And it isn't your job to defend the shittiest people on the planet, who by the way want you dead just as much as they do me. The difference is you want to defend the South.
This is an abusive relationship; the first time I get beat is the other person's fault. Every time after that is mine. I'm simply choosing to leave, and you want to victim shame. Bravo.
I got jumped in Daytona Beach in 2021. Three dudes in a pickup truck hopped out and beat the fuck out of me because I was wearing a pride bracelet. I was just able to recall enough of the truck to identify it, but because I didn't get the tag, they never caught the guys. The cops refused to treat it as a hate crime.
I left, even though I couldn't afford to do so. So your description of people not being able to leave doesn't pass the smell test.
Are there places in the North where I won't be safe? Of course. I'm not going to Boston. But I'm leaving the South because of the aforementioned abusive relationship analogy.
Again, I'm in no way obligated to get lynched because other people decide to stay. And believe you me, staying in a place full of people who jerk it at night thinking about killing the LGBTQ is a choice.