and make all over again every single day of their lives.

My daughter is bi and religious condemnation sets my pants on fire every single time. Never let others make you feel any kind of way about simply being yourself. You have every right to exist, enjoy your life and pursue happiness. If they can't handle that, it's THEIR problem, not yours. Be safe and good luck dealing with the turncoats!

With all due respect I do my very best to not think in terms so black and white, "us vs. them"; because if i do I'm never going to convince any of the friends that trans people aren't actually the anti-christ. And yes, I'm well aware that hating a particular group, regardless of what you where previously taught is bad, and it's a terrible thing for my former friends to do. And while it's a horrible piece of them, I don't thing it discounts everything else good about a person either. Otherwise I'm left with the knowledge that everyone carrying hatred in there heart is automatically a bad person, and I'd rather not for it leaves a rather bleak image of the world. Now maybe I'm just naive, or to altruistic; or perhaps I'd rather carry the delusion that former friends can carry some good in them even in spite of how they've treated me, and maybe they'll come around. Maybe I'm entitled to that delusion given that the rest of the world is insistent on hanging me for who I am... I'm tired of the hate. I'm tired of being hated. I'm tired of being alone, and scared because the world seems insistent on crushing me...
But thank you for your advice, I'll do my best to take it to heart.

I respect and envy you the ability to continue to hope that people can change their world view.

I had an extremely negative experience with a trans friend who was harmed and that coupled with my daughter being a member of the LGBTQ community, had left me very much not trusting certain types of people. Also my husband is gender fluid, and I get tired of swatting rude people away from him like flies.

Hoping for the best and working towards understanding is a noble goal. Please do it as safely as possible.