I didn't have a super bigoted past, just a shithead liberal "centrist" one. I grew up an autistic racial minority with very woke parents, so at worst I put up with others' bigotry rather than being bigoted myself. I still feel guilty about it, but not so guilty that it keeps me up at night. I was just trying to fit in with those around me, and I never stood back silently if somebody got directly hurt.

I don't think the original context of this meme was really a mystery, nor do I think very many people with bigoted pasts did anything comparable to being a Nazi officer. This meme was more meant to capture the guilt people feel for who they used to be and the people they hurt, even if how horrible they were is more exaggerated in their eyes. I think most people deserve redemption; even the people that would've targeted me before I transitioned. They don't deserve to be haunted by their past when they already commit to being a better person every day. Past injustice cannot be undone, only future injustice prevented.

It is true that people shouldn't get complacent, and some trans people do remain pieces of shit who just updated their targets. That said, those people probably would've been pieces of shit regardless of who they were, so I don't give it much thought. I also understand people feeling uncomfortable around people with bigoted pasts, even if I disagree about how those people should be treated in our community. People are allowed to feel uncomfortable, and this meme was not meant to invalidate that.

Oh, I see.

I still haven’t lost hope though.

Keep on keeping on. Know that there are many who wish you well, even when it doesn't seem that way.