tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26129467223665283442024-03-13T15:31:48.702-05:00Trans PoliticalVanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.comBlogger273125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-22950696983382484702011-06-06T10:58:00.004-05:002011-06-06T11:53:15.785-05:00So … Whose Side Are You On Today?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6DjLZ4aH7S4/Tez5hyBY15I/AAAAAAAABCM/nLwqpN4LCgQ/s1600/old%2B97%2527s-whose%2Bside%2Bare%2Byou%2Bon.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 317px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6DjLZ4aH7S4/Tez5hyBY15I/AAAAAAAABCM/nLwqpN4LCgQ/s400/old%2B97%2527s-whose%2Bside%2Bare%2Byou%2Bon.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615137194182760338" /></a><br /><br /><em><strong>“I absolutely believe in assimilation…. I don't look at sexual orientation as that big of a deal. It's just an orientation.” — Chastity (now Chaz) Bono </strong></em><br /><br />A year back, I made a decision to stop chasing the “breaking news” blogs in the Trans community. There’s plenty of folks out there who can expertly do it, and I didn’t feel the need to strive for redundancy in reporting. This blog will be an exception.<br /><br />A good friend of mine reported back from the recent Be All conference in Chicago which wrapped up this past weekend. With an eye to pulling in attendance, the event’s special draw and keynote speaker this year was Chaz Bono; fresh from visits to Oprah, David Letterman, et. al.<br /><br />The keynote went well from all reports, and there was even an Oprah-styled Q&A of Bono after his speech with Mara Keisling up onstage with him.<br /><br />Following the keynote Q&A the music rose, and from the rear of the stage entered Regina Upright – a local drag queen who (per reports) does a decent Cher impersonation. Faux Cher came out, “fishnetted up to her waist” replete with leather jacket and black curly fall, and began her performance, focusing initially on Bono and working over towards Keisling for some onstage “crowd support.” Apparently Bono and Keisling were having none of it, doling an icy response to the drag artist. <br /><br />Ms. Upright picked up on the cold shoulder and stepped down from the stage to entertain the keynote lunch crowd. According to the report, both Keisling & Bono were rather visibly steamed and eventually walked off stage during the performance (presumably in protest.) Meanwhile about half of the lunch crowd enjoyed the drag show and blissfully tipped Ms. Upright. <br /><br /><strong><em>"With hair, heels, and attitude, honey, I am through the roof!" — RuPaul Charles<br /><br />“It’s like rain on your wedding day.<br />It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid.” — Ironic, Alanis Morissette </em></strong><br /><br />Ironic? At first glance it would seem so.<br /><br />Chaz Bono in his previous identity (fka: Chastity) was once the lesbian activist poster-child for gay and lesbian equality and a very useful tool for fundraising for his former community organization, the infamous Human Rights Campaign. Back in the HRC days he uttered nary a T-word, being a good company recruit. And of course Mara Keisling gave birth to this recent era of Trans coziness with HRC, of always deferring to gay and lesbian leadership (even on Trans issues) and of holding the tongue with our “allies” in GLB while being unafraid to take on her own community.<br /><br />However more recent times have seen Chaz’s transition and an end to the public hawking of HRC. And in 2007 Keisling led her NCTE members in joining NTAC and the rest of the Trans community in protesting HRC banquets after the ENDA duplicity debacle that year. Since their two reversals, though, there’s been nothing publicly indicating where either of them stand on HRC or the era of Gay Inc. and GLB(*t) other than the knowledge that the big gay funders continue pressing NCTE to work collegially with HRC once again.<br /><br />But Chaz and Mara dissing a gay performer at a trans event?<br /><br />Below the surface, though, there are other reasons in play. If folks have been paying close enough attention, they’ll note that Bono has indicated that he and his mom, Cher, have been “working through things.” Reading between the lines, his mom’s having issues coming to terms with his transition. <br /><br />Yes, we’re all aware of Cher’s friendship and generous support of the gay and lesbian community and its issues. something I can relate to as my own mom kept pressing me on why I “couldn’t just be gay” for well over a year into my transition. My mom’s best friend was gay, something to which she could relate. But she couldn’t relate to me. Go figure!<br /><br />So some of our own may find it surprising that when Cher was supporting “GLBT” causes, she was avidly supporting the L and the G, maybe even the B. But the T? Eh, not so much. It’s an irony that I’m certain has not escaped Bono’s attention.<br /><br />As a result, the “surprise” drag performance by someone dressed as his own mother in explicitly revealing attire was a reminder Chaz wasn’t seeking. Then the added bonus of a caricatured impersonation of gender (even if it was trans women) at Bono’s keynote by a gay man (especially considering his time with HRC and the likelihood he was privy to some choice opinions on T while he was still an L) surely helped the show go over like a lead balloon.<br /><br />Apparently some in the keynote audience did pick up on the faux pas and were “aghast.” The other half of the crowd were blissfully unaware, laughing, tipping and enjoying the show. <br /><br />What was the message to take away from this? <br /><br /><strong><em>"All sins are forgiven once you start making a lot of money." — RuPaul Charles </em></strong><br /><br />Once upon a time about a decade ago, we had clearly defined who was opposing us from within GLBT: the conservative elite G&L mindset, personified by HRC and others of similar opinion. Up until about 2002, it was de rigeur for us to be aware of what occurring in Trans America, to know our T history, to have spirited debates but end up unified at the end of the day against those who opposed us being equals. <br /><br />Since then, the pendulum has swung back. It’s now fashionable to eschew our T history and to frown upon and marginalize those of us who speak out. Unity died in favor of allowing trans individuals to work for and with other communities and groups on causes that may have little or no impact on trans needs, but which may carry some individual reward at some point. <br /><br />And so we find ourselves today. A sizable portion of us are unaware of what’s happening to our own at this moment in time; thus the invited Cher drag performer for Chaz Bono. The powers at Be All weren’t doing it of meanness. They were unaware. <br /><br />Similarly for those who now wish to ally or work with HRC or similar groups who may not consider us as equals, they can do so without troubling themselves on how it affects the community. Those who support the HRCs of the world today, may well be the ones who publicly oppose them tomorrow … and maybe even support them yet again a couple days down the road. What’s to stop them?<br /><br />Speaking out and letting folks know what’s happening? That fell out of favor about a decade ago. Why ruin the moment for these individuals …? <br /><br />Oh! Happy pride month, y'all. Are we proud?<br /><br /><strong><em>“If I could turn back time ….<br />I don’t know why I did the things I did.<br />I don’t know why I said the things I said.<br />Pride’s like a knife, it can cut deep inside.” — If I Could Turn Back Time, Cher<br /><br />“Parents have to understand: if your kid isn't you, don't blame the kid.” — Chaz Bono</em></strong>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-28696036304049162252011-04-27T16:56:00.005-05:002011-04-27T17:45:03.748-05:00Hello Again ....<em><strong>“Back in black. I hit the sack.<br />It’s been too long I'm glad to be back. <br />Yes I'm let loose from the noose <br />That's kept me hanging about. <br />I keep looking at the sky 'cause it's gettin' me high. <br />Forget the hearse 'cause I'll never die <br />I got nine lives, cat's eyes,<br />Usin' every one of them and running wild<br />‘Cause I’m back.” — Back In Black, AC/DC</strong></em><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BbV50Z1rrxg/TbiUBJ5bz2I/AAAAAAAABCA/HKy6Pq7EcvA/s1600/CAUTION%2BPISSED%2BBLOGGER.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BbV50Z1rrxg/TbiUBJ5bz2I/AAAAAAAABCA/HKy6Pq7EcvA/s400/CAUTION%2BPISSED%2BBLOGGER.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600388884192808802" /></a><br />Yes, it has been awhile ….<br /><br />First my apologies to those following my blog. There are a couple reasons I’ve been dormant this past year. <br /><br />One reason was good news reasons: I began dating and have found love. Sid Maxwell and I have been a serious item since early April last year, after he and his ex split up. Sid is one of my former-members from the now-defunct Texas Assn. for Transsexual Support (TATS) from back in the late 90’s (yes, he’s a trans man). And while he did drop out and go stealth for most of the past decade, he was at least a little involved in trans activism of sorts. <br /><br />In the late 90’s, there was only one chapter of PFLAG in America that refused to add trans members or families of trans folks to their mission, and that chapter was right here in Houston. There was bad blood going back some years between members and previous trans activists (which I won’t go into here). However, I was bound to change that and comprised a panel presentation to the members and board of Houston’s PFLAG. Sid Maxwell was the lone trans man on the panel I moderated. And as postscript, we won them over and got a unanimous vote to change the local to match the national inclusion after that Sept. 1999 panel.<br /><br />The second and more pertinent reason I self-imposed silence had to do with politics. In early spring of last year I began to hear the messaging efforts surrounding the 2009-introduced ENDA bill. In a nutshell: the bloggers (with their criticisms) were going to sink the bill (ENDA) and end up being the reason it would fail on Capitol Hill. Essentially it was preemptive diversion of blame from the parties heavily involved in the bill’s process to the outside folks panning the process from the outside.<br /><br />This messaging effort was virtually the same wording as what was used in 2007. Replace the word “bloggers” with NTAC and you have a mirror image of the 2007 discreditation effort immediately before Barney Frank actually did what we in NTAC were warning about. This time, however, the message wasn’t originating from Mara Keisling and NCTE, but instead from HRC’s and Barney Frank’s folks. Eerily same messaging from two directions, two years apart. <br /><br />I saw the handwriting on the wall. Rather than play into the snare they set for me, I decided to do the opposite and not give them any words to turn around and use as artillery against me. Zero. <br /><br />I spent the better portion of a month up on the Hill immediately following 2009’s inauguration day ensuring I got all our freshmen up to speed on “Trans” and was the first person those offices saw from the Trans community. In fact, I even let some of these Trans HRC/Barney folks know which offices in the Senate needed more work and educating and shared other notes from office visits with them. And so … once they wanted us out of the dialogue, what did the silence accomplish? Ab-so-freaking-lutely nothing. Silence gives them (whichever party) a "free pass" and gives those imposed-upon nothing but heartburn, frustration and nothing else.<br /><br />We had enough votes in the House to vote ENDA through with trans inclusion in the last congressional session – one with super-majorities of Dems in the House and a brief period of the same in the Senate. And again, just as in 2007 with Mara Keisling’s attempts, they can’t finger me for doing anything untoward regarding their efforts. All we got was wholly screwed over. <br /><br />Moral: never be silent in order to be polite or to keep decorum. Speak out, speak loudly and never cease!<br /><br />Initially I planned on writing this at New Years, but as fate would have it, I enjoyed a series of Windows crashes with my video card, and then finally a totally loss of use thanks to my motherboard issues and simultaneous loss of income. For now, though, I have a temporary fix. <br /><br />So this blogger / activist / lobbyist is now reactivating and now has a question to the NCTE’s, the HRC’s, the NGLTF’s and the Barney Frank’s of our political world: what the F#@^% happened to employment non discrimination???!!! <br /><br />And don't even think of pointing your fingers at me.<br /><br /><em><strong>“Lucy, you have some ‘splaining to do.” — Desi Arnaz as Ricky Ricardo on ‘I Love Lucy’</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-28782772410908221332010-04-06T13:58:00.005-05:002010-04-07T10:18:05.812-05:00GLAAD Should Be MAD, And Should Sue!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/S7uFeswkOMI/AAAAAAAABBk/7hbuTCDNWeg/s1600/Ticked+Off+GLAADs+w-Lawyers.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/S7uFeswkOMI/AAAAAAAABBk/7hbuTCDNWeg/s400/Ticked+Off+GLAADs+w-Lawyers.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457102135946918082" /></a><br /><em><strong>“{It's like] Grand Theft Auto. If you have a bad day at work, you can shoot some people, kill some hookers, trash your car and feel better. It's the same with my movie…. It's a type of release and keeps the momentum going for gay movies.” — Israel Luna discussing his recent film</strong></em><br /><br />We’ve seen the past two weeks in Trans America dominated by a low B-grade, campy movie with the operative phrase, “Trannies With Knives,” a nice fear-instilling catch-phrase for phobic America. There’s not much need for me weighing in on the film itself as this subject’s been expertly plumbed by Gina Morvay, Katrina Rose and Marti Abernathey among others. <br /><br />Additionally I’m not really keen on providing more controversial buzz to help build the film’s mystique. Israel Luna’s nothing more than an opportunistic gay male prostitute turned wannabe media whore and Hollywood film director hopeful. Perhaps he can become the next D.W. Griffith, another filmmaker who made fear and ignorance work for him.<br /><br />Initially the Trans activist community was up in arms over not just the movie, but questioning where was a response from GLAAD, the community’s big media advocate. Shortly thereafter, GLAAD responded:<br /><blockquote>GLAAD was recently alerted by community members and allies to a film called Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives that will be screened at the upcoming TriBeCa Film Festival. After viewing the film, GLAAD is now calling on TriBeCa to pull the film from its schedule.<br /><br />Although the title is certainly problematic, it is far from the only issue with this film. The film, its title and its marketing misrepresent the lives of transgender women and use grotesque, exploitative depictions of violence against transgender women in ways that make light of the horrific brutality they all too often face.</blockquote><br />Meanwhile TriBeCa Film Festival went on the offensive. First there was Movieline’s Seth Abramovitch typing out an odiously dismissive editorial on GLAAD and the Trans Community’s protests of Luna’s film: <br /><blockquote>GLAAD is a funny little organization, on the one hand these self-appointed sentries for positive representation of gays in media, on the other a kind of nutless institution reluctant to get their Pradas dirty on the way to the awards show. …<br /><br />And even more importantly — isn’t this, like, censorship? Take a cold shower and count downwards from ten, GLAAD. You don’t want to walk down this dark alley. There’s far worse things lurking in it than a couple punnily-named trannies with switchblades.</blockquote><br />And of course we “trannies” (with or without switchblades) couldn’t help but notice how Abramovitch literally nuzzles up to Luna’s posterior orifice, crowning him the next Quentin Tarantino and effusively gushing how “his profile [is] heightened immeasurably as the man at the center of this particular contrannieversy.” <br /><br />Contrannieversy! Nice. A clever way to shove a slur into the middle of a word, and make it appeal to both Hollywood’s and the Glenn Beck / Rush Limbaugh and Anne Coulter audiences! Guffaws all around. One wonders what other kinds of slurs Mr. Abramovitch could mash-up with words, but alas! Three days after his post he resigned to pursue other things. Pity.<br /><br /><em><strong>“It’s a hot tranny mess up in here!” — fashion designer, Christian Siriano from Project Runway 4: The Season Of Love.</strong></em><br /><br />The Abramovitch screed proved insufficient for TriBeCa to cover its tracks though. So they followed with a statement to both Movieline and the New York Times ArtsBeat:<br /><blockquote>“The filmmakers provided a copy of this film to GLAAD in February, and for weeks the organization had been supportive to the filmmakers. In fact, GLAAD representatives advised the film’s producer, director and cast on how to describe the film to its core constituency.”<br /><br />“TriBeCa is proud of its ongoing commitment to bring diverse voices and stories to its audiences, and looks forward to the film’s premiere at our Festival next month.”</blockquote><br />GLAAD issued an update to their Call to Action on March 26, 2010:<br /><blockquote>Last month, GLAAD was asked to meet with the director and cast members prior to seeing the movie to educate them about transgender terminology and issues facing the transgender community. During that meeting, GLAAD was not shown the film and voiced strong concerns about the title and the use of the word "tranny." …<br /><br />GLAAD hopes that an institution as respected as the TriBeCa Film Festival would be concerned about how this film trivializes violence against transgender people, concerns that the filmmaker has repeatedly shrugged off.<br /> <br />In the wake of this outcry, GLAAD and many other transgender advocates ask that TriBeCa rescind its selection….</blockquote><br />Yes, I did note how they went from being “alerted” to the movie by the community to meeting with them the previous month.<br /><br />Nevertheless, GLAAD also states for the record that they had indeed NOT seen the film and had “voiced strong concerns about the title and the use of the word "tranny".” <br /><br />And TriBeCa Film Festival, for its part, tries to deftly sidestep controversy by fabricating the opposite story out of whole cloth: they “provided a copy of the film to GLAAD”? the “organization had been supportive”? GLAAD “advised” the filmmakers “how to describe the film to its core constituency”?<br /><br />Is this what TriBeCa is proud of? Egregious falsehoods about GLAAD?<br /><br />TriBeCa is, as GLAAD noted, a respected institution that was founded after 9/11 as a way to bring back some normalcy and vitality to a neighborhood devastated after the World Trade Center attacks. Robert DeNiro is one of their co-founders and co-chairs and even Martin Scorsese sits on their board of directors. What they’d attempted to accomplish with the festival heretofore is laudable.<br /><br />Yet they’re committed to diverse voices, but have no problem dismissing us – ahem – ‘ticked off trannies’ in this “Trannygate.” It must also be noted that while Israel Luna’s work is featured, transwoman Kim Reed’s Prodigal Sons documentary (which has drawn quite a bit of positive press) is not – and she lives right there in the neighborhood!<br /><br />With all this controversy brewing TriBeCa felt it would simpler to concoct a story and attempt a smear campaign on GLAAD for advocating for us. Essentially GLAAD was publicly defamed! And this is the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, no less!<br /><br />GLAAD should pursue a libel suit against TriBeCa Film Festival. This is an excellent fundraising opportunity for them, and there’s certainly no reason why they shouldn’t pursue it. Yes, I realize this won’t put a penny in any Trans pocket. However, GLAAD stood up for us and got publicly smeared and it was their organization that TriBeCa damaged.<br /><br />One thing we’ve noted in the Trans community is how easy it is for our own leadership to be slandered and libeled and have it become urban legendary fact. When there’s no brush-back in return, it only emboldens those same parties to continue the character assassinations. They don’t stop – they get worse.<br /><br />Tonight, April 6, is the protest of the TriBeCa Film Festival in New York, and I wish Ashley and the rest of the crew all the best. One point that should be the following battle cry is to encourage GLAAD to file a libel suit and take TriBeCa Film Festival to the mat! They have every reason to do so.<br /><br />And shame on TriBeCa for the lies!<br /><br /><em><strong>“Good name in man and woman … <br />Is the immediate jewel of their souls. <br />Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; <br />'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands. <br />But he that filches from me my good name <br />Robs me of that which not enriches him <br />And makes me poor indeed.” — from Othello, by William Shakespeare</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-42235080897459259512010-03-29T00:07:00.002-05:002010-03-29T00:48:27.618-05:00Looking Back Ten Years Ago<em><strong>“Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness.” — George Santayana</strong></em><br /><br />There’s been quite a buzz in recent months over our GLBT community – particularly how the GL views and treats the T. It’s reached a fevered pitch with Rep. Barney Frank tampering with the ENDA language and the release of the movie “Trannies With Knives” by gay male prostitute-turned-film maker Israel Luna (of which I’ll write on later).<br /><br />While all this was transpiring, a couple of anniversaries passed without notice. Ten years ago this past Monday, on March 22, 2000 was the meeting between the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) at HRC HQ in downtown DC, not far from K Street. <br /><br />Six weeks earlier, on Feb. 11, 2000 was the National Roundtable meeting between the Gay & Lesbian organizations, Trans organizations and a few from academe at the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) headquarters, then on Kalorama NW. in Columbia Heights. <br /><br />The NGLTF roundtable was the brainchild of their executive director, Kerry Lobel, with assistance from PFLAG, and came at a crucial point in GLBT history. It was a period of flux, where the Trans community first began truly exercising its voice. <br /><br />Only nine months had passed since the largest Trans lobby day on record at GenderPAC, but it created fissures within the T community, with GPAC announcing a move toward “gender” and later “gender orientation.” Also at that lobby day was a seeming closeness developing between GPAC and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and a simultaneous cooling off between them and NGLTF. <br /><br />Meanwhile the Trans community who were not part of the east coast cabal were breaking from them, and speaking out independently and more pointedly about HRC, with one faction forming what became NTAC later in 1999. At the same time, NGLTF was becoming more pointedly critical of HRC, with PFLAG and others cooling off towards both they and GPAC. <br /><br />New alliances were being struck, rhetoric was being lobbed back and forth and the community seemed to be roiling. The timing was perfect to have a meeting of the minds to hash things out and avoid a boil-over.<br /><br />Besides Kerry Lobel and Blake Cornish from NGLTF, and Rob Schlittler and Cynthia Newcomer of PFLAG, and other notables (of whom I can still remember) were Nancy Buermeyer of HRC, Chai Feldbum of Georgetown School of Law, Robert Sember of Columbia School of Public Health, as well as reps from LLEGO, NYAC, Lambda Legal and GLMA.<br /><br />The bulk of the Trans attendance was NTAC: Monica Roberts, Dr. Sarah Fox, Michael Gray, Chelsea Goodwin, Rusty Mae Moore and I in person, with Dawn Wilson, Yoseñio Lewis, Katrina Rose and Deni Scott via teleconference. Additionally attending were Pauline Park and Donna Cartwright from NYAGRA. Even though Donna would not resign from GPAC’s board for another eight months, she did not declare to represent them at this meeting, curiously enough.<br /><br />The meeting displayed unspoken symbolism of the community status quo. For the T community it was a watershed, displaying that we did actually have some strong allies, and quite a bit more than we’d presumed. It also showed that GPAC was beginning to wane in the community’s eyes so soon after working collegially with HRC. HRC was feeling surrounded, pained and combative due to their being the only non-inclusive org (they had still refused to add Trans to their mission statement even) and the controversy swirling around their participation in the Millennium March.<br /><br />And NTAC personified the spirit of this juggernaut of energy in the Trans movement of not waiting or settling for clever image-crafting sleight of hand (such as “gender” being all-inclusive) nor pat answers of accepting that we must be “incremental” and left out of gay rights bills. For many T-folk outside of the northeast (and increasingly within as well) it was becoming obvious we needed something different, with stronger and more forthright representation.<br /><br />“The meeting was a very good start to build alliances,” NTAC vice-chair, Yoseñio Lewis, noted at the time. “For the most part everybody played well together. There was a tense moment when Nancy Buermeyer brought up the friction between HRC and NTAC.” <br /><br />Indeed I was out of the room getting the nickel tour with Kerry Lobel, and when we walked back in, it was over: Monica Roberts and Chelsea Goodwin had their backs up, Nancy Buermeyer was crying and Michael Gray was offering to set up a group-to-group meeting between HRC and NTAC. Nancy shoved, and apparently Monica and then Chelsea shoved back.<br /><br />However, to a person, everyone except Buermeyer left that roundtable with a lot of hope and enthusiasm. <br /><br />And for the record, I’m not overlooking out NCTE. At that point no one in political circles had heard of Mara Keisling as she was still months away from her first participation in Trans activism with GPAC, and three years away from creating her own organization.<br /><br /><em><strong>“When minds meet, they don't just exchange facts: they transform them, reshape them, draw different implications from them, engage in new trains of thought. Conversation doesn't just reshuffle the cards: it creates new cards.” — Theodore Zeldin, philosopher</strong></em><br /><br />The following month was “the fact-to-face” at HRC presaging their eventual move to include the T in their mission statement. The meeting, set up by Michael Gray, occurred as the IFGE conference in Arlington, VA was taking place (giving us an opportunity to knock out two birds with one throw). <br /><br />For my part I wanted no participation in this meeting or the trip. At that time, I was having bouts of heart arrhythmias, major burnout, stress from both of the support groups I was heading (including one member’s suicide the month before) and major stress from my misogynistic boss at the time which included a fight over having to take those three days off of work. <br /><br />Added to this was additional pressure from NTAC’s interim chair, Dawn Wilson, who insisted/demanded that I (as a steering committee member) attend the meeting as a show of support, even though I had no clue what the ‘ask’ was to be or what we hoped to accomplish with it. Additionally Monica Roberts had already left one of her buddy passes reserved for me at Continental Airlines (where she worked). <br /><br />It was my opinion (accurate, as it turned out) that HRC would not view us lowly Trans folk as contemporaries or equals in any of our lifetimes and was against my better judgment, but I relented.<br /><br />My trip was timed so that I’d have enough time to land in DCA (Reagan National Airport), trek over to the Crystal City Hilton where IFGE’s convention was located, drop my luggage off in the room I’d share with Anne Casebeer, Dawn Wilson and Monica Roberts who were driving down from Louisville, change into a business suit and then travel presumably en masse to HRC. <br /><br />Arriving at the hotel, I noticed that my roomies- hadn’t checked in. Hmm … quandary! Time was tight for the meeting to begin, I had no clue how long it would take in transit to HRC’s HQ and I didn’t know if my roomies were just driving straight in to HRC. I didn’t even own a cell phone at that point! <br /><br />Plan B, I hailed a cab and traveled to HRC, then housed in an office suite not far off of K Street lobbyist's corridor. Arriving early, I slogged upstairs with baggage in tow and cooled my heels at the front office, looking like some kind of Trans refugee in my faded jeans and running shoes. Needless to say there were numerous staffers walking through, giving (ahem) the semi-discreet side-eyed looks as they walked through, wondering “what is this in our office?” <br /><br />While sitting there waiting, I kept wondering why I was even there, how the airlines almost didn’t let me on the plane due to buddy-pass complications, and how I wished I would’ve simply missed the flight and stayed home and gone back to work. There was a legit excuse! <br /><br />As 2PM neared, Nancy Buermeyer popped out and brought me (bags and all) into the conference room. We met and chatted quite a bit as we occasionally ran into each other over the years, beginning in 1996 at Houston’s ICTLEP conference. Nancy, Tony Barretto-Neto and I even went out country & western dancing at a local lesbian bar, The Ranch. Keep in mind that I was brand new to activism in 1996, and was in “discovery phase” of seeing which side was right: Phyllis Frye’s hard-line anti-HRC, or HRC’s being unfairly maligned. Over the course of those next three years, I’d learn Phyllis was correct.<br /><br />After chatting for nearly a half hour, I realized the meeting was already 15 minutes late and I was the only Trans person there! When Tony Varona and Kevin Layton walked in and saw me, and I repeated that I was waiting for “the others”, we all sat there with a ‘what are we doing here?’ look on our faces. I kept a cool exterior, but was beginning to panic and excused myself to the restroom. <br /><br />After walking out of the restroom, I was relieved to see Michael Gray walking up and asked where the others were. “They’re not coming” he whispered. “They weren’t ready and won’t be here.” <br /><br />Panic began anew, as well as anger as we both walked into the conference. Michael would lead and present his white paper: The Primacy of Gender. I sat there feeling useless, not knowing what to do and wishing I was back home. During the presentation, Alex Fox also dropped in, which evened out the numbers at three HRC, three NTAC. The rest of Michael’s presentation went routinely, but ended without any real request or direction other than asking that they all agree that everything GLBT had to do with gender, not sexuality. <br /><br />We all sat and looked at each other. <br /><br />So Michael again took it from the top, restarting his presentation and shortly into it used it as a platform to exchange accusations with Buermeyer. Shades of what I’d missed at the Trans Roundtable a month earlier! That was when Alex and I decided to take over. <br /><br />Nancy railed about NTAC’s story of HRC buying Riki Wilchins a condo (something we admitted had no verification and was removed already from the NTAC website) and also requested removal of Katrina Rose’s editorial comparing Elizabeth Birch’s words to Josef Goebbels. <br /><br />We decried the lack of trans inclusion in legislation, wanted our own access to legislators in order to educate them on T issues and blasted the pre-lobbying of legislators by HRC and GPAC. On the last item, again Buermeyer insisted there were no such meetings – until I brought up the fact that I had a screen shot saved of GenderPAC’s website circa 1998 (thanks to Gwen Smith’s eagle eye), noting the specifics of the very meeting at Sen. Harkin’s office (the first we were aware of) including who visited … including Ms. Buermeyer herself.<br /><br />At that she backpedaled and admitted the meeting did occur after all – but it wasn’t pre-lobbying. <br /><br />In the end, I explained to Nancy, Tony and Kevin that I personally had no problems with them not including us (at that time, Trans was not even part of HRC’s mission statement). In fact, that was fine with us: HRC should continue focus on the sexual orientation issues in Congress, and NTAC should focus on the gender identity issues. <br /><br />As HRC had their ability to get their message to Congress, we stated that NTAC needed our own voice to be heard similarly as we knew our issues experientially. We were also opposed to being shoehorned into a dicey inexplicit coverage under “gender” (which was the prevailing push at that time to get Trans folks to believe they were covered). <br /><br />HRC threw much of the non-inclusion blame at Barney Frank’s feet, wanted NTAC’s editorial blasts stopped and all rhetoric about the pre-lobbying with GPAC ceased as well. We explained the pre-lobbying rhetoric would stop so long as they stopped the pre-lobbying visits that we felt poisoned the well before we even arrived.<br /><br />All seemingly agreed the requests were reasonable and came to a tentative agreement to take them back to our respective leadership to achieve them. When Alex asked Tony Varona about a timeline on when we would hear back from HRC on their behalf, Tony replied that their upcoming Equality Rocks concert was their focus at the moment and gave a soft “couple months” answer.<br /><br />That response from Tony should’ve been a sign. <br /><br />In the interim we removed the offensive editorials, and stuck specifically to news communications as per our half of the agreement. Even when HRC took over and conducted the Millennium March later that year with its unresolved financial controversies, and when many other GLBT orgs were piling on, we didn’t capitalize on the situation while they were down. <br /><br />Though I sent a few Emails to Nancy inquiring of it afterward, we never heard back from them again. They never followed through with us.<br /><br /><em><strong>“Kick ‘em when they’re up.<br />Kick ‘em when they’re down.<br />Kick ‘em when they’re stiff.<br />Kick ‘em all around.” — Dirty Laundry, Don Henley<br /><br />“Even Gandhi, with all his charisma, did not 'melt the hearts' of his oppressors, as he had hoped. After softening, hearts harden again.” — Theodore Zeldin, philosopher</strong></em><br /><br />Much has changed since those meetings in early 2000. At the beginning of 2001, HRC suddenly announced they were including transgender in their mission statement and shortly after began billing themselves as the largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights group in the nation. They were not going to allow us our own voice: they would declare oversight of it in order to manage our message themselves. <br /><br />Responsively NTAC turned up the heat in the media in 2001-2002 and had a measure of progress, even beginning to crack through to mainstream press. HRC claimed they were working with “transgender leadership,” we responded that that were working with GPAC who had recently divested themselves from the T word, and that HRC was indeed not working with us. <br /><br />We also worked diligently on developing good relations with all our allies apart from HRC. Things progressed well through 2002 and it seemed (save for a number of the former GPAC Trans members) that the community was coming together in a do-it-yourself, shoestring fashion. There was no funding and precious little assistance, but we were moving forward and doing it for ourselves despite it all.<br /><br />New Years 2003 saw the advent of Mara Keisling, who went through numerous ad-hocs on the periphery before jumping in solo as the professed “hired gun” lobbyist in DC. Six months later, she changed her mind and appointed a board of directors and by year-end was a full-scale organization. As opposed to NTAC, NCTE would work collegially and collaboratively with HRC, not having the same history as the more tenured trans advocates. In fact, of all the trans leadership that were part of those meetings in 2000, the only one on the national-level radar at the moment would be Donna Cartwright who went from GPAC’s board to NCTE’s board of directors.<br /><br />Over the next three years, NCTE effectively supplanted NTAC and all its members. It wasn’t for malfeasance or being in the wrong (we were actually correct, which ironically worked to our disadvantage). We were replaced strictly for not playing the Washington game: we didn’t feel that Trans folks should simply accept our “place” at the bottom of the pecking order.<br /><br />While playing the game didn’t show results immediately, the progress has been coming. There’s been a jump in visibility in mainstream media, but it’s also a much more controlled, watered-down version than our gay and lesbian counterparts enjoy. <br /><br />We finally got explicit inclusion in hate crimes legislation and got it passed. And after a couple of false starts, we’ve also seen legislation written with explicit inclusion as well. But again, in the tightly controlled environment, we still don’t know what the language or limitations of this potentially watered-down bill might be – even after so many have lobbied for it, sight unseen.<br /><br />In early 2000 we seemed to be on a track of true GLBT community cohesion. From 2010’s vantage point, that view was quite delusional. The good relations NTAC had with other organizations through 2002 magically vanished almost overnight in 2003, coinciding with Mara’s arrival. Shortly thereafter, media relations vanished as well. Most everything began singularly funneling through Mara Keisling afterwards. This was no longer a community dialogue, but a top-down controlled environ.<br /><br />The last half of this decade saw a decide distance develop between Trans and GLBt organizations as well (NCTE for the most part notwithstanding). The years have seen increasing grassroots Trans criticism and frustration with formerly closer allied groups such as NGLTF, GLAAD, PFLAG and ACLU. It’s becoming increasingly evident that the marriage between GLB and T was not made in heaven. It’s been a boost in visibility, media and funding for the former, and come at the expense of those in the latter who worked so hard to make T progress in the first place.<br /><br />Indeed, the trans movement overall has become much more machine-like as a result of having one rep in the GLBT elite who’s part of the Washington game. For nearly all of the families and activists who worked so hard over the years for it, even the hate crimes victory had an anti-climactic feel to it. It wasn’t our victory: it was Washington’s. Even the sentiment that the community’s resigned to accepting whatever limited language in ENDA just to have something – anything – speaks to the lack of soul that we used to have. <br /><br />Then again, it’s no major surprise. The Trans community always eschews our own history. What’s here today will be forgotten tomorrow by the next generation as we’re each compelled to create our own. Even those who lead today helped perpetuate that trend with their predecessors.<br /><br />A local activist, Jackie Thorne, called me during Christmas holidays. During our conversation, she lamented how our community wasn’t “community” in feel any more –we’re just a “bunch of individuals now” seeking our individual stardom. The cohesion and cross-pollenation in our movement that began the last decade has been replaced by a classic Washington by-the-book, silo style of management complete with its hierarchies and insulated communication.<br /><br />We’ve changed quite a bit over the last decade. I can’t say it’s worse. But I can’t say it’s better. It’s just certainly changed.<br /><br /><em><strong>“All is flux. Nothing stays still.” — Heraclitus, from the book Diogenes Laertius<br /><br />“The conquest of the Earth, which mostly means taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it.” — Joseph Conrad</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-22545295169582348702010-01-10T18:47:00.004-06:002010-01-10T18:57:04.446-06:00First Video Blog for Transpolitical<em><strong>“ If you can afford a pretty expansive media room, you can afford what I spent in the hospital.” — Rush Limbaugh after leaving a hospital stay in Hawaii</strong></em><br /><br />A New Year and a New Decade ... and I decided to try something new. It's my attempt at a VLog (video blog, whatever). It's too cold here in the house (I don't use heat) to type at the moment -- too much to say, too many cold days without end. <br /><br />Basically it sucks, but it's better than nothing!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kB8mtQMSH60&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kB8mtQMSH60&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-3676792441526054662009-12-14T13:06:00.015-06:002009-12-15T08:35:38.920-06:00Reflections On A Historic Campaign<em><strong>"Tonight is a night for all the activists." — Rick Hurt (aka: Rainbo De Klown)</strong></em><br /><br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-9e7faf8e0bc080c4 class=BLOG_video_class width=400 height=333 contentId="9e7faf8e0bc080c4"></OBJECT><br /><br />In many ways, this election cycle for Annise Parker's latest candidacy has been very familiar. It's also been very different as well.<br /><br />Just as the last two times Annise has run for her first shot at a new office, I've been long-term unemployed, there's been family strife and stress to deal with on the side, severe depression set in and there was a sore need of finding a diversion to keep me focused and not obsessing on my own hell. It even rained on me again and soaked me to the bone on election night eve. It's certainly coincidental, but not something I'd ever want to plan (especially getting rained on in December).<br /><br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-6c8c39544718d683 class=BLOG_video_class width=400 height=333 contentId="6c8c39544718d683"></OBJECT><br /><br />Cold dark weather, holidays, the isolation and feeling out of synch with the rest of the world on this whole "seasonal happiness" also add to the malaise. It's not something I'd recommend to anyone, but it does seem oddly comforting in that it produces political wins, strange as that sounds. <br /><br />And after it got dark and the blockwalking we were doing became impossible, I spent the last hour plus where I was first assigned to work the polls: John Reagan High School in the Heights.<br /><br />Unlike 1997, I didn't have a dozen friends and relatives die in a six month span during election season this time (too intense). The election also worked much smoother with a larger influx of volunteers and actual paid staff. Election eve was so smooth that I felt guilty leaving to drop off signs at polling places before 10pm! And of course the election, though pulling close near the end, wasn't as stressful as the first one which seemed as if everything was riding on it.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SyccUXqCVNI/AAAAAAAABBM/T-9_HGgRiFM/s1600-h/Reagan+High-Richd+Usel+%26+I.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SyccUXqCVNI/AAAAAAAABBM/T-9_HGgRiFM/s400/Reagan+High-Richd+Usel+%26+I.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415328213209601234" /></a>Even my time at Reagan was low impact as they closed off the other three gates and had all voters, and all card pushers, at the one main gate into the school gym. (Back when we had all four gates open, that location required lots of energy to run back and forth across the schoolyard to catch voters trying to avoid the main gate.) It actually removed the challenge of that location. Obviously I burned off zero calories working Reagan this time, but then I'm getting older too....<br /><br />What little resources we had in the old days and how stressed we were at getting everything organized correctly was now a well-oiled machine moving like clockwork. There were multiple coordinators with various pieces of the tasks instead of one volunteer coordinator and one field general. It was amazing how simple it looked this time. I was a bit envious.<br /><br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-a66e6dd241c62012 class=BLOG_video_class width=400 height=334 contentId="a66e6dd241c62012"></OBJECT><br /><br />Financing was a big difference this time as well, which accounted for that easier process. At the post-election celebration, about a dozen folks walked around with the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund pins and even Chuck Wolfe, their executive director, was onstage with Annise during her victory acceptance. <br /><br />However, it also seemed like homecoming week being back at the campaign. So many of the old volunteer stalwarts I used to pester on the telephone to come in and help back in the days were back again, 12 years later. It was great seeing Peggy Smith again, and blockwalking with Annise's best friend, Cicely Wynne, on major thoroughfares in Meyerland during rush hours. <br /><br />It was great seeing the '97 TV ad guru Cindy Rindy (her official name now that she's married, although she goes by her maiden name Miller to avoid being called Cindy Rindy.) We chatted, laughed and reminisced about raising baby squirrels during the '97 campaign. <br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SyccwQQDRuI/AAAAAAAABBc/-QGvCOCxrPA/s1600-h/Annise+campgn+2009-Grant+%26+I.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SyccwQQDRuI/AAAAAAAABBc/-QGvCOCxrPA/s400/Annise+campgn+2009-Grant+%26+I.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415328692257900258" /></a><br />At the victory party, even more of the familiar faces from '97 that I hadn't seen for so long: former Parker staffers Kathy Elek and Terence O'Neil, former city council candidate Mary Ann Young, former Women's Caucus member and judicial candidate Mary Kay Green, and one of the other former Team Parker members, Patrick McIlvain. I even got a quick wave with Cong. Sheila Jackson Lee who was holding court with a throng of animated supporters as I was leaving. <br /><br />Things like this are the blessed diversions that help prop the spirit up during dark times. <br /><br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-e5ea70a3d3cddafc class=BLOG_video_class width=400 height=333 contentId="e5ea70a3d3cddafc"></OBJECT><br /><br />Obviously media was everywhere. This was a history-setting day for lesbians and gays across the nation. Peggy Smith and I even showed up on a live CNN feed (unbeknownst to us) at the victory party. Thank goodness I brought my signs along from the polling place as eye-catching props.<br /><br />Besides Victory Fund, it seemed a number of folks were in from out of town to catch a ride on the Parker phenomenon. You see the best and sometimes (especially at the victory) the most unctuous aspects of politics in full display. One of the men I blockwalked with (an older gay gentleman) showed up to volunteer right before dark on election night for his first time. He asked me if I'd ever met Annise (and I gave him my history going back 12 years). Then he had the audacity to ask me "does she remember you and did she do anything for you after election?" along with other questions of how one gets an insider track with someone like Annise.<br /><br />In response I gave him a flip answer: "she gave me one of her cats" (true). Not knowing if he had contributed or not, I held my tongue; but I felt like telling him this isn't a quid pro quo game that johnny-come-latelys can buy into on the cheap. Other than asking for trans inclusion on the city employees' non discrimination, I'd never asked for anything personally ... and I guess you could say I got what I asked for.<br /><br />It just drove home the reminder that political stardom is like a lit spotlight to moths at night. Opportunists abound.<br /><br />Catching up with some of my old-time friends at the party, one noted there were a lot more gays and lesbians in attendance at the runoff victory party than attended the general election party. Admittedly, I didn't attend the general party either.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SyccgNPhduI/AAAAAAAABBU/mPhRc4vIk1Q/s1600-h/Victory-April+%26+I.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SyccgNPhduI/AAAAAAAABBU/mPhRc4vIk1Q/s400/Victory-April+%26+I.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415328416572471010" /></a>Another noted that during Gene Locke's concession speech, the "diversity" onstage with him looked anything but. It was a pretty homogenous group. But for the fact that they were virtually all African-American instead of virtually all white, it could have been a Republican victory party. Indeed, Annise's had a very nice pastiche of all cross-sections, obviously heavier on gay/lesbian but still a very sizable contingent of straight as well as seemingly every ethnicity.<br /><br />An old friend from the Houston Gay/Lesbian Political Caucus days, Rick Hurt (aka: Rainbo De Klown) and a couple others commented that he was surprised the party was held in a small room of the George R. Brown, instead of one of the larger rooms. It just made it intimate and more crowded looking. He also kept repeating that "this is a night for the activists." <br /><br />Maybe it was a night for activists. Annise started off as an activist. Many of the longtime Team Parker folks have been perennial activists. And it also allowed this activist a night of basking in the warmth of victory's afterglow, watching the ebullience on Annise and her family's faces as they stood onstage, seeing the pride and excitement (and maybe even a bit of inspiration) in the faces of every lesbian and gay person in the room that night. It's fun getting to see people finally achieving their dream. It's also a nice little vicarious thrill, even if for a moment.<br /><br />After the victory speech, Rainbo and I went to the Montrose to check out the victory street party. It wasn't. The street was blocked off, but there was no one out there as it was chilly and damp. They were all in the bars — essentially a typical bar night. Nothing there for me.<br /><br />Other thoughts that hit me during and after the victory was how many people were congratulating me; not just trans, but gay and lesbian – even Grant Martin – as well. Surely I was quick to return it to Grant, as it is directly his and Annise's leadership to this victory. But to the Trans Community I'll remind how infuriated we've been throughout the years when gay and lesbian groups like HRC, GLAAD, NGLTF, et. al. co-opt or capitalize on our issues and efforts. We should not be doing the same in reverse, regardless of whether they do it. Take the moral high ground. <br /><br />This is rightly the gay and lesbian community's victory and not a time for Trans people to be in the spotlight taking bows or grandstanding. Our efforts were a part of what helped them achieve their goal. <br /><br />Which brings up the issue of the next bit of history to work on: Trans people in office. It's easy for us to make a decision to run, but putting this desire to reality by being elected is another thing altogether. <br /><br />In her speech to the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, Annise noted that she got elected "with gay money, transgender volunteers and black voters." We should work on attracting the black or straight voters. But with Trans money?!? And then who would we attract as volunteers – intersex? And Trans people still have the image problem (even within some segments of the lesbian and gay community, much less straight) and zero media presence to combat this. Even T employment in politics is rare, so how easy would it be for us to be elected? This is a discussion we in the Trans community need to have: how do we make what is a virtual impossibility a reality?<br /> <br />Nevertheless I'm very pleased for Houston's gay and lesbian community and especially for Annise and Kathy. Of course Annise has her work cut out for her in the years to come. We've got budget constraints, sales tax revenue that's dropping like a rock, home values that are stagnant at best with the foreclosures popping up and a lot of people dealing with major hardships. <br /><br />As a Club For Growth lobbyist mentioned to me, Houston's attracted all these Fortune 500 corporations because it's a place they can locate, pay their people low wages and yet their employees can still have a good quality of life due to low costs on most everything (except utilities). While that's true, even Houston's companies have been shipping our "low waged" jobs to even lower waged countries across the globe, like all other locales in the country. Unlike these other cities, though, Houston's wage-earners are much more vulnerable inasmuch as the low wage base means there's typically little to nothing saved up in order to weather the hard times. And Texas is renown for ensuring there are virtually no safety nets at all. <br /><br />None of this bodes well. And Annise's victory speech acknowledged that there's many Houstonians in rather dire economic straits. She'll have her work cut out for her. But as she also mentioned in her speech, she intends to be there for all Houstonians. This writer sure prays it's so. It can't come too quickly!<br /><br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-e0262dfc29bbd780 class=BLOG_video_class width=400 height=333 contentId="e0262dfc29bbd780"></OBJECT><br /><br /><em><strong>"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage" — Anais Nin</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-59086429180799781562009-12-13T22:02:00.007-06:002009-12-13T22:49:55.680-06:00Historic Houston Elects A History-Making Mayor<em><strong>"Tonight ... the voters of Houston have opened the door to history." — Mayor-Elect Annise Parker at her acceptance speech on election night.</strong></em><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SyW9WX0fRMI/AAAAAAAABBE/2JR1KRe7XhA/s1600-h/Victory-press+interviews+Annise.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SyW9WX0fRMI/AAAAAAAABBE/2JR1KRe7XhA/s400/Victory-press+interviews+Annise.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414942319031829698" /></a><br />And so it is done. <br /><br />History was set on December 12, 2009 with the election of Annise Parker as our next Mayor. Not only is this a red-letter day in lesbian and gay history for Houston or Texas, but indeed this is a truly momentous victory for America's lesbian and gay community. <br /><br />The gay and lesbian community worked feverishly to get her elected. Campaign Consultant and Manager Grant Martin (who joined Team Parker the year I did in 1997) conceived the gameplan way back then, stuck to it and ensured it was implemented and masterfully executed this year. <br /><br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-d17c1e9da92e8edf class=BLOG_video_class width=400 height=334 contentId="d17c1e9da92e8edf"></OBJECT><br /><br />And of course Annise herself did everything she needed to do to deftly show what was once a skeptical Houston that a lesbian (or even a gay man) could indeed be just as skilled as any other political candidate or elected official.<br /><br />It wasn't some "knee-jerk" decision of "liberal guilt" that got the first out gay or lesbian elected to the top spot in a top-ten American city. This was here in Houston: home to the Bush family, where Dick Cheney ruled the roost at the corporate headquarters here for Halliburton/KBR, the region where Kay Bailey Hutchison grew up and where Tom DeLay hammered his way through Congress and even trained his own acolyte, John Culberson. This was done in a two-fisted, blue collar, refinery-laden monster city renown for having the largest rodeo in the U.S.<br /><br />Annise Parker was elected by showing Houston that she was just as human as anybody else, just as committed and caring as anybody else and just as competent as anybody else ... and maybe just a little bit more so. She also demonstrated to Houston and to Texas that "gay" or "lesbian" does not have to automatically be threatening or feared. She came across as just a regular everyday professional woman from Houston.<br /><br />Make no mistake, Annise certainly has the skillset to do the job after six years as City Controller and six on city council. But it also shouldn't be discounted that Annise humanized herself and the image of gays and lesbians throughout the city. Even in red-meat, fire-breathing, rednecked Republican Texas, being "gay" is no longer an automatic death-knell for any job or any career.<br /><br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-55067eaf53da63d6 class=BLOG_video_class width=400 height=334 contentId="55067eaf53da63d6"></OBJECT><br /><br />Annise has long made efforts to reach out to all communities in Houston, and she is truly putting out the message that she is everyone's mayor. As she mentioned in her victory speech at Riva's Restaurant back in 1997 when she was first elected to city council: "I wasn't elected to be the city councilmember for gay and lesbian Houstonians. I was elected to be the city councilmember for ALL Houstonians. <br /><br />It's something she takes very seriously. She's reached out to every ethnic community in this, the third most diverse city in the U.S. She's reached out to unions and to high-powered corporate leaders. She's reached out to Republicans and has also never shirked from the fact that she's openly lesbian and fully supports her GLBT community.<br /><br />In an interview with Open Left during the run for this year's mayoral campaign, Annise noted: "in that campaign 12 years ago, I was told by members of the GLBT community, "well, if you have open transgender people as campaign volunteers or if you have identifiable openly gay people out pushing cards for you or representing you at public events, you'll never get elected." My response was, "well, then what would be the point?" and I immediately went out and my volunteer coordinator was transgender, my office manager was a flamboyantly gay man."<br /><br />Even in the latter stages of the campaign, when her runoff opponent Gene Locke recognized he was losing the election and resorted to desperation passes in attempt to win, Annise stuck with Grant's gameplan: avoid the mudslinging, avoid compromising principle and hammer the opposition on the issues.<br /><br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-323f795d86d6e363 class=BLOG_video_class width=400 height=334 contentId="323f795d86d6e363"></OBJECT><br /><br />Watching Annise onstage with her partner Kathy Hubbard and her adopted children, it was a watershed moment. It seemed both surreal and appropriate that this was happening here in Houston. Kathy was literally beatific. Annise was dignified, but you could see the pride beaming through.<br /><br />Even though I've met and visited with both of the last two mayors of Houston, it's also nice to finally have a Mayor who instantly knows me on a first-name basis! That's something Trans people don't get very often down here in the Bible belt ....<br /><br />And before I forget — a heartfelt congratulations to the Lesbian and Gay community here and throughout the U.S. As Annise mentioned in her victory speech (and a sentiment I also agree on): "I know what this win means to many of us who never thought we could achieve high office." <br /><br />For the Lesbian community, and I'm sure for the Gay community as well, that glass ceiling has now officially been shattered. Savor this historic occasion and enjoy!<br /><br /><em><strong>"We have a responsibility to live as openly as we can and to bring our full selves to everything we do, and begin to change hearts and minds." — Houston City Controller Annise Parker in an interview for Open Left Blog.</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-49023339760648141602009-11-29T21:41:00.003-06:002009-11-29T21:53:20.774-06:00Day Of Remembrance 2009 Video From ChicagoWe finally got the edited video up on YouTube for the Day of Remembrance in Chicago, 2009:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJEo1FXSedg">Rev. Bradley Mickelson</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/krnicole1#p/a/u/2/ClQcUQB6SCw">My keynote speech, Part 1</a> <br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/krnicole1#p/a/u/1/H88-nSTQhR4">My keynote speech, Part 2</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/krnicole1#p/a/u/0/-_thLRABBt4">My keynote speech, Part 3</a>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-69177397186524768012009-11-20T08:13:00.025-06:002009-11-20T15:22:28.229-06:00Day Of Remembrance, And Remembering What It's About<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SwbqpnKOtHI/AAAAAAAABAk/pGi9XdRWZqg/s1600/chapel+toward+front.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SwbqpnKOtHI/AAAAAAAABAk/pGi9XdRWZqg/s400/chapel+toward+front.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406266403312284786" /></a><br /><em><strong>"Heard of a van that is loaded with weapons,<br />Packed up and ready to go.<br />Heard of some gravesites out by the highway,<br />A place where nobody knows.<br />The sound of gunfire off in the distance,<br />I'm getting used to it now." — Life During Wartime, the Talking Heads</strong></em><br /><br />Today is officially Transgender Day of Remembrance (DOR) across the globe. For me, it was last week in Chicago for their Day of Remembrance. Chicago does theirs a little early as Kimberly Nicole and Cyndi Richards professional set up and film the event there in the Windy City in order to have it edited and uploaded onto YouTube in order to coincide with Day of Remembrance. <br /><br />The Chicago event was moving, and the location in New Spirit Church of Oak Park was an excellent stage for it. According to Rev. Bradley Mickelson, the church was apparently once where Theodore Roosevelt worshipped at his congregation — an interesting bit of history.<br /><br />It was also well-attended DOR as the church nearly filled. A lot of thanks goes out to Cyndi Richards and IGA, the church staff and volunteer Marsha Jackson (an old friend from my late 90's lobby days in DC) for busting ass and ensuring that the entire event and the spaghetti dinner afterward were a success.<br /><br />My reason for being there was to keynote the event. The one thing that I did was to address the creeping "external opportunism" from super-sized, cash-guzzling organizations on DOR itself, and to remind those attending of the history of how this collective community memorial came into being. <br /><br />DOR was extremely grassroots in creation, totally spontaneous based upon the suggestions of Gazebo chat list attendees in 1998 in response to Rita Hester's murder, and over the course of the frustrating year following when local authorities never resolved her case. Gwen Smith, the list moderator based in the San Francisco bay area, decided to put the thoughts into action by getting San Fran activists and others together and hold the first official Day of Remembrance. There were also reports of a similar vigil taking place in Boston on the same anniversary night.<br /><br />There was no big political organization, no entity, no non-profit fundraising, no staff, no one benefitting from it personally. Only volunteers. <br /><br />The following year, Day of Remembrance went national with about a dozen cities. It was all begun by local group leaders, activists, volunteer national advocates like NTAC members, and just everyday trans folks who'd never been involved in leading things, but felt strongly about our community's consistent bloodbath due to hate murders. Again, no national org's with fundraising ambitions laying claim (even with a few NTAC board coordinating local events). <br /><br /><em><strong>"Heard about Houston? Heard about Detroit?<br />Heard about Pittsburgh, PA?" — Life During Wartime, the Talking Heads</strong></em><br /><br />We grew DOR on our own, with rudimentary resources out of our own individual pockets, for the most part. We researched and reported on trans murders that came to our attention and spread the word on DOR to other cities on our own time. Just a bunch of ragtag trans folks putting together what we needed to do to get word out and draw attention to the glaring and criminally ignored murder epidemic.<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Swbq4lhkDoI/AAAAAAAABAs/M22Ok3ebfXc/s1600/Rev+Bradley.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Swbq4lhkDoI/AAAAAAAABAs/M22Ok3ebfXc/s200/Rev+Bradley.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406266660571319938" /></a><br />Keep in mind this was in the days before the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) had even bothered adding "gender identity" to their mission statement, and even that would not bring about their support for us in any legislation for years to follow. There was no "help from above." We had only ourselves, our own resourcefulness and determination to push forth our issue in the mainstream media. At some point, no matter how many obstacles, the message would eventually break through.<br /><br />Later while helping push this around the country for new locations, I suggested to Gwen and took initiative to bring in our first couple locations outside the U.S: Vancouver and in Santiago, Chile. Afterwards was a watershed of international cities and trans communities joining the chorus. DOR was, and still remains, an international crisis in the Trans community, and having this go worldwide was appropriate.<br /><br />After years of work and finally bringing it to the world stage, it finally started hitting the straight press and the colleges. Once the straight community started joining in and agreeing this was heinous – especially once they were aware of the commonly grisly details symbolic of typical trans "overkill" murders with mass stab wounds, multiple gunshots, body mutilations, decapitations, burnings — DOR suddenly landed on the consciousness of the world and elicited sympathy in what we were experiencing.<br /><br />With this came need for the press to get commentary for news stories on the annual events.<br /><br />And with that came the attention of the large GLB and T organizations, heavily bankrolled (anything over five-figure annual budgets in trans standards is massively bankrolled) with staff and big fundraising mechanisms. <br /><br />Here was an automatically generated day of easy, positive public relations on the cheap. All they had to do was show up and put their face out there, express sympathy for the Trans victims and the situation, then walk away looking all-too-altruistic and heroic. Afterward, use the press as basis for raising more funds for their "sincere concern" about our plight. It's a simple as falling backwards into a swimming pool full of dollar bills.<br /><br />Better still, they even began offering those of us original organizers suggestions: having the day moved from the date Chanelle Pickett was murdered on Nov. 20 (too cold, too close to Thanksgiving) to a warmer day in late spring; making it more of a soiree-type event replete with refreshments, where there can be awareness seminars in colleges (and great PR to new young recruits!); even requesting of us that it less somber and depressing (too dark) and lightening it up to more of a "celebration of life." <br /><br /><em><strong>"This ain't no party! This ain't no disco!<br />This ain't no fooling around!<br />No time for dancing, or lovey dovey,<br />I ain't got time for that now!" — Life During Wartime, the Talking Heads</strong></em><br /><br />That last suggestion stunned a few of us who received it. Celebrating our memorialized hate murder victims? Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd be afraid to ask family of Holocaust victims to "lighten it up" and "celebrate" the lives of their murdered family members. Hell, I'd feel uneasy with asking Judy Shepard to "celebrate" the anniversary of Matthew's murder.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Swbq_TyTUqI/AAAAAAAABA0/FavEO_SOl1A/s1600/Cyndi+Richards.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Swbq_TyTUqI/AAAAAAAABA0/FavEO_SOl1A/s200/Cyndi+Richards.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406266776068772514" /></a>But I guess trans people are supposed to be the exception. We shouldn't have such feelings the way other humans would....<br /><br />So when we insisted upon keeping our ceremonies solemn, darker and in the Fall (when foliage dies in the northern hemisphere), they simply circumvented and found other more accommodating trans folks in places like Houston, Orlando and Las Vegas [ http://lasvegas.hrc.org/node/331 ]. They tossed a little donation, got to stick their name and logo on the event and maybe even put out a little press blurb on it and – voila! – it's revised to seem they've been there all along with us and we're all just one big happy family!<br /><br />At least that's the image these new organizing (and enterprising) hopefuls want out there.<br /><br />But take a look at this symbolic "family": a majority of them robust and healthy, and dragging around these bony waifs by the arm, beseeching the world of this tragic situation and the need to help do something about it! Then when the world's attention is turned away, the bony waifs are thrown back into and locked in the dark closets and starved again. Yep, one big happy ....<br /><br /><em><strong>"Sitting here in Queens eating refried beans.<br />We're in the magazines gulpin' thorazines.<br />We ain't got no friends. Our troubles never end<br />No Christmas cards to send. Daddy likes men....<br />We're a happy family: me, mom and daddy." — We're A Happy Family, the Ramones</strong></em><br /><br />All these years, with all the work put in by the likes of Gwen Smith, Ethan St. Pierre and other assistants like Monica Helms, Mercedes Allen or I, became a lot of blood, sweat and tears for us and a nice boost to the bottom lines and the staff of the opportunists. It's nauseating how easy it is for trans efforts to be usurped and utilized to benefit others. I never truly appreciated how hated we were until I found out how easily we were exploited.<br /><br />Meanwhile, we finally got a large GLBT community action on the recent murder, decapitation and dismemberment of Jorge Mercado. As it's reported in the press, it was a most brutal murder of a gay teen in Puerto Rico. Buried in the details and away from most media reports, Mercado was wearing a blue dress and boots. This may well have been a gay teen. This was most probably a trans-panic response with all the overkill implications.<br /><br />It reminds me of the Martinez case in Cortez, CO (and no, she never chose the name Fredericka! That was a joke name given to her by her classmate friends). That was yet another murder where all indications were it was "a gay teen, some gender issues, maybe trans...." At the vigil in Cortez, her mother Paula brought up an 8 x 10 framed photo of her as a female. I still recall Cathy Renna of Gay, Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) remarking in amazement that Paula had a great photo of her son, and wondered why she wouldn't use the photo of "a handsome young man" on the stage at the vigil.<br /><br />How would a lowly trans such as I explain to an organizer of a national group like GLAAD that maybe they didn't take time to look at the entire picture, so to speak. In response I muttered to her that "maybe a mom best knows her child." There's no way for me to know if Renna listened or learned, but I learned something that day. We can't take all "gay hate crimes" at face value in the press. The Lawrence King story is another that comes to mind. <br /><br />Another lesson learned is how easy it is for our hate murder victims to become a wonderful opportunity and potential for future fundraising to those who really don't give a flip about having us around anyway (at least not beyond the political correctness "diversity" requirements). We're street chattel: mere coffin fodder to help boost the big bucks for the ballroom boys and girls. <br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SwbrGmBZJwI/AAAAAAAABA8/g3-sJx3jBtI/s1600/Chicago+DOR+crowd.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SwbrGmBZJwI/AAAAAAAABA8/g3-sJx3jBtI/s400/Chicago+DOR+crowd.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406266901222991618" /></a><br />Cyndi Richards, who coordinated the Chicago DOR, sent an Email to me noting an observation to a preacher from a trans parishioner. The transperson noted that angels, like trans people, weren't of either of the two specific genders. Angel food for thought ....<br /><br />To the hundred-plus fallen victims to anti-trans bias this year, whether you were angels or whether you were not, we do remember. We will not forget.<br /><br /><em><strong>"A good friend once told me the way to be an effective speaker: make them laugh, make them cry and make them feel religious." — Rev. Bradley Mickelson of the New Spirit Community Church of Oak Park, IL<br /><br />"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." — Revelation, 21:4, King James version</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-87950868925848118902009-11-02T23:55:00.003-06:002009-11-20T09:13:51.111-06:00Hate Crimes: A Long Time Coming And A Long Struggle Ahead[Note: this is a reprint from a requested project at Pam's House Blend]<br /><br /><em><strong>"It's been a long time comin'<br />It's goin' to be a long time gone." — Long Time Gone, Crosby Stills Nash & Young</strong></em><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Swax6SY5zXI/AAAAAAAABAc/5A21u_fxHTk/s1600/Obama+signing+hate+crimes.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 251px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Swax6SY5zXI/AAAAAAAABAc/5A21u_fxHTk/s400/Obama+signing+hate+crimes.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406204017631677810" /></a><br />It’s been a long time coming. The historic passage of hate crimes legislation and signature into law by the President signals the very first federal law covering trans people in America. My emotions, though, are mixed: ebullience, wistfulness, solemnity, sadness<br /><br />To have this finally pass, and to have it inclusive of trans people, is a major victory. Since 1997, I’ve been consistently taking time, shelling out money and visiting offices all over Washington DC and Austin – and even once in Annapolis this year – in attempt to get even this, the most elemental protection, passed with coverage for us all. With this official passage last week, all the memories of where we’ve all collectively been working to achieve what’s finally reality – seemingly against all odds – come streaming in.<br /><br />In 1999 I had the opportunity to pull in the most critical component of what would eventually be the key to eventual passage of the James Byrd Hate Crimes Bill in Texas two years later. Taking two of my gay friends on their very first lobbying visit to show them how to parry and effectively argue our case, we landed the support of Rep. Warren Chisum, long-known as an arch-conservative, lightning rod author for the most heinous anti-GLBT legislation. His support brought in other crucial moderate GOP co-sponsors and votes and also provided cover for blue dog Dems as well. Our only responsibility was to change the wording to “sexual preference” and “gender non-conformity.” <br /><br />It was a victory I was pleased to help along, but a hollow one personally. In 2001, gender non-conformity was refused inclusion in the bill (with a promise made to me that if we didn’t fight this and let this pass, they’d “come back for us” the next session). The bill passed, I held my tongue, but they never “came back” for us. Even this year, while in Austin, I visited with Rep. Chisum again a couple times. He chastised me with reminder that he didn’t want to revisit this bill again. However, he was ready once again to support. I’ll always remember the bravery of those like Rep. Garnet Coleman, author of 2009’s expansion bill in Texas, and the initial co-sponsors like Rep. Rafael Anchia and Rep. Alma Allen, as well as conservative Rep. Chisum and at least one other longtime Republican friend who were ready to bravely support and push this. The bill died in committee after testimony, but these unsung heroes deserve mention.<br /><br />Memories of victims past stream back. Meeting one of our homeless trans girls in Houston mere months before she was shot and killed in the Montrose sticks in my mind: would this law have helped solve her murder and bring some solace? Seeing the abject, stoic sadness in the faces of the family of Terrianne Summers as I attempted to hold my own emotions in check while eulogizing my activist protégée, knowing her murder is also still unsolved with no justice.<br /><br />Even in the cases where the murderers were caught, there’s only a little solace for the victims’ families past. Random memories. Watching the silent tears stream down the solemn face of Paula Mitchell at the Cortez, Colorado vigil in 2001 for her murdered child F.C. Listening to the sobs of Sylvia Guerrero over the phone in 2002, recalling her precious Gwen and how callously her body was dumped and buried, not long after Fred Phelps had found out Sylvia’s address and viciously protested in front of her home. Sitting alongside Queen Washington as she recounted for a reporter covering NTAC’s 2004 Lobby Day how her baby, Stephanie Thomas, was riddled with bullets a mere block from her home. Hearing the broken-hearted story from Sakia Gunn’s mother about the shoddy treatment from Newark authorities and community leaders and later seeing it first-hand in 2004 when our march from West Orange into Newark had only six white faces – four NTAC members and two local PFLAG parents – and was briefly refused entry into the city by police even after organizers had received permits. Hugging an activist friend, Ethan St. Pierre, who was shaken and teary-eyed after having making his very first speech in Boston recounting his aunt, trans woman Deborah Forte, being brutally murdered and having to go to the morgue to identify her body. There’s no way to adequately relate experiencing this. <br /><br />I still recall vividly the long battles and the acrimony over the years of merely having trans people covered by hate crimes. Struggling with conservatives just as we did with the Human Rights Campaign or the Anti-Defamation League for protection. Vehemently arguing with Mara Keisling and Lisa Mottet at the 2003 IFGE convention as they agreed with HRC and ACLU lawyers, and tried to convince me, that “gender” would include “gender identity” due to congressional intent. Less than six month later, finding out first-hand from our own local District Attorney’s office that they didn’t “give a damn about,” nor had the time nor budget to research what congressional intent was as they were following the letter of the law as written in Texas, and nothing beyond. <br /><br />Even something as indirect as political campaigning paid off. Being an Obama delegate won me few friends in the GLBT community during the primaries. From my lobbying experience though, I knew Hillary Clinton’s fondness for incrementalism and lack of knowledge on trans people just as well as I knew Obama’s full-scope approach to rights. Trans folks, including myself, fought hard during the campaign up to the national convention and all the way up until election day. That night, 1000 miles from home in battleground Dayton, Ohio, I knew we’d finally won our rights to be included when Ohio was called for Obama and later when it became official that President Barack Obama would soon occupy the White House. <br /><br />We were branded as pariahs, had our characters impugned and reputations ruined for standing firm on trans inclusion. It was worth it. We now have what we set out to achieve: coverage, rights, recognition. Finally, federally, we’re now human.<br /><br />The Hate Crimes Bill is a watershed symbolic victory for Trans Americans. But beyond the symbolism, we remain vigilant. It’s an important first-step, but not the final goal.<br /><br /><em><strong>"You've got to speak out against the madness,<br />You've got to speak your mind, if you dare.<br />But don't – no don't now try to get yourself elected...." — Long Time Gone, Crosby Stills Nash & Young</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-58407254673778452222009-10-31T21:17:00.007-05:002009-10-31T21:37:52.897-05:00Tricks, No Treats For Trans As Psychic Vampires Bleed Us Dry<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SuzwhBMQdQI/AAAAAAAABAM/AEwz7PdFnFY/s1600-h/__Mara+Head+negative.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 304px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SuzwhBMQdQI/AAAAAAAABAM/AEwz7PdFnFY/s400/__Mara+Head+negative.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398954503356577026" /></a><br /><em><strong>“I ain't gonna work<br />For no soul sucking jerk.<br />I'm gonna take it all back<br />And I ain't saying jack.” — Soul Sucking Jerk, Beck</strong></em><br /><br />After a three month self-imposed hiatus, I’m back. A bout of depression and physical fatigue was wiping me out and gave me pause. After my friend Lisa Gilinger noted my recent inability to write about what I was feeling, and realizing my attempt to rid the blues cycle had little beneficial effect, it was obvious my pulling back wasn’t helping me. <br /><br />So I restart on, of all days, Halloween. And tonight’s subject, something I’d recently learned about, is quite appropriate: Vampires.<br /><br />Recently I’d watched an episode on the History Channel on the myths, legends and facts on vampirism. Everyone knows about vampires from popular culture. There are lifestyle vampires who are into the role-playing and the gothic fashion and even living it as a permanent style. There are also the most commonly known sanguine vampires – those who actually drink blood (though the attacks and neck-biting tend to be more the stuff of novels and movies.) <br /><br />There is also a lesser-known category called psychic vampires (psi-vamps for short). Unlike sanguine vampires, they don’t suck blood. Instead, they feed off of others’ life energy – they suck souls. To my surprise, it made was eerily familiar to how I’d been feeling for quite a number of years.<br /><br />Psychic vampires, when you come into contact with them, don’t stand out in any physical way. Rather, they usually have magnetic personalities but can otherwise appear rather ordinanry. They seek out vibrant, energetic, creative or hyper individuals or crowds of energetic people. <br /><br />Per Michelle Belanger’s book “Codex: A Manual of Magick and Energy Work,” psychic vampires are unable to generate their own "life force," and must feed off of others, not just as an ability, but as a necessity. Feeding can cause an amphetamine like rush and most psychic vampires report to get greatly invigorated physically and psychologically. If unable to feed on others, symptoms of "energy deprivation" include extreme fatigue, depression, mood swings and immune system suppression.<br /><br />While there are different types of psi-vamps such as elemental and symbiotic, emotional vampires only feed on certain emotions others elicit. <br /><br />Usually, the negative psi-vamps will exert a strong mental control on the victim, and do as much as possible to provoke feelings of distress, shame, and sorrow. These types exhibit a seemingly insatiable need for conquest and, as such, an endless appetite for drawing energy from others – in essence, a Type A, uber-competitive version of a psychic vampire.<br /><br />Sound familiar? <br /><br /><em><strong>“Set all on ‘rave on,’ let’s see some action.<br />We’re gonna shine on, get satisfaction.<br />I am the singer. I take control.<br />I point the finger. I take your soul….<br />This is the only way to feel!” — Freedom No. 5, Scorpio Rising</strong></em><br /><br />While I’ve never given much belief in vampirism, it’s certainly coincidental that the trans community with all its initial energy and talent typically ends up burning out quickly, leaving us with husks of former leaders. While many gay and lesbian leaders have long, productive careers and lives, typically only the rare trans individual manages to survive similarly. <br /><br />Historically, only two of the Trans community’s political leaders come to mind in a similar vein. And typically, most of the folks these two meet, work with briefly or for a period of time, end up feeling completely depleted (physically, financially or spiritually) after. Ironically, the older activist of the two is the inspiration and example for the protégée who only popped up in this decade, and who’s now overtaken and even fed upon and conquered her mentor.<br /><br />It’s a rough world out there: feed or get fed upon.<br /><br />Curses are something I don’t believe in either, yet the consistent pattern since my own reversal of fortunes beginning on Jan. 1, 2003, and the consistent string of horrific luck often makes me wonder if curses actually do exist, and are possible reason for my own situation. While I’ve personally hung in for over thirteen years, my situation is only agonizing refusal to give up. My tenacity’s come at a huge financial, spiritual, physical and emotional toll, though. Thus, the last-legs level depression. There’s virtually nothing left. <br /><br />Incidentally it’s occurring on a constant and ever-widening basis throughout the community. Our community’s historical leadership appear to be dropping like flies, and its draining effects over time are pretty consistently noticeable.<br /><br />Dr. Judith Orloff identifies several profiles of psychic, or in her terminology, “energy vampires”:<br /><blockquote>The Sob Sister who always considers her/himself the victim. The world is always against them and they’ll recount every horrible thing that has happened, wallowing in every perceived slight and whining all the time. <br /><br />The Charmer, a constant talker or joke-teller who has to be the center of attention ad-nauseam. <br /><br />The Blamer who cuts you down with criticism doling out endless servings of guilt. <br /><br />The Drama Queen who lives in extremes of emotion with life being unbelievably good or horrifically bad and wearing you out while blabbing on and on and on.</blockquote>Psychic vampires have various ways of sucking your energy. Sometimes it can merely be a casual contact, but they also have the ability to reach their victims long distance through anything from phone calls, to dreams, to even visualization (essentially meditating and seeing themselves drawing the energy from a vibrant individual into themselves and feeling the increase in power and invigoration.)<br /><blockquote>Effects on the people they drain might include: depression, fatigue, or loss of energy when people are around you, people sometimes avoiding you or withdrawing from you for no apparent reason, or people giving you harsh feedback about your alleged neediness, clingyness, intrusiveness or negativity.<br /><br />Negative comments are very efficient at draining the life right out of you. ‘You can’t do that; you should do this; are you living in wonderland?” are all very effective at bringing you down. “What’s wrong with you? You are bad” – are (psychic) vampire tools that make you feel weak and small even if you are robust and tall.</blockquote>Indeed I’m fully familiar with the chorus of steady criticisms beginning in 2000 on, beginning with the constant negative feedback from HRC folks to the latter trans community leader, post-GenderPAC schism. It was well-orchestrated and made for a nice echo chamber effect of cast suspicion and dubious intent on anyone in the ragtag activist element in the Trans Community. <br /><br />It never abated and instead continues to crescendo even now from most of the very same parties and even some newer psi-vamp entries into the game. Just recently, none other than Mara Keisling passed along a typical comment to Ethan St. Pierre, declaring grassroots activism “dead.” It drew a rather emotionally rancorous response from Ethan, and he’s now paying a price most severe as the retribution is continuing to mutate and virally grow like an old 50’s era horror movie monster.<br /><br />Yes folks, while Count Dracula may be figment of a novelist’s imagination it appears that at least psychic vampires are for real. And it appears the active members of the Trans community are all part of a mass psi-vamp feeding frenzy.<br /><br />Google psychic vampires and read up on them, as well as how to keep them from depleting you and pulling you down. Break their cycle of usurpation.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Suzx6QiqiUI/AAAAAAAABAU/uP2xVWZGiY8/s1600-h/__Mara+Head+colored+pencil.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 304px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Suzx6QiqiUI/AAAAAAAABAU/uP2xVWZGiY8/s400/__Mara+Head+colored+pencil.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398956036485450050" /></a><br />Oh! And eat lots of garlic!<br /><br /><em><strong>"It was enough to make an old world monster go back into the earth, this stunning irrelevance to the mighty scheme of things, enough to make him lie down and weep.” — The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-43060471110530627222009-07-26T08:41:00.018-05:002009-07-27T12:24:41.336-05:00Speaking Up For Those Mute "Trannies"<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Sm2-_TIFncI/AAAAAAAAA_8/B8v54SDW37w/s1600-h/Andy+Marra+twitter.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 241px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Sm2-_TIFncI/AAAAAAAAA_8/B8v54SDW37w/s400/Andy+Marra+twitter.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363152725943360962" /></a><br /><em><strong>"People with virtue must speak out; People who speak are not all virtuous.” — Confucius</strong></em><br /><br />This blog I'm going to begin with what I finished with in the previous blog: how would the Gay & Lesbian community would react if Matthew Shepard's murder drew a manslaughter conviction instead of the murder conviction it ended up with? <br /><br />Would Judy Shepard feel this was justice if Matthew's murderers received a manslaughter conviction? <br /><br />Let's say theoretically that the jury found that the men that beat Shepard and left him bound to that cross-tie fence on a cold Wyoming plateau never had the desire to kill him, but just to "beat him and teach him a lesson," and they then came out with "Manslaughter One" conviction: how would the gay and lesbian community react to press reports of this being a "victory"?<br /><br />Moreover, how would they react if it were Trans community, or African-American community members from NAACP that were coordinating this press and speaking the message in the mass media: this manslaughter conviction was justice served? Hey, what if they found Matthew partly culpable, drawing the unwanted reactions essentially by being gay and out in public in a place where gays should remain in the closet? Everybody knows Wyoming's no gay mecca!<br /><br />How would they feel if we or the NAACP came out with those statements without bothering to ask their sentiments on the ruling? <br /><br />These are questions I'd like answered honestly from the gay and lesbian leaders of our so-called movement (hereafter referred to as "the Biz".) <br /><br />Will they answer? No! They know where this subject is going and damn sure don't want to face the dual standard.<br /><br />Instead, they'll point to "facts in the trial" and offer a tempered response to the outcome. Yet, these same leaders, when given opportunity of speaking out on gay issues, have no problem opening up and letting the discord show. <br /><br />Take a look at the responses of "injustice" plastered on media about California's vote to ban same-sex marriage, and later the state's courts upholding the vote response. Note their response to President Barack Obama in not being more outspoken on supporting them afterward (even though his campaign promises were always supportive of recognition of domestic partnerships, not marriage). Even the hue and cry over the lack of "out" gay or lesbian Cabinet members that the community could "respect," and the anguish over only 31 mid-level openly gay or lesbian staffers in the Obama Administration.<br /><br />If you'll notice, the released press and statements were less concerned with the actual facts on the ground, and more about the big picture: furtherance of gay and lesbian values and desires through aggressive media advancement. <br /><br />Media goes out to the entire public (not just the politicos). Aggressively asking for more than you expect means that when inevitable compromise comes, it settles on a much more desired result much closer to the actual goal. If you don't aggressively set the bar high (pushing the envelope, so to speak), when the eventual result settles in you end up with less.<br /><br />That's smart press. <br /><br />To wit: note how much the discussion has advanced (and the acceptance levels risen) in the subject of same-sex marriage. Note also how even while most of them supported his opponent, Hillary Clinton, in the primaries, the pressure the gay and lesbian press has put on the Obama Administration has shaken out some beneficial responses (more hirings, the recent reception for the community leaders and their partners in the White House, more attention paid to their leaders and issues). <br /><br />Smart, aggressive press produces results.<br /><br />So compare these to the press just release by these same folks on the manslaughter conviction for Lateisha Green. What is the message communicated from this? Weak.<br /><br /><em><strong>"All my life I wanted to fly<br />But I don’t have the wings, and I wonder why<br />I can't break away!" — Breakaway, Big Pig</strong></em><br /><br />Of course there's been defense by those involved, and of course brushback from a few of our own. My Husband Betty's En-Gender blog by Helen Boyd wrote a piece entitled <a href="http://www.myhusbandbetty.com/2009/07/20/trans-centric/">"Trans-Centric" </a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>I don’t agree with is the vitriol directed at the LGB leadership of the organizations that called the ruling on Teisha Green’s murder a victory. <br />[...]<br />What bothers me about the politics between the LGB & T is that there are plenty of other gay bashings and hate crimes experienced by the LGB that the trans community pays little attention to, such as Sean Kennedy’s. If you want an example of an absolute failure when it came to our legal system, that’s it. It’s horrific. Every time I see that young man’s beautiful face, and think about his parents’ loss, I wonder where exactly the trans community has been in raising awareness of that horrible injustice. No, he wasn’t gender variant. He was a young adult who was out and proud about being gay. But he’s dead just the same as Teisha Green is, & for the same reason: someone hated him for what he was.<br /><br />Do we know Michael Scott Goucher? Richard Hernandez? Satendar Singh? Ryan Keith Skipper? Jeremy Waggoner? Daniel Yakovleff? These are the names of gay men who have been murdered for being gay in the last couple of years. I didn’t know most of their names. </blockquote>Point taken. And indeed many of these hate crimes Helen notes have made nary a blip on the national screen. In fact, in one case on the hate crime for Sakia Gunn in Newark, I was rather astonished with the dearth of public press. It was interesting to note the press never materialized for them, and when the march and rally from West Orange NJ to Newark took place, there were only two groups who sent national level people: an African-American group and a transgender group (myself from NTAC). PFLAG had two local parents join the march. That was it: no GLAAD, no NGLTF, no HRC. Nada in their budgets for that show of support, I imagine.<br /><br />Odd, that they will devote the money and work so hard to craft the trans message when similar cases of their own beg for attention.<br /><br />However the most notable distinction in Helen's question on where the Trans community is on these cases: when is it that Trans people or Trans organizations are the spokespeople in gay or lesbian hate crimes – or any directly gay and lesbian issues? They certainly wouldn't trust us with that. It's pretty clear they'd worry about us bungling up their message by not fully speaking from the gay and lesbian community perspective.<br /><br />So how is it we're expected to be the ones to forgive bungling this press from their leaders and the isolated house trannies they employ? <br /><br />As Helen added in her blog post on <a href="http://www.myhusbandbetty.com/2009/07/20/trans-centric/">En-Gender</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>I agree with her that our standards are low when it comes to justice for the trans people, and their families and friends, who are murdered. <br />[...] <br />Our standards are low because we are too used to seeing no justice at all when it comes to people who intentionally hurt and kill trans people for being trans. </blockquote>Far too many in the Trans community, regardless of whether they're speaking up or not, were upset with the manslaughter charge and it's portrayal as a "victory." Of course, who was going to bother asking us! Additionally, the hate crimes charge – while a first – may well be a complicating factor in a couple senses. <br /><br />One has to be concerned with how legislators are going to view a pending bill like New York's GENDA with its hate crime coverage and what the response from the less supportive senators will be: "see, you're already covered, no need for more legislation."<br /><br />As such it's galling that a group like Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA), the very group that could not be troubled with including trans coverage in their bills when they were coming up – wouldn't discuss it – are now prominently celebrating press over the "justice" of a hate crime conviction knowing full and well what happened years ago. This happens while the state senate is considering the pending bill in the legislature that still has yet to come for vote! Are they really that politically naive? Or are they quite aware of their actions and how this may well dissuade some of the more conservative potential supporters?<br /><br />If what I fear ends up happening on this conviction and the subsequent legislation, there will be no excuses. <br /><br />This was not optimal press, certainly not a "victory" the gay and lesbian community would've been suffice with and not how we'd have done it on our own. But as always, we don't have that choice for our input. <br /><br />As Helen noted in her blog, "Community goes both ways." Indeed it should. Unfortunately, it rarely ever pans out that way. <br /><br /><em><strong>Well mama told me when I was young,<br />"Stand tall girl, you're number one."<br />(She said)<br />You can't be what you wanna be;<br />But you can shake the course of your destiny." — Breakaway, Big Pig<br /><br /></strong></em><a href="http://www.myhusbandbetty.com/2009/07/20/trans-centric/"></a>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-41459320276167055942009-07-17T22:04:00.011-05:002009-07-18T13:41:14.032-05:00Syracuse Sucks If You're Trans And Murdered<em><strong>"It's just one of those days <br />When you don't wanna wake up!<br />Everything is fucked, everybody sucks!" — Break Stuff, Limp Bizkit</strong></em><br /><br />How furious am I today? Let me count the ways ....<br /><br />On second thought, no. Who's listening? Precious few. Yeah, cumulative things get to be a rabid bear when they're piled atop each other and compounded. Starting off the day fighting doesn't help. Nice sticky heat with none of the forecasted "cooling rain" magnifies it. Then losing water (my precious lifeline to cooling off!) for a good portion of the day added a topper to that.<br /><br />But the news forthcoming wasn't anything pleasing. Quite disquieting actually – some of it, downright infuriating. As they say down here in Texas, it was enough to piss off the dead. First was word that the overwhelmingly democratic U.S. Senate, in its infinite wisdom, decided it would be a good thing to add the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act onto S. 1390: the Dept. of Defense spending bill replete with funding for F-22 fighters which are wasted spending and which Pres. Barack Obama has already vowed to veto if it makes it to his desk!<br /><br />That's right. Democrats are helping kill off the trans-inclusive Hate Crimes bill in the Senate by sending a veto-ready bill for signature! And that, of course, is if it makes it past a Conference Committee with a joint-session membership (and manages to maintain all the aspects of the current Hate Crimes bill.) If something goes awry and gets cut out and passed in joint session, it goes from there to the President. <br /><br />Then another headline caught my eye: "Sex-changer's suit claims bias against Parks Department." It was a headline from the New York Daily News (think FOX News in a newspaper format). Now the writer, Jose Martinez, did actually stick to the guidelines, mostly avoiding pronouns, and once referring to "her." But the screaming headline and later referencing that she had not had "a sex-change operation" lets you know where this is going. <br /><br />The plantiff Chanel Birden wasn't helping her own case either, something her attorney Derek Smith should've monitored and didn't. As a result, the Daily News writer didn't focus much on the slurs and insults she was receiving and filing grievances about before her firing from the mail clerk position at New York's Central Park. Instead, the writer highlighted quotes from her self-describing herself as being "a gorgeous woman" and how she "would always go to work looking very glamorous" and similar responses. Sure, it wasn't officially out of bounds. But it's still predatory journalism looking to caricature and dismiss trans women who don't know better while sublimely covering his own tracks.<br /><br /><em><strong>"The trans community always seems to have a knack for finding a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory." — trans activist, Cathy Platine</strong></em><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SmFw5TBjqRI/AAAAAAAAA_w/WujAemuTejk/s1600-h/Dwight+DeLee.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 319px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SmFw5TBjqRI/AAAAAAAAA_w/WujAemuTejk/s400/Dwight+DeLee.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359689161209260306" /></a><br />Then I got the bombshell. Lateisha Green's murderer, Dwight DeLee, received his verdict in a Syracuse Courthouse. He was found innocent of second degree murder. He was convicted of first degree manslaughter. The jury determined that after DeLee had lobbed invective and epithets at Lateisha Green sitting in her brother's car, after he'd gone into the house to retrieve his rifle, and after lobbing a few more epithets and leveling the gun at point blank range into the car and shooting Teish, that he'd intended to only "seriously injure" her but had no intentions of killing her. Manslaughter, not a murder.<br /><br />Any other victim killed in such a manner would expect their killer to receive a murder sentence. Ah, but Teish was murdered while Trans! And further, as my homegirl Monica Roberts would say, she was murdered while Black and Trans! As we read between the lines of this logic, it helps validate the killer's motivations. Why, having a trans person outside near his house practically requires one to go in their house and retrieve their rifle ... pop off a warning shot in their direction from a few feet away, just to make sure you don't have to fear for your life from the transsexual menace! <br /><br />Certainly any average citizen in Syracuse would understand that threat, that fear! It's palpable!<br /><br />Reality time: essentially this verdict actually foists some of the blame on the victim. That's right! The good people of Syracuse decided that being Trans, Lateisha Green should've known she's partially to blame for being attacked! It's kinda like women being partially to blame for being raped, Asian store owners being partially at fault for getting robbed in their stores, unarmed black men being partially understood to have been shot by police because of their potential threat – or even white men being partially culpable for getting shot while driving through a minority neighborhood! Everyone should know that's coming, and certainly expect that those who commit these crimes aren't to be fully blamed for it!<br /><br />At least, that's the logic in Syracuse.<br /><br />There were a number of statements in the press to note the verdict: "Today's verdict brings justice for Lateisha Green, but it can never heal the immense loss her family has experienced," said Jarrett Barrios, incoming President of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). <br /><br />"This verdict sends a strong message that hate violence will not be condoned. How many more like Lateisha Green must spill blood before our society says no to harassment, no to discrimination and no to violence against transgender people? ... {J]ustice was served today." said Rea Carey, Exec. Dir. of National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF)<br /><br />A measure of justice, perhaps. But was absolute justice served? Is Manslaughter a strong message? It must be noted that neither Carey nor Barrios are Trans. Point of fact, only one of the statements put out yesterday on the DeLee verdict by the organizations was from a trans organization (TLDEF - the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund), but the statement was from their non-trans executive director. <br /><br />Oddly, the lone trans person responding from any major org was from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) who tacked on a trans voice to Exec. Dir. Joe Solmonese's statement. "I am relieved to see Lateisha’s killer brought to justice," said Allyson Robinson, HRC Associate Director of Diversity.<br /><br />Both IFGE and NCTE remaining silent on this is odd. And to think that NTAC was criticized for putting out press and "drawing attention to ourselves." So leaving the attention to non-T voices and orgs is better?<br /><br />Either we just don't pay attention to the details any more, or maybe it's just gotten so bad that any conviction more than simple assault of a person who murders a trans woman is a victory. Maybe it's me and all the other Trans folk around the country who are pissed at this lesser treatment by the court that are out of step? <br /><br />Or maybe this is just a great way to put out a message that's consistent, celebratory and assures that there's no dissension: ensure that there's message control. <br /><br />One has to wonder how the Gay & Lesbian community would react to this? If Matthew Shepard's murder drew a manslaughter conviction with a maximum 25 year sentence, would Judy Shepard feel this was justice served? If it were the Trans community declaring before press that such as sentence was justice, would the Gay & Lesbian community agree with our statements and consider it closed?<br /><br />Or if not, would they speak out? After watching their responses in recent months, I believe I already know that answer.<br /><br /><em><strong>“Compromise used to mean that half a loaf was better than no bread. Among modern statesmen it really seems to mean that half a loaf is better than a whole loaf.” English writer, Gilbert K. Chesterton<br /><br />"If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation." former First Lady to the 2nd U.S. President, Abigail Smith Adams</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-7343576280696259092009-07-15T08:46:00.009-05:002009-07-18T02:28:54.656-05:00The 3 R's in Mass.: Rights, Religion And Restroom Fixations<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Sl66ofIOAsI/AAAAAAAAA_g/28MOr5Innsw/s1600-h/Restroom+predator.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 380px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Sl66ofIOAsI/AAAAAAAAA_g/28MOr5Innsw/s400/Restroom+predator.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358925811330974402" /></a><br /><em><strong>"After complaints that there was a man in the woman's bathroom, a bouncer approached her stall and asked Ms. [Khadijah] Farmer to leave. The masculine lesbian has now filed a lawsuit ... to stop "sex stereotyping in public accommodation." After all, the toilet should not see gender, but flush feces with fairness.<br /><br />[I]f you dress like a dude and alter your appearance so you look like one, you run the risk of people taking you for something you're not." — Greg Gutfeld, host of FOX News' Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld</strong></em><br /><br />Yesterday the state of Massachusetts had public hearings again regarding their non discrimination bill covering "gender identity or gender expression" pending before the legislature. Numerous Trans community members and their family members testified (and a special kudos to Ellen Hurn for her courageous testimony!)<br /><br />Nicknamed the "Tranny bill," the "Bathroom bill" and "an important part of the Homosexual Lobby's agenda," the bill in this "most liberal state" as Rep. Barney Frank denotes has gotten national attention from the 19th century-minded groups and their press vehicles.<br /><br />The Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI) has begun running radio ads warning mothers that they may no longer want to let their young daughters use public restrooms because "Beacon Hill is about to make it legal for men to use women's bathrooms." <br /><br />"There's no restrictions in this bill as to what opposite gender can use the facility. We're not going to be able to police this," said Kris Mineau, president of MFI. "There's no pre-requirement of surgery or appearance or anything else."<br /><br />Mineau said the bill would make it easier for the thousands of registered sex offenders in Massachusetts to gain access to children and women in public restrooms by claiming they are transgender.<br /><br />Clearly there are a number of flaws in Mineau and MFI's convoluted logic. Foremost is that sexual predators tend to hang around where children congregate – places like parks and game rooms, the malls or adjacent to school grounds. Since when did America's daughters start hanging out at the public restrooms? Typically they are preyed upon when their defenses are down, and to do so, predators have to find situations that are sublime and seemingly innocent, such as being approached by the adult male in a park or near the school looking for a lost dog, or in a mall asking for directions to a store. <br /><br />How sublime and disarming do they think it will be for their daughters to be approached by an adult male in a women's restroom and have him "get the drop on them?" Seriously?<br /><br />Additionally, If they're felonious sexual predators, then being genteel about appropriate restrooms is the last thing weighing on their mind. If they're in the mood to commit such an act, then a "Ladies" sign or a female silhouette icon on the door won't be stopping their quest: Trans identity my ass! It'll be "damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead!" <br /><br />If they're so concerned about sex-segregating the bathrooms to the Nth degree as per their birth certificates regardless of what gender someone presents as in public, then where does this end? Will we now need laws declaring male and female bathrooms in every home in America? We can't use the same restroom! Oh, that's right! It's family! There's no such thing as family incest or molestation, is there? Yeah, right!<br /><br />And since it's the parks, game rooms and malls that attract both young daughters and those sex-offenders following them waiting for an opportunity, will sex-segrated malls be next? How about sex-segregating parks and playgrounds too? Don't want men around those places. There have even been infrequent incidences of daughters being molested or being preyed upon where people pray! As in churches! So should we also begin sex-segregating churches in order to keep daughters as far away from all men as possible? Lord knows there's a higher occurrence of these incidences from "men of the cloth" and Sunday School teachers than there are with Trans women. If it's a potential threat, segregate them all stringently beforehand – don't wait!<br /><br />With all this segregation by the sexes, maybe the orthodox Sunnis in Saudi Arabia are onto something with that concept of "only men" and "only women" in various public functions. Perhaps America's family associations need to look to them for successful models to follow?<br /><br /><em><strong>"Who is a hero? He who conquers his urges." — the Talmud</strong></em><br /><br />Another little kink in their seemingly impeccable logic on concerns of "men in restrooms" identifying as Trans women: we're on hormones! No, I'm not talking about crying jags or getting emotional ... think back for a minute. Back in the day, they used to prescribe estrogen as a kind of "chemical castration" for those who used to be convicted of first- or lesser offenses of sexual violations. The reason was simple: it greatly tamped down the male libido (as well as other feminizing side effects). <br /><br />So now that there are male-to-female transsexuals and pre-ops who have self-castrated, chemically speaking, what is it these MFI types think we're going to get the notion to do in the public restrooms? Sex? From our over-nourished, female-hormoned "male" libidos? Really?<br /><br />Instead they insist upon these female-appearing folks going into the men's room. Where their young sons may well be. That'll be an interesting conversation! At the same time, folks like Ethan St. Pierre (below) will be forced to use the women's room. Yep, this is what the conservatives want to push into the women's room with your daughters: take a peek at what this will look like!<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Sl6xllSUpHI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/8FAc6ewIGCY/s1600-h/Ethan+Bathroom+glow+w-plastic.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Sl6xllSUpHI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/8FAc6ewIGCY/s400/Ethan+Bathroom+glow+w-plastic.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358915865839707250" /></a><br />Of course the Big Gay Man on the Hill, Barney Frank, isn't anywhere to be found on this bathroom discourse. He's not been very helpful to us on this subject in the past, and now that the current Congress is gearing up for Don't Ask, Don't Tell (and that touchy subject about shower usage amongst G.I.'s straight and gay, it's a subject he'll avoid at all costs about now.) But it begs the question: when sexual orientation discrimination was outlawed, was there a sudden surge in bathroom predators stalking kids in public restrooms? Nope? So much for that big fear about nothing ... maybe Trans rights will bring the same results, ya know?<br /><br /><em><strong>"And you knew who you were then!<br />Girls were girls and men were men.<br />Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again!" — Those Were The Days (Theme Song for "All In The Family") sung by Jean Stapleton & Carroll O'Connor</strong></em><br /><br />Not to be outdone by restrooms, Timothy Tracey, a lawyer with the conservative Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, told members of the Committee on the Judiciary that the bill infringes on the religious rights of those who believe that men and women are different.<br /><br />"The First Amendment mandates that no individual should be required to affirm, in act, word, or deed, that a man is a woman, or a woman is a man, against their sincerely held religious beliefs," Tracey said. "Yet this is precisely what (the bill) will do."<br /><br />Mr. Tracey's obviously a sharp-eyed trial lawyer, but a crock of crap is still a crock of crap no matter who serves it up. There is nothing in this bill taking away his freedom of openly worshiping how he pleases, which is what the First Amendment covers. I'm unsure what religion it is that worships men being men and women being women, but rest assured that they will still be able to openly declare that they worship men being men and women being women after this bill is passed! <br /><br />Meanwhile it will also ensure that those to don't believe in people who change gender or accepting them shall not abridge the beliefs and acts of other religions who, as Jesus noted to his disciples that "the call isn't for everyone" and, indeed, even eunuchs (both those born in the womb as so, and those castrati of that era) could follow the call – could follow Jesus. Some people actually believe in all of Jesus' teachings from the Four Gospels and wish to respect that, even if the folks Mr. Tracey represents wish to ignore and deny His words. <br /><br />Some people believe in the Golden Rule: treating others as you would wish to be treated. Mr. Tracey represents folks who eschew that. No matter. It only means that the folks Mr. Tracey advocates for don't deny ability for others to worship and believe as they do, where everyone should be treated as equals without full considerations for a special group, and lesser considerations for the others left out. Mr. Tracey and others can continue defying the Golden Rule as per their religious beliefs.<br /><br />This stuff really gets exasperating. It's amazing the lengths to which people will go to not only validate but to keep their irrational fears enshrined as the law of the land. Miscegenation, women as lesser humans, slavery, even mistrust of other different religions, all these things used to be controlled by laws of the land because of phobia: fear that those in power just cannot get beyond.<br /><br />Let's hope this time that fears once again will not triumph over the courage of doing what's right. Lord knows that in this "most liberal state" in the Union, courage by even liberals in their own bastion has been in preciously short supply.<br /><br /><em><strong>"If I were King of the Forest – not queen, not duke, not prince –<br />My regal robes of the forest would be satin, not cotton, not chintz.<br />I'd command each thing, be it fish or fowl....<br />Though my tail would lash, I would show compash<br />For every underling!<br />If I, if I ... were King!" — If I Were The King Of The Forest sung by Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion of the "Wizard of Oz"<br /><br />"It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare." — Mark Twain </strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-34345415022972065782009-07-12T20:46:00.025-05:002009-07-13T01:14:09.255-05:00Seeking Justice When The Empire (State) Strikes Black (Trans)<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlrFE3a13-I/AAAAAAAAA_I/sdgBUxR8dCc/s1600-h/Teish.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlrFE3a13-I/AAAAAAAAA_I/sdgBUxR8dCc/s400/Teish.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357811394097307618" /></a><br /><em><strong>"Just waking up in the morning, gotta thank God.<br />I don't know but today just seems kinda odd....<br />Plus nobody I know got killed in South Central L.A.<br />... Today was a good day." – It Was A Good Day, Ice Cube</strong></em><br /><br />As I intermittently work on this blog the day before the trial begins for the murder of Lateisha Green (fka: Moses Cannon), I'm thankful for a few things. First of all, the District Attorneys appear to be taking an aggressive approach to prosecuting this case. This is much better than many cases where trans victims of murder are African American, or to a slightly lesser extent other ethnic minorities. The second thing I'm thankful for is that Teish, as she's referred to by friends and family, has a family that loved and supported her death after her death as well as (to what extent I can tell) before her murder as well. Teish's family are actively involved in monitoring and pressing for justice for her.<br /><br />That latter fact – the family's involvement – cannot be dismissed. In all of the cases I've noted over the decade plus of hate crimes our community has lived through, the supportive family – especially parents who refuse to accept dismissive investigation and prosecution – make the most notable difference in successfully bringing these cases to light and to justice in the court system.<br /><br />Additionally, I'm happy to hear that there is a good amount of pre-trial publicity getting out there, thanks to the initial work of the TransGriot blog by Monica Roberts (one of NTAC's co-founders and former board members). Additionally there's some of our folks on the ground to monitor and tweet the ongoing court proceedings: both Gay & Lesbian Alliance for Anti-Defamation (GLAAD) and especially the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) will be there. Having our watchers there is a reminder to the court and prosecutors to keep it on the up and up.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlrFLfhoRuI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/lKtezYk4X1o/s1600-h/TLDEF.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 162px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlrFLfhoRuI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/lKtezYk4X1o/s400/TLDEF.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357811507942409954" /></a><br />Another thing I'm grateful for is that her killer was known, and quickly tracked down and arrested. Far too often, most especially in cases where it's a trans woman of color who nearly always gets the automatic presumption that "she was a sex-worker" from authorities, there is a rather lax attitude about bringing their murderers to justice. <br /><br />Murders aren't only illegal if they occur to non-minority, and especially non-trans people. It's supposed to be "blind justice." We're taught to expect "equal justice" in our democratic system. Far too often, we get neither. Why is it that our community and our families are practically required to ride herd over the investigative and judicial process in order to ensure no apathy that sets in?<br /><br />At least the tools are in place to make this a successful prosecution for justice. The DA's office has even filed hate crime charges against Teish's killer. That said, I'm fairly certain that hate crime violations will be sacrificed in order to get a full sentence for the murder. <br /><br />It's not that I don't believe there was no hate crime committed – there was. The problem is that New York State's hate crime coverage for transgender victims. As I learned from Houston's Harris County's D.A. office years ago, prosecutors will not push for charges or convictions on laws that aren't explicitly on the book (as is the case in both Texas and New York). <br /><br />The reasoning as explained to me, beyond Texas' conservative narrow-minded approach to law, is that if there is a charge and eventual conviction on a law that isn't explicitly on the books, it opens the door for challenging later in a retrial. All it takes is a sharp-eyed defense attorney (or even a jailhouse lawyer who has nothing better to do with all his incarcerated time than to file challenges, and sometimes effective ones.) Nevertheless, I see it as a good strategy to use this now at this stage of the trial, especially if they can get a solid plea deal from the defense. It indicates the D.A. in this case wants to send a message that a victim who is Trans deserves the same level of sentencing that a non-Trans victim would.<br /><br />And therein lies my beef. New York has had over six years since SONDA and the infamous "promise" form Empire State Pride Agenda's then-executive director, Matt Foreman (who shortly thereafter escaped to a nice reward: Executive Director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force - NGLTF). In the years since, that promise (to place GENDA and Hate Crimes on the forefront of ESPA's agenda) has been of as much value as a three-dollar bill.<br /><br />These rights should've been extended by now in so-called "liberal" New York. But they haven't. It sends the country a clear message: their Trans citizens are less than everyone else in the Empire State. Trans people are not human (or certainly not human enough to be covered by their human rights laws)! The bottom line is this: New York's legislators are being either lazy or cowardly, or a combination of the two. And every year that passes since their executive director Foreman's promise helps further cement ESPA's legacy of unconcerned deceit.<br /><br />If they don't like it, do something concrete to address it. Otherwise, live with it.<br /><br />Now I'm fully aware that not all groups support Hate Crimes bills. The Sylvia Rivera Law Project came out with a statement earlier this year declaring their opposition (not a misprint) of the GENDA bill as it included hate crimes enhancement provisions, which they oppose. In one sense, I can understand their position. <br /><br />However they also overlook one glaring point: there is no parity in sentencing in general. It's especially so when the victims are non-white, and most certainly so when the victims are transgender women who typically have their lives completely debased, sliced, diced and offered up to the point of virtually slanderous claims of lascivious prostitutes and sexual freaks while the defense is cross-examining and pressing the defendant's case (which is what they get paid to do). Other than the Angie Zapata trial, there has rarely if ever been equitable sentencing for those convicted of murdering Trans women. And to believe that there is no difference between a simple murder of a Trans woman (such as over a debt or a simple quarrel) and the murder of a Trans woman because of the homo- or transphobic connotations – not to mention the perception by many in society, even in New York's legislature – that we are lesser human creatures, tacitly implying that no one will care for us simply strains the limits of credibility to its break point. <br /><br />Until there is equitable sentencing, until there is equal consideration for the lives of all victims regardless of race, class or Trans status, until there is demonstrated action in treating murderers of Trans women or Trans men as the murderers they are, and not allowing the a bit of leeway because, "hey! She's just a tranny, probably with a sordid past and who cares about them?" ... until we reach that day where I don't have questions about the message they send to all of society about us by their light treatment of our victims, I'm firmly standing on the side of enacting hate crime coverage for gender identity, and prosecuting to enhance it everywhere it is applicable.<br /><br />And if people have problems with it, well ... there's a simpler solution! Simply work to dismantle all other coverage for hate crime enhancement based upon race, religion, gender, sexual orientation and the like! See if you don't get a rise out of them when you attempt this! And explain to them that it's an unfair law, and ask their sentiments on whether or not they feel sentencing has always been just when their own community was attacked in such incidences.<br /><br />Meanwhile, we're mourning in America. Yet another young, unrealized potential ... another African-American woman who happened to be Trans ... is gone. And it's just one more name on the litany of lost lives among Trans women of color. Something needs to be done to stop this pattern of hate and violence.<br /><br />Doing nothing and accepting things as they are just isn't going to cut it. I'll care about our attackers sentences or the hurt feelings of legislators or our political leaders once they first start caring about the sanctity of our lives.<br /><br /><em><strong>"Here's another point in life you should not miss:<br />Don't be a fool who's prejudice,<br />Because we're all written down on the same list." — It's Like That, Run-D.M.C.</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-6777884849953748212009-07-10T16:48:00.011-05:002009-07-12T20:46:29.534-05:00The Massachusetts Model<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SllJhXuRqCI/AAAAAAAAA_A/2CPBf-Zcod4/s1600-h/Barney+Mass+In-Equality.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 70px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SllJhXuRqCI/AAAAAAAAA_A/2CPBf-Zcod4/s400/Barney+Mass+In-Equality.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357394069386536994" /></a><br /><em><strong>"In this month of July, as we have just celebrated the Fourth of July and our Independence Day and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we ... are reminded that the phrase, “All Men are Created Equal,” at the time really referred to only certain men, and at the time, only certain men who owned property. Much has clearly changed in this country since 1776. As our country grew, our population grew, and our Bill of Rights and the interpretation of them included a rational and evolving sense of what liberty and justice and equality for all meant." — Mass. Atty. Gen, Martha Coakley in July 8, 2009 press conference. </strong></em><br /><br />The year was 1989. Massachusetts passed a state law on non discrimination covering sexual orientation, giving gay and lesbian state residents protections in the workplace against unfair treatment, hiring or firing practices. Being one of the early states to enact it statewide, they were among the vanguard of the progressives. <br /><br />Since that day twenty years earlier, more legislation has since been enacted covering the state's gay and lesbian residents: Adoption (1993), Hate Crimes (2002), School Bullying (2002), Marriage for in-state couples (2004) and for out-of-state couples (2008). They've also had not one, but two elected officials who were gay – Gerry Studds (1972-1997) and Barney Frank (1981-current). So-called the "most liberal state in the Union", Massachusetts had done well by its gay and lesbian residents.<br /><br />Taking this into consideration, let's also take a look at the progress of Trans rights in this "most liberal state." By default, Massachusetts' Trans residents have the right to marry per the 2004 edict. Additionally by default, other non-Mass. Trans citizens may now marry there per the 2008 law. In 2009, Trans people saw the first trans-specific law passed: the right to have the new gender marker listed on their drivers license.<br /><br />And that's about it currently. There's a current non discrimination bill to cover trans folks some two decades later which will go to hearings soon. Of course the same bill also went to hearings in 2007. Hopefully it passes now, but it's still a coin flip.<br /><br />Twenty years after their initial rights victory, five years after winning the first-in-the-country same-sex marriage rights, and even a year after winning those rights in Mass. for same-sex couples from other states, the Trans rights push is in its early toddling steps. This in the "most liberal state" in the Union. It's a point that even the Big Gay Man on the Hill, Barney Frank, has used in his own defense to deflect crticism when he himself got cold feet on Trans inclusion in non discrimination bills.<br /><br />Earlier this year MassEquality, the state's prominent LGBT advocate, made tacit promises of finally devoting attention to Trans rights in the state with its Trans rights org counterparts, Mass. Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC). Not long after, they plastered a photo of one of the Trans community's prominent Trans men, giving instructions for folks to contact them on info for Trans equality! <br /><br />Shortly and subtly thereafter, they then start edging away from working on Trans issues in the state and focused more prominence on helping their neighboring states' marriage equality rights fights! They apparently discovered what Trans organizations have known for many years: big gay and lesbian money pours in on gay and lesbian issues, and magically evaporates when it's Trans issues. There's nothing sexy about Trans issues to gay and lesbian America, no pressing humanitarian (read: big media face time) need for involvement, nothing much to be gained for them personally. Why engage? Maybe another pressing G&L need may arise in the future? Perhaps divorce rights will be the next big ticket item on the agenda? <br /><br />And if not, hey! There's always plenty of vacation spots to visit....<br /><br /><em><strong>"I started looking at small companies that were running a sort of virtual reality cottage industry .... that's your dream of what it's going to be." — musician, Thomas Dolby</strong></em><br /><br />Of course, once all the rights for sexual orientation on their potential wish list are attained and there's nothing else left, why not give new up-and-coming gay and lesbian leaders a shot by ... coming back and getting those hapless trannies their rights! You continue keeping the org in place and keep the name recognition going! There's certainly no real urgency from a sexual orientation standpoint. They can give more young gays and lesbians an opportunity to develop leadership skills. (Something Trans people don't really need – after all, what are they going to do with them?) It spotlights again the talents and abilities of the gay and lesbian young leaders (something Trans folk have never really had, and frankly in their estimation don't need.) <br /><br />It also keeps the reins firmly in gay and lesbian hands. You don't want to give trannies the keys to the bank 'cause Lord only knows how they could screw that up if given chance! <br /><br />And if by chance they manage to win rights for their hapless gender-confused charges, all the better! It does so at low cost, gives these individuals a badge of honor and some pride in accomplishment, keeps the Trans community beholden to the gay and lesbian leaders and helps assuage some of that old "incrementalist" gay guilt and may help bury the legacy (which really needs sanitizing in order to look attractive in the historical annals). <br /><br />To paraphrase the old adage, why teach a man to fish or give him access to fishing when you can simply just give him a fiah that you catch? Then he gets fed only at your convenience, and best of all helps keep the cottage industry under control! There's nothing like a captive audience to drum up business! If they must bring into their fold a Trans person, make sure they are agreeable and will help aggressively market the paradigm of LG first, then B, then T. A good Trans marketer in LGBT orgs can be an excellent public relations tool and adds the dual benefit of providing "cover" with the Trans and curious straight community folks.<br /><br />And if they're crafty enough, they can stretch this out for quite some time and make a nice career of it! It's not like Trans people aren't familiar with the concept of gatekeepers.<br /><br />After all, only a fool would give away the business secrets that make their business a success. When did Coca-Cola or Col. Sanders ever give away their secret recipes? Answer: never! It's why they're a success story for the ages!<br /><br />Of course once all is acheived in Massachusetts, as we've seen, why not export this model to the other states? After all: "there's more education needed on Transgender issues ... they don't know who you are." And with any luck by these incisively-minded G&L leaders, they likely never will in our lifetimes!<br /><br />As the Big Gay Man on the Hill loves to point out on progressive issues: as goes Massachusetts, thus follows the rest of the nation. <br /><br />If you're Trans, you better pray, meditate like hell or scream bloody murder that it doesn't!<br /><br /><em><strong>"The notion that you don't protect most people if you don't protect them all – that's never worked." — Rep. Barney Frank on ENDA in 2007</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-83684712825695280932009-07-09T12:46:00.022-05:002009-07-10T00:52:02.118-05:00It's Marriage Mania In Maniacal America<em><strong>"I'm goin' coconuts but least I'm goin' my way.<br />I'll probably be here when that sun goes down.<br />Goin' crazy, ooh, from the heat!" — Goin' Crazy, David Lee Roth</strong></em><br /><br />Maybe it's just the unending heatwave in Texas, where any day below triple digits actually feels slightly chilly, but it seems to my overcooked brain that both sides on this same-sex marriage tug-of-war are coming down with a chronic case of the wackies. Or maybe it's just a sizzling hot summer everywhere and it's not just me – everyone's losing it.<br /><br />Marriage mania is in full bloom, and Pennsylvania joined the litany of states pushing for marriage recognition for same-sex couples. Amazingly marriage didn't get forced down the throat of President Barack Obama when the 300 some-odd LGBT leaders and their partners were invited to the White House for a private reception. However, just this week both Massachusetts and Oregon filed suit claiming the Feds violate their federalist states' rights by DOMA's effect on their states' ability to make independent decisions on marriage rights.<br /><br />Meanwhile the California suit against the Feds has gotten interesting. Initially when this was filed (including one attorney who offered to press the issue who was also part of the Bush legal team who filed suit successfully to place Bush in the presidency post-Florida 2000 election results!) it was thought that things were looking rather rosy. Even LGBT organization heads from groups such as Lambda Legal, the ACLU's LGBT Rights Project and the National Center for Lesbian Rights all stepped up and encouraged all other groups to take a back seat in order not to complicate or jeopardize the pending suit. "Ill-timed lawsuits could set the fight for marriage back."<br /><br />Well that was then. This is now. It seems these same three groups are now filing amicus briefs to intervene to allow PFLAG, Lavender Seniors of the East Bay and Our Family Coalition to file suit with the Supreme Court as well. (And they all thought we Trans folk couldn't get on the same page or being politically "realistic"!<br /><br />The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), who was leading the charge in Federal Court, wrote a pointed letter back to the three above mentioned groups, noting how they had all initially worked collaboratively on the project and anguishing over actions and quotes in the media from these other players that they felt "undermine" the case and the goal which they were all working towards. <br /><br />Not only were they there first on this suit, AFER worries that this case "could be mired in procedurally convoluted pre-trial maneuvering for years—while and gay and lesbian individuals in California continue to suffer the daily indignity of being denied their federal constitutional right to marry the person of their choosing." I've attached a photocopy of the full letter from AFER to the parties below. It's, um, interesting:<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlbRu0BJE0I/AAAAAAAAA-o/ca_mGPzC5GE/s1600-h/AFER+letter+1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 557px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlbRu0BJE0I/AAAAAAAAA-o/ca_mGPzC5GE/s400/AFER+letter+1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356699408971404098" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlbR2-SnBdI/AAAAAAAAA-w/jOKXF5f7Fmw/s1600-h/AFER+letter+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 552px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlbR2-SnBdI/AAAAAAAAA-w/jOKXF5f7Fmw/s400/AFER+letter+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356699549167977938" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlbR_ZX0gwI/AAAAAAAAA-4/sWzW3mmjNgU/s1600-h/AFER+letter+3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 552px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlbR_ZX0gwI/AAAAAAAAA-4/sWzW3mmjNgU/s400/AFER+letter+3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356699693876544258" /></a><br />So what are they trying to do here – out-compete each other for top attention and ego strokes? Or maybe bog it down in order to slow the process (and maybe milk more donations while it continues?) No matter! At least everyone's on the same page and it's all in the firm capable hands of our professionals in leadership of the gay and lesbian community! Lord knows if Trans people got a hold of it, it'd be a confusing mess, hmmm? Yeah, that's what they say .... <br /><br /><em><strong>"What is important in life is life, and not the result of life." — German playwright, Johann von Goethe</strong></em><br /><br />Of course, not to be outdone on trying to conspicuously blunder and lose, the opposition is also working hard to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory! It was bad enough that a FOX commentator compared the same-sex marriage issue to bestiality a la Pat Robertson and so many others. That's actually old-hat stuff now! Get the latest on the intra-species marriage issue from FOX (again)!<br /><br />This was actually reporting on a story of a Swedish study that found that marriage was good for couples in that it kept them from dementia and Alzheimer's disease with absolutely not connotations on same-sex couplings at all. Yet their own Freudian mentality just keeps slipping out as on FOX & Friends morning show, we heard this from one of their triad of morning hosts, Brian Kilmeade:<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Sla8OCiRsOI/AAAAAAAAA-g/cstDIe-hBY4/s1600-h/ScreenHunter_03+Jul.+09+22.49.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 345px; height: 283px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Sla8OCiRsOI/AAAAAAAAA-g/cstDIe-hBY4/s400/ScreenHunter_03+Jul.+09+22.49.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356675756188610786" /></a><br /><blockquote>BRIAN KILMEADE: I'm just amazed that they thought about doing this study in the – by interviewing people in the 1970s and the 1980s.<br /><br />DAVE BRIGGS: A little dated, you think?<br /><br />KILMEADE: The average is 50, and they see that they keep it together. I find this – I find this somewhat ....<br /><br />BRIGGS: Go ahead.<br /><br />KILMEADE: Different. Leave it to the Finns and Swedes to some up with something. They literally –<br /><br />GRETCHEN CARLSON: Don't look at me, pal.<br /><br />KILMEADE: Because that's a – we are – we're – we're a – we're – we keep marrying other species and other ethnics and other....<br /><br />CARLSON: Are you sure they're not suffering from some of the causes of dementia right now?<br /><br />KILMEADE: I mean, the Swedes ....<br /><br />BRIGGS: What are you getting at?<br /><br />KILMEADE: See, the problem is, the Swedes have pure genes.<br /><br />BRIGGS: OK.<br /><br />KILMEADE: Because they marry other Swedes because that's the rule. Finland – Finns marry other Finns, so they have a pure society. In America, we marry everybody.</blockquote>That's right folks! Intra-species marriage is already here in America! As Kilmeade noted: "we keep marrying other species and other ethnics ... the problem is the Swedes have pure genes (ah! gotta watch them! the Master Race people!) ... Because they marry other Swedes because that's the rule. Finland – Finns marry other Finns, so they have a pure society. In America, we marry everybody." This is rife with alarmist xenophobia! <br /><br />And marrying "other species"? Really? Are they buying that Georgia freak's Obama-as-Curious-George-the-Chimp T-shirt fetish as scientific fact? What a serious media outlet FOX has turned out to be, huh? It sure sorta hearkens back to the old miscenegation days from what I can see, all this concern about America's "intra-species" marriage and breeding! Wow.<br /><br /><em><strong>"The most perfidious way of harming a cause consists of defending it with faulty arguments." — Friedrich Nietzsche</strong></em><br /><br />But if that's not wacky enough, it gets crazier! From no less than Washington DC, home of Marion Barry who supports everything EXCEPT for his staunch disapproval of same-sex marriage (and subsequent arrest this week for stalking – way to drive home the point of morals, Mr. Ex-Mayor!), we have testimony on the DC consideration of accepting same-sex marriage as law of the district from Rev. Leroy Swailes: http://<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFFYYjWjVuE">www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFFYYjWjVuE</a><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Sla8GtvZncI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/Yyc7mlKgrKM/s1600-h/ScreenHunter_02+Jul.+09+22.46.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 391px; height: 356px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Sla8GtvZncI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/Yyc7mlKgrKM/s400/ScreenHunter_02+Jul.+09+22.46.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356675630347427266" /></a><br />This one has to be seen to be believed. I can't make this stuff up, folks! Some of the reverend's philosophical proferrings are:<br /><br />"You have human rights and you have inhuman rights. When a man dealing with a man and a woman dealing with another man, that's inhuman." Make sense of that logic!<br /><br />Discrimination's a negative and a postive. ... I came out of my mama's womb like I didn't have a choice. That was a negative discrimination." Yeah, I guess you didn't have a choice ... unless you managed to self-abort! Is this an advertisement for abortion?<br /><br />"If you discriminate against a homosexual that's a positive. Why? Because of children. You've got people they call pedophiles.... When you look in the eyes of a child and tell them "sex is between Adam and Adam, and Eve and Eve," that's a pedophile." Wow, it's that simple? And all this time I thought it was about something physical, like molestation or at least child nudity. What was I thinking!<br /><br />"This book here talk [sic] about 'All Families Are Different' has to do with what? You have God's family, which is a natural family, and you have Antichrist's family." Yeah, all Godly families have to "be like us." That's exactly what the racist white families used to think during the days of Jim Crow, too, and they believed that the Bible told them where everyone else's family fell. It must be said that Rev. Swailes is African-American though his logic is eerily familiar, harkening back to those bad old days.<br /><br /><em><strong>One child grows up to be<br />Somebody that just loves to learn.<br />And another child grows up to be<br />Somebody you'd just love to burn.<br />Mom loves the both of them.<br />You see it's in the blood.<br />Both kids are good to Mom:<br />'Blood's thicker than mud'<br />It's a family affair...." — Family Affair, Sly & The Family Stone</strong></em><br /><br />"Everybody should have human rights, but you have to be human! Human means you deal with the opposite sex...." Meaning that, what? All Trans people have tails? All gays are sick little monkeys? And I'm sure he meant it in the best way possible, no offense and all!<br /><br />"Homosexuality destroys (life), it'll be the extinction of the human race.... Eighty-six civilized cultures, it was the death of their cultures why? Because they gave into ... strange flesh: the same sex, which is a form of bestiality. Why is that a form of bestiality? Because a beast has four legs and one gender! If you put two men together, you have four legs and two penises. That's one gender. That's a form of bestiality." Ah! Well that explains it! Four legs and one gender is animal! So if there's a three-legged dog, or a couple who are same-sex, but one partner only has one leg, then they'd be semi-bestial, right? Or if both partners are one-legged, then same-sex marriage would be okay because they'd be human! I recalled a show on Oprah once that showed a dog born with no front legs, and it literally taught itself to walk on it's hind legs, upright! That would make him human, not animal! So then a woman could then marry that dog and not be engaging in bestiality per Swailesian logic! But what about "eunuchs, which were so born from [their] mother's womb?" Vexing! Or for that matter, how about "eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men?" Hmm ... clear as mud!<br /><br />"When you separate something, you have discrimination. When I put a glass of water here and a glass of poison, which one are you going to choose? You're going to choose a glass of water. That's a form of discrimination!" Ah! I'm getting it! We discriminate against poison every time there's a glass of it on the table and we avoid drinking it! Shame on us anti-poison bigots!<br /><br />"I cannot look into the eyes of a child and tell them "you have a choice to be heterosexual or homosexual." That would make me a sadist! So what is a sadist? A sadist is the one who destroyed sex! ... and I don't practice Satanism." Not sure where the satanism thing came into play – a Freudian slip? And all this time I thought sadism, named after the Marquis De Sade, was all about inflicting physical or mental cruelty! Then again, I can see how some would get confused and think it cruel to tell kids they have choices in life. Better to eliminate all choices and just pre-destine everyone's life for them from inception! It eliminates all the guesswork! Just hand them an assignment sheet saying "here is your life – don't think, just live what we tell you." Hey look, I'm supposed to be a garbageman ...!<br /><br />It's a wonderful world out there, kiddies. Yes indeed, batshit crazy.<br /><br />Meanwhile, halfway across the globe, Iranians are protesting and taking to the streets, risking incarceration and even their lives for defying the Ahmadinejad Administration! And here in the U.S, that saga sure fell off of the radar screen fast! What's a country got to do to get a little media time over life-and-death issues like marriage? Iran's free people need a strong advocate here – someone like Mary Cheney: she who couldn't be bothered to bring up same-sex marriage or gay rights issues in her dad & Bush's campaign, and supported her daddy and the GOP (even with the antagonistic approach the Bush Admin took on her issues) because "there are terrorists who will stop at nothing to hurt this country ... I had to support the candidate who was going to do the best job to protect this country. And no offense to John Kerry, but it wasn't him."<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Sla6qZiFCqI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/_9fvxfKc--o/s1600-h/ScreenHunter_01+Jul.+09+22.43.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 350px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Sla6qZiFCqI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/_9fvxfKc--o/s400/ScreenHunter_01+Jul.+09+22.43.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356674044374878882" /></a><br />So now that the people of Iran are trying to oust one of the heads of Bush's Axis of Evil, and folks in America are focusing on that less important stuff like same-sex marriage, where is Mary Cheney these days?<br /><br /><em><strong>"...things get confused out there: power, ideals, the old morality...." — G. D. Spradlin as Gen. Corman from "Apocalypse Now."</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-42701759256410211092009-07-07T02:23:00.011-05:002009-07-08T13:03:00.783-05:00The G & The L Rises, T Sinks And Fails, And All Is AOK? BS!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlTVZqL7w1I/AAAAAAAAA9I/WBSrBgh1JRM/s1600-h/March-5th+Ave,+banner+crew+05.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlTVZqL7w1I/AAAAAAAAA9I/WBSrBgh1JRM/s400/March-5th+Ave,+banner+crew+05.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356140493648151378" /></a><br /><em><strong>"He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it." — Martin Luther King Jr.</strong></em><br /><br />Well it didn't take long for responses to my last blog. One person wrote me privately saying she was disappointed I didn't "understand" how "serious" the Pam's House Blend controversy was and that I should've "come down harder" on her and Autumn Sandeen for these bannings or muzzlings they enacted on their trans "members and bloggers." Then on my posting I had a response from another suggesting I sit down with Mara and patch up philosophical differences, noting she was "not a card carrying member" of either of our organizations ... preferring to contribute to NGLTF because "they promote trans-inclusion."<br /><br />Two completely different perspectives saying roughly the same thing: we need to make things work in gay and lesbian organizations or functions for us in order to make gay and lesbian led-groups succeed. Talk about your WTF moments! Perhaps my point in the previous blog wasn't clear enough. <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlTV_j74OiI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/33KNg08OSE8/s1600-h/sign-Instigators.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 289px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlTV_j74OiI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/33KNg08OSE8/s400/sign-Instigators.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356141144805227042" /></a><br />Let me restate that point: we need our voice and for that matter autonomy, respect, experience, and control of our own destiny without shackles or limitations placed on us just as they need theirs. They have theirs already. Where do you see ours in any similar measure? It doesn't happen within GLBT. And outside GLBT we get a little awareness, but most of our own seems more than happy to build up the very gay and lesbian institutions while leaving the trans ones in neglect!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlTRuXwCu1I/AAAAAAAAA9A/HaqK9-zeZ_M/s1600-h/Pre-+UnEqual+shirt+shot+%40+parade.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlTRuXwCu1I/AAAAAAAAA9A/HaqK9-zeZ_M/s320/Pre-+UnEqual+shirt+shot+%40+parade.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356136451430071122" /></a><br /><br />How do I need to rephrase this in order for our own community to understand? Maybe I do suffer from the communication disability that the G&L leaders so famously peg on us all. Lord knows trans people can't articulate our own issues, but let me know what I need to do to get this out and I'll struggle my way through it!<br /><br />In 2000, during a visit at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) with Michael Gray and Alex Fox, I'd expressed how I personally didn't have a problem with them leaving the T out of their mission statement and their work. Yes, I meant every word of it. HRC was – is – the voice of the gay and lesbian community and Trans wasn't their forte. We in the T community needed our own voice, and needed it expressed from our perspective just as they needed and had theirs.<br /><br />In the next two years, they first amended their mission, then worked with a new upstart individual to create another Trans organization that would supplant NTAC and its independent voice. This new group would help them by humiliating those of us who weren't working "with our (so-called) allies," and isolating those of us trans people who apparently weren't our own allies for wanting to speak to our own issues. It was better addressed by the "allies" as their "professionals" and by this logic knew our own issues and could address them better than we did. HRC was "the 800 lb. gorilla in the room ... (that) must be dealt with." <br /><br />Even after the new group moved away from being such fans of HRC, they still had to be friends with them as they "had to work in the same space." <br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlTcpfMkNII/AAAAAAAAA94/BMC63UK4Mes/s1600-h/sign-Rise+up.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 264px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlTcpfMkNII/AAAAAAAAA94/BMC63UK4Mes/s400/sign-Rise+up.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356148462157313154" /></a><br />That latter sentiment is pure BS. None of these so-called allies is required to "work in the same space" as NTAC or other Trans organizations kept out of the mainstream of the entitled Queer movement. None of them have ever gone through "proper channels" on anything with us, not even any of the newer Trans organizations now or in the future. Why lend credibility to any of that?<br /><br /><em><strong>"I would like to be open with the public. I would like to not keep secrets or be careful when I talk. I don't want to have to plan things...I want to be outspoken. I want to say my opinions and I hope they're taken in the right way. I don't want to stop being free. And I won't." — actress, Angelina Jolie</strong></em><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlTWRU6qavI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/pbBLMGbcQL4/s1600-h/sign-Take+back+your+voice.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 202px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlTWRU6qavI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/pbBLMGbcQL4/s320/sign-Take+back+your+voice.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356141450011241202" /></a>Gay and Lesbian America are quite well established and are perfectly positioned for, and awash in successful ventures. They even have us (with our limited resources) giving them a hand to build up theirs. <br /><br />Now take a look at Trans America and our own ventures. Where in the hell do you see anything of theirs reciprocated back to us in whatever configuration? There is no similar effort to build our functions nor any dollar-for-dollar return on funding, much much much less anything commensurate (considering the size of their community comparative to our small and quite limited cumulative income levels between our two communities). <br /><br />And after so many years of demonstrated history, noticing the all-too-obvious patterns, we trans people are insistent upon building up gay and lesbian institutions for what again? Their outspoken leaders are ballyhooed and given prominence. Our outspoken leaders are shamed into silence – and they even enlist some of our own to assist in doing so! <br /><br />It's been clear to many of us for most of this decade that there's nothing in this "LGBT movement" for Trans folk. We're appends that they begrudge but tolerate as they must appear politically correct. So these leaders do enough for appearance's sake, manage us best as they can and seek out ways to make it pay for itself. <br /><br />Their leaders are heroes. Our leaders are zeroes – mere trash to be tossed. Not much unlike how Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson were considered back in their day, as only in death were they fondly remembered. We're every bit as useful and wanted to them as sand off the beach tracked into their shiny vehicles. <br /><br />Make no mistake: Sylvia and many of the trans leaders and rioters of those days despise the movement for its hypocrisy and hard-heartedness. And though we must recapture our own voice, our outspoken leadership are and will continue to be as welcomed and as necessary as sand tracked into their vehicle after coming in off of the beach.<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlTcdNutJXI/AAAAAAAAA9w/emmjbcQH6G0/s1600-h/sign-trans+rocked.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 113px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlTcdNutJXI/AAAAAAAAA9w/emmjbcQH6G0/s400/sign-trans+rocked.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356148251310237042" /></a><br /><br />As Barney Frank, the Big Gay Man On The Hill, has noted so many times: they don't know who [trans] are. And as it's always a Barney, or a Joe Solmonese or a Matt Foreman or a Rea Carey or a GLAAD or someone similar who's always our prominent face to the rest of the world in politics, media and representation, that's who America will always believe we are. <br /><br />And yes, in case you haven't noticed, they're all gay or lesbian. And yes, if that's who some of you trans folks wish to build up and promote, then I don't want to hear a word when we get ditched (due to insufficient education on Trans) and subsequently assumed and developed as a future cottage industry for these very same folks to continue validating themselves while continuing to keep us at bay and voiceless. Look around your NGLTF: how many trans people have they hired onto their staff historically? How many in any of these groups were leaders or highly visible throughout the years? If you can't answer those questions, then you haven't been paying attention anyway.<br /><br /><em><strong>"All people saw on television were a few of my outspoken supporters out front; and they came away thinking that was me." — Sen. George McGovern about his presidential campaign in 1972</strong></em><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlTajoWEmYI/AAAAAAAAA9g/XefDLgjqgAk/s1600-h/Pre-+After+40+yrs.+sign.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlTajoWEmYI/AAAAAAAAA9g/XefDLgjqgAk/s320/Pre-+After+40+yrs.+sign.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356146162510633346" /></a>Ten years ago, I was one of the so-called "moderate voices of reason." My goal was to try to get us to some understanding of the needs of both sides and get these established groups to understand us as equals and to forge actual egalitarian ideals in our pursuit of rights as painlessly as possible. For my troubles, I ended up being written off as a radical protester and an enemy to be isolated and buried a few years hence. Yes I was naive and paid a price most severe. <br /><br />Well, I'm not buried any more, and am in no mind to play "compromising" games that again rip our voices away from us. Giving up your right to voice your displeasure is and absolute zero sum game. You get less than nothing: helping them make their job easier is your only result. <br /><br />Meanwhile, the State of Massachusetts announced today that they are suing the federal government over same-sex marriage and DOMA's infringement over the their state law per federalism. Meanwhile, trans people in that same state still have no hate crimes protection, no employment non discrimination and few if any job prospects. So do you think our voices have been heard? Do you really think that we actually matter? Or maybe fear and poverty aren't so bad, hmm?<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlTayowcokI/AAAAAAAAA9o/UK5P79_46X0/s1600-h/Pre-+Dailey-we+don%27t.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlTayowcokI/AAAAAAAAA9o/UK5P79_46X0/s400/Pre-+Dailey-we+don%27t.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356146420319298114" /></a><br />This deep-seated mistrust of G&L institutions and functions didn't form in a vacuum and didn't happen overnight. This has been roiling underneath for quite some time. And it's about to boil over....<br /><br /><em><strong>"When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose." — Like A Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-37534345787436536402009-07-05T19:54:00.017-05:002009-07-07T18:24:38.519-05:00Pride 2009: We Yelled, They Screamed. But Did Anyone 'Hear' Us?<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOM8zRmyzI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/FjNgE7EyeRc/s1600-h/March-5th+Ave,+banner+crew+03+blurry.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOM8zRmyzI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/FjNgE7EyeRc/s400/March-5th+Ave,+banner+crew+03+blurry.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355779358057745202" /></a><br /><em><strong>"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream.” — John Lennon</strong></em><br /><br />It was one for the ages. Forty years after Stonewall, to the day (with an additional 12 hours added) ... we found ourselves marching down Fifth Avenue through downtown New York and cutting a path directly through Greenwich Village and right down Christopher Street in front of the Stonewall Inn where the riots – the flashpoint for the organized Gay Rights Movement around the world – began. <br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOICF2m_NI/AAAAAAAAA7I/qkqSCqHkCc0/s1600-h/March-5th+Ave,+banner+crew+10+(best).jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOICF2m_NI/AAAAAAAAA7I/qkqSCqHkCc0/s400/March-5th+Ave,+banner+crew+10+(best).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355773951385992402" /></a><br />Marching through this parade, in the very same New York, with a banner for the contingent noting "Sons and Daughters of Sylvia Rivera" on this anniversary was inspiring. The roar of the crowd as we passed, especially throughout Greenwich Village, was absolutely deafening! My ears were literally ringing afterwards.<br /><br />In so many ways this was an event to remember! As Sylvia Rivera recalled saying that night of the riots, "I'm not missing this for the world!"<br /><br />Privately, it was also a trying and disappointing result. I knew it would be a logistical task coordinating something in a locale hundreds or thousands of miles away. But this one was a bit more "Murphy's Law"-like than most others. Everything that could go wrong ....<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOKChT9RQI/AAAAAAAAA7g/SBqWHXMEGTg/s1600-h/March-5th+Ave.+me+waiting+for+traffic+dance.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOKChT9RQI/AAAAAAAAA7g/SBqWHXMEGTg/s400/March-5th+Ave.+me+waiting+for+traffic+dance.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355776157780100354" /></a><br />The banner people were nothing but a mass of confusion, and the banner had to be sent to Mona Rae's house in Yonkers NY as I was afraid I wouldn't receive it until after my flight to NYC. I literally picked up the banner at a drop off point on Friday in Manhattan just a few minutes before the Trans Day of Action after criss-crossing the town to pick up poster boards (which were shipped late) after a speech out in far East New York, and dropping those off in Hoboken where I was staying! Between that, crossed wires, lost items, help arriving too late to be of any good, a subway weekly pass that arbitrarily stopped working and family and personal issues to deal with long-distance while in New York, it was, um, interesting!<br /><br />Coordinating things in your back yard is simply stressful. Coordinating things 1500 miles away tends to border on madness.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOLPwxdm2I/AAAAAAAAA74/PU4jJpZGOjU/s1600-h/March-11th+St+banner++3+distorted.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOLPwxdm2I/AAAAAAAAA74/PU4jJpZGOjU/s400/March-11th+St+banner++3+distorted.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355777484780313442" /></a><br />We were also unsuccessful in getting the Stonewall Girls to the 40th anniversary. One showed interest but the other two didn't. As one noted, there was far too much bad blood over how she and the other trans folk were treated to gloss over it. For a lot of old-line trans members, there's nothing to really celebrate and much more to mourn or stew over.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOOAOYW1sI/AAAAAAAAA8o/QFfXzRab3ss/s1600-h/Pre-+Dailey-we+don%27t.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOOAOYW1sI/AAAAAAAAA8o/QFfXzRab3ss/s400/Pre-+Dailey-we+don%27t.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355780516385052354" /></a><br />We had participants cancelling due to health reasons (theirs and their spouses), even a group cancelling while en route due to a communter train's power outage! We had a number of confirmed attendees who simply didn't make it; no idea why, just no-shows. Locally, even though I made the circuit to promote, we didn't draw any from those, save for five from Mid-Hudson Valley Trans Assn. up in the Kingston / Poughkeepsie region. <br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOIMDsOvXI/AAAAAAAAA7Q/MPCKDfo6iYI/s1600-h/March-5th+Ave,+banner+crew+15+from+G+Koetzner.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOIMDsOvXI/AAAAAAAAA7Q/MPCKDfo6iYI/s400/March-5th+Ave,+banner+crew+15+from+G+Koetzner.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355774122604281202" /></a><br />That said, we did get Alyssa Harley (who's taken pains to remember Sylvia Rivera every year by attaching red roses to the lamppost at Sylvia Rivera Way.) Both she and Breanna Smith helped lead our contingent and worked their asses off to stir the crowd. Jamie Dailey who made it down from Connecticut also gets props for working the crowd and for her help on the banner preparation on Pride day.<br /><br />We also brought in a couple of the old Transy House crew: Rusty Mae Moore and Jamie Hunter. It was great seeing them again and especially marching as the Sons & Daughters of Sylvia Rivera. In fact, Jamie even brought her boyfriend Michael Gredowski, a brand new straight ally. Rusty originally wasn't sure that she could make it through the entire length of the parade route, but I noted admirably that she was just as energetic, holding her sign high above her head and stirring the crowd even at the very end of Christopher Street! Meanwhile Jamie did her own tribute to Sylvia Rivera by marching the entire route in heels (amazingly!) and was leading our contingent running and stirring the crowd herself. Michael, who stood in as our "Son" portion of the "Sons & Daughters" absolutely kicked butt and really got into the march himself. <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOMREg72SI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/PYCQ7V4RcEw/s1600-h/March-Christopher+St+fight+like+Sylvia.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOMREg72SI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/PYCQ7V4RcEw/s400/March-Christopher+St+fight+like+Sylvia.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355778606771198242" /></a><br />Special thanks go out to both Jamie Hunter and Michael for all their help during and especially before and after the parade. They were indefatigable assistants that really helped make this succeed. In fact, with all the complications and potential to fall flat on our face, our team made it look effortless and successful!<br /><br />We later had another older latino man (not even sure that he was gay) who joined us from the sidelines on the banner as our second "adopted" son of Sylvia, ha! We even had a couple other latinas join us as well! We were pulling people in from the crowd – it seemed everyone wanted to be part of the Sons & Daughters of Sylvia Rivera!<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlONQhglGPI/AAAAAAAAA8g/DyASU7N0lbk/s1600-h/March-Christopher+St+in+front+of+Stonewall.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlONQhglGPI/AAAAAAAAA8g/DyASU7N0lbk/s400/March-Christopher+St+in+front+of+Stonewall.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355779696886094066" /></a><br />The Sons & Daughters of Sylvia Rivera garnered a lot of attention from photo journalists and the crowd itself! However, I believe I overestimated its importance to the Trans Community. While Sylvia herself was around and had her voice, people listened. However, she's been gone for over seven years now. Most of the newer trans community members either don't know of her or the history, or they are busy making their own individual history and doing and participating in their own ventures. Rather than one group, we're now spreading out into hundreds of groups and individually expressing our own perspectives.<br /><br /><em><strong>"I just can't do what I done before,<br />I just can't beg you any more.<br />I'm gonna let you pass and I'll go last.<br />Then time will tell just who fell<br />And who's been left behind,<br />When you go your way and I go mine." — Most Likely You'll Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine, Bob Dylan</strong></em><br /><br />This is a good thing. However there is also a downside to that dispersal. As we all know after hearing it from Barney Frank or other gay and lesbian critics of the Trans movement, people "don't know" us, and we're "a very small segment" of the community. The message has always been that Trans people are an infinitesimally small portion of the greater Queer (originally Gay) movement. Between the stigma of Trans and being out about it, and the compulsion to do our own thing, it's tough to gather trans folks in numbers adequate enough to make a statement to gay and lesbian leaders and the world that we're not tiny, insignificant and doomed to utter obscurity.<br /><br />At the risk of sounding like a skipping record, I can't stress the need for quantifying numbers of us. We need to establish our population and our income (especially lack thereof). Its needed not just for demographics for political attention, but even afterwards to establish our market share (the key to corporate funding for things Trans the way even the gay and lesbian and all other segments are able to draw.)<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOLkDdkTsI/AAAAAAAAA8A/8JD-_a7QRms/s1600-h/March-11th+St+banner++4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOLkDdkTsI/AAAAAAAAA8A/8JD-_a7QRms/s400/March-11th+St+banner++4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355777833394523842" /></a><br />And again, these numbers will help us actually steal back our own voice (which is incresingly being co-opted and capitalized on of late). It's about the only thing we ever really had in the Trans community was our voice and it appears others think we've abdicated it. When you sit back and let anyone represent you, you end up with the type of governance or oversight you deserve.<br /><br />Even while I was up in New York, there was an apparent dust up between trans folks and others on Pam's House Blend which ended up resulting in a number of people being censored or banned (I'm not sure which). There was a noticeable hue and cry over it all with folks complaining about the list's owner and the uneven treatment. But a reminder: it's Pam Spaulding's list, she's not a trans person and she can do whatever the hell she feels like with her blog (emphasis on "her blog"). If she wishes to ban trans people, it's her blog! She has the autonomy to do so. <br /><br />If we trans readers disagree, well then, start your own. Nobody should think that anything trans that's valid must come from an entity that is always led and/or created by a gay or lesbian. Similarly anything that was created and that provides autonomy to trans people should not be quashed simply because it isn't led or created by gay or lesbian leaders who then choose the agenda and represent the de facto face of the trans community. TransAdvocate is attempting to do that right now. <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOK23ukYuI/AAAAAAAAA7w/P_qrx1-Mn-g/s1600-h/March-5th+Ave,+view+downtown+from+TLDEF.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOK23ukYuI/AAAAAAAAA7w/P_qrx1-Mn-g/s400/March-5th+Ave,+view+downtown+from+TLDEF.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355777057150493410" /></a><br />Yet too many of us end up contributing to building up gay and lesbian-led institutions as "they're our allies" and end up watering down or thwarting our own voice in order for some perceived considerations or reward. Maybe that worked adequately for Mara Keisling or a few select folks from the NCTE ilk. For the rest of us there is absolutely nothing gained — it's an absolute net loss. All we do is water down our own numbers, our own voice and our own efficacy. We must get out there and actively take control of our own fate, lest we end up not even being the face of our own community.<br /><br /><em><strong>"You know, with all the press releases you do, people think that it's just NTAC — or just you – drawing attention to yourself." — Mara Keisling of NCTE in a conversation to me in August 2004</strong></em><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOIddXdm3I/AAAAAAAAA7Y/5OLU1_idF9Y/s1600-h/March-5th+Ave.+Breanna+w-Instigators+sign.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOIddXdm3I/AAAAAAAAA7Y/5OLU1_idF9Y/s400/March-5th+Ave.+Breanna+w-Instigators+sign.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355774421554273138" /></a><br />Taking back the Trans community's voice is a must. It is more than needed, it's urgent. The original hope was that this would hopefully serve as a catalyst to begin earnestly to re-seize our destiny and our voice.<br /><br />Is it possible? Well, after seeing the response on the march in New York and how easily separable we are from our own community, it's not likely. Far too many of us have no desire for the involvement (much less the work getting it done). The few of us with such desire for involvement or working to make things happen will be going our individual directions in things such as Pride parades. The solution to this still needs some rethinking.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOLz2MI68I/AAAAAAAAA8I/2AZjjsL2F7E/s1600-h/March-11th+St+toddler+w-Trans+take+back+your.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlOLz2MI68I/AAAAAAAAA8I/2AZjjsL2F7E/s400/March-11th+St+toddler+w-Trans+take+back+your.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355778104709671874" /></a><br />We've got to find a way to take a Trans movement that's dying on the vine and get it spurred in the ass into some forward motion. We have people dropping out of the movement in frustration, fatigue and dreams of wanting to have a "real life" away from being "the tranny" or "the activist" and on point constantly. I've even had numerous others ask me how I'm doing this still after 14 years with the obvious burn-out and the high, high cost that it's come with. Certainly it would seem better to just admit it's fruitless and walk away. But that only makes certain defeat.<br /><br />We need to bear in mind trans history, with all our forebearers efforts ending in absolutely nothing for those who gave all. We need to recognize there's nothing ever to gain from relinquishing our destiny to the trust of others who have no full understanding of our needs, much less the urgency. And I fully keep in mind that with no future or hope, I certainly have nothing to gain by giving in, and in fact nothing to lose (save for my life, which we all lose in the end) by anything I do. As I noted to the most recent activist stepping away asking how I continue this, I just put myself on auto-pilot – or more precisely auto-battle mode. As I had on one side, "when hope is gone, fight like Sylvia! (fiercely and to the very end!)"<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlPX9s9NptI/AAAAAAAAA84/evGn--J170E/s1600-h/Pride+Party-me+sitting+blurred+w-sign.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlPX9s9NptI/AAAAAAAAA84/evGn--J170E/s400/Pride+Party-me+sitting+blurred+w-sign.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355861836913551058" /></a><br />In years down the road, Trans folks will realize we must re-seize our movement. Until then, I'll just be the crazy, quixotic old tranny, screaming in the wind about our need to own our voice, our movement and our destiny. Sylvia said the same thing years ago, and nobody much listened to her while she was around either. They may not hear, but we should continue speaking truth to power and never stop screaming it. <br /><br />Maybe it's the roar of the crowd drowning us all out.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlPXeu-7nMI/AAAAAAAAA8w/vLgLf8zoy5E/s1600-h/Pride+Party-me+sitting+exhausted.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SlPXeu-7nMI/AAAAAAAAA8w/vLgLf8zoy5E/s400/Pride+Party-me+sitting+exhausted.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355861304881683650" /></a><br /><em><strong>"Lift every voice and sing,<br />'Til earth and heaven ring,<br />Ring with the harmonies of liberty." — Lift Every Voice And Sing, James Weldon Johnson<br /><br />"Ain't no one gonna listen if you haven't made a sound." — Filthy Gorgeous, the Scissor Sisters</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-87183147491861502272009-07-03T23:47:00.005-05:002009-07-04T01:27:38.419-05:00Moments Of Pride After Forty YearsSome videos of the New York City Heritage of Pride Parade on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots:<br /><br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-e4943fa04821fba0 class=BLOG_video_class width=400 height=334 contentId="e4943fa04821fba0"></OBJECT><br />The marchers enter into Greenwich Village.<br /><br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-25a8139ea7350bc6 class=BLOG_video_class width=400 height=334 contentId="25a8139ea7350bc6"></OBJECT><br />Marching down Christopher Street (and even picking up some extra volunteers to carry the banner!) Everyone wanted to be a part of the Sons & Daughters of Sylvia Rivera contingent heading down to Sheridan Square!<br /><br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-2921e25341104e8b class=BLOG_video_class width=400 height=334 contentId="2921e25341104e8b"></OBJECT><br />Marching next to Sheridan Square and coming close to the Stonewall Inn.<br /><br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-e2c493e740af813 class=BLOG_video_class width=400 height=334 contentId="e2c493e740af813"></OBJECT><br />The Sons & Daughters of Sylvia Rivera contingent marches past the Stonewall Inn (and I nearly do a backflip over a crouched Japanese photographer taking pictures towards the Stonewall!) 40 years after and Sylvia Rivera's memory will not fade away, no matter what!Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-91060077149307525992009-06-23T04:47:00.004-05:002009-06-23T06:12:56.801-05:00Lift Your Voices In Pride -- And Outrage!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SkC27_73iZI/AAAAAAAAA7A/WerLYki9HLs/s1600-h/Sylvia+speaking+at+Stonewall.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 375px; height: 376px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SkC27_73iZI/AAAAAAAAA7A/WerLYki9HLs/s400/Sylvia+speaking+at+Stonewall.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350477499207223698" /></a><br /><em><strong>“I think I was just fed up with the image that had been created around me, which I sometimes consciously, most of the time unconsciously cooperated with. It just got too much for me to really stomach and so I put an end to it one glorious evening.” — singer, Jim Morrison<br /><br />"Scream 'til you feel it!<br />Scream 'til you believe it!<br />Scream and when it hurts you,<br />Scream it out loud." — Scream, Tokio Hotel<br /><br />"Evil prospers when good men do nothing." — Irish politician, author, philosopher, Edmund Burke</strong></em><br /><br />This will be a short post. Actually I shouldn't even be awake, but it's one of those sultry, sticky nights following nine days of temps of 100 or over (save for last Monday's 99). Yes, for those of us without A/C, it's tailor-made for regular irregular sleep patterns. <br /><br />Beyond the personal, it's Pride week for many of us. As I'm on an 11AM flight to New York (thank God for frequent flyer miles!), I'm looking forward to doing Pride where the movement both galvanized and mobilized the community. Pride in New York falls exactly 40 years and about 11 hours after the beginning of the Stonewall Riots.<br /><br />Since that time, we've seen massive change – some good, some bad. One thing that strikes me though is that we as a nation have become imminently more docile. You look at the election fraud in Iran and what that's produced in mass demonstration, then compare it to the U.S. where we went through two shady election cycles to begin the millennium: virtually nothing. We just took it.<br /><br />Similarly there's a strong sense of of many in America falling through the cracks into destitution. Nowhere is this more urgent than in the Trans community and Queer community of color. <br /><br />So where's the outrage? Even with things moving toward marriage equality in many states, including what may be an imminent passage in New York state, there is no hate crime protection nor virtually any job opportunities (much less equality) for these mentioned segments of our community. Yet even for an event such as raising the visibility of this in Pride this year, we're more content to divide into camps and stay on the sidelines.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the business opportunists take de facto dominion over our voice and seeming power of attorney of our decision making on how and when and what needs to be addressed. And as a result, we find ourselves jobless, often under attack and without hope ... but in some of these same locales, able to marry! <br /><br />The time has come. We need to seize our voices back. Yes, this is a celebratory event, but keep in mind we are *marching* in the parade not much different than our LGBT forebearers in a much more active, much more responsible and much less docile time. Forget the commercialism, opulence and flash. Think of what it would've been like back before it became this big party if those early marches after Stonewall never occurred because Sylvia Rivera or Bob Kohler or Marsha P. Johnson or even Randolfe Wicker had decided, "no, I can't be bothered, too much work."<br /><br />You have a voice. Use it or lose it. If you're outraged, if you feel manipulated, used and thrown away and disgruntled, then express yourself! And if you don't, then someone else will capitalize on your voice and you'll end up, to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, we'll get the governance we deserve due to our apathy.<br /><br /><em><strong>"I know that my children in later years, my transgender community will understand: We have to stand up and speak for ourselves! We have to fight for ourselves! We save their lives. We were the front line of the so-called 1969 rebellion of the Stonewall." — Sylvia Rivera from the documentary: Sylvia Rivera, A Trans Life Story<br /><br />"Time has come today.<br />Young hearts can go their way.<br />Can't put it off another day. <br />I don't care what others say.<br />They say we don't listen anyway." — Time Has Come Today, the Chambers Brothers </strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-79660526399716434942009-06-20T22:43:00.004-05:002009-06-23T04:46:55.207-05:00Trans Teen's Brutal End Was An Elaborate HoaxWell it turns out a number of us (myself included) were suckered. Yep, punked Ashton Kutcher style. Last night and this morning we read a story about Rachel or Raychel Roo, an alleged list moderator on Laura's Playground, and a brutal murder that occurred. <br /><br />It turns out it was someone's sick idea of a joke. <br /><br />After posting a blog on it myself before a long day of board meetings and a reception to attend, I get home twelve and a half hours later to find all references now denying the story altogether.<br /><br />The list-serv had dozens of folks expressing outrage and depression over this list moderator. At this writing, it's not known if this was even a real person (or who she was representing herself to be as a teen mentor to other trans people) – much less a victim of a heinous murder. And perhaps this person has more than one persona on this list-serv, as there was a second person commenting about the family needing privacy and personally knowing this Rachel Roo's aunt – clearly playing along with the same scam. <br /><br />So this person (or people) managed to deceive an entire list-serv and a bunch of others among us as they watched their deception make its way around the global net. <br /><br />Net result? More second-guessing of trans people. More skepticism in a community with an overabundance of reason not to believe. Trans Americans are perennially betrayed, played and frequently lied to from political leaders and virtually every other side. <br /><br />So these jokers figure "why not create more deceit? Why not get them to not even trust each other or trust in themselves?" <br /><br />They succeeded. We'll be much more unlikely to listen to or believe anyone anymore.Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-82434971681074129632009-06-19T00:47:00.008-05:002009-06-19T14:40:32.539-05:00Legislative Chatter On The Eve Of Pride: Will We Be Equal?<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Sjvplx2SGTI/AAAAAAAAA64/jHxTJi7yvZI/s1600-h/Barney+%26+ENDA.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 296px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Sjvplx2SGTI/AAAAAAAAA64/jHxTJi7yvZI/s400/Barney+%26+ENDA.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349125817678043442" /></a><br /><em><strong>"Part of the problem, frankly, is with the transgender community and some of those who put that in the forefront, because they didn’t lobby. The only time they started lobbying is when we said ‘You know what, we don’t have the votes for this, we gotta to do it partially.’ Then they began lobbying the Democrats that were supportive. I’ve never seen a worse job of lobbying. For years, literally years, I have been begging them to start talking to people about this, and have said you, look, have political problems here, I wish we didn’t but we do, and you have to deal with them." — Cong. Barney Frank in 2007</strong></em><br /><br />As we converge on New York City next week for the 40th Anniversary of Stonewall (and others partake in their own cities' Pride celebrations), word comes out that the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA) will be reintroduced to coincide with the occasion. This is tailor-made timing to induce good vibes to soothe over the raw feelings and disastrous previous sessions' disarray and fracturing of the community. How successful the community repairs will be leaves me naturally skeptical, but we'll see how they conduct themselves this time. <br /><br />We've mostly heard the wording will stay similar to the original HR 2015 (the inclusive ENDA originally submitted before we were ditched and HR 3685 eventually passed. There has been at least a bit of a murmur from one contact that "there's talk of the language changing this time," but that's yet to be independently confirmed anywhere else.<br /><br />There's one thing we can bet the house on. Trans folks most in need of such legislation, the outsiders and unequivocal backers of inclusive legislation, those not of the HRC ilk will be nowhere in sight or earshot of the negotiation table (much less participating). Yes, it'll be "trust us" yet again ... y'all know the modus operandi by now.<br /><br />It's good timing for Rep. Barney Frank and HRC to submit this next week. In fact it couldn't be better. The Gay and Lesbian community will undoubtedly be overjoyed. There's a possibility trans people may also celebrate it equally. Maybe. <br /><br />Until we see it we don't know what we'll be dealing with. Therein lies another reason the bill is timed well for Ol' Barn' and HRC: we'll be busy partying our butts off per their estimation, giving them a bit of cover in the off chance it was needed. <br /><br />And as we've already seen, just because a bill drops in one version doesn't mean it's going to stay that version or that it'll not be switched yet again. <br /><br />The House won't be the big worry this time unless we see a replay of Ol' Barn' and the backroom boys making a deal about abandoning trans due to the dreaded "toilet issue" (as in, "which one?") We hopefully confronted that adequately in lobbying this past May: all they have to do is look at NTAC's Lobby Packet cover to see what it is the conservatives are truly asking for – something I don't think they intended.<br /><br />The worry on ENDA will be the Senate stripping out the trans inclusive language (or stonewalling it altogether.)<br /><br />On a more uplifting note, the Hate Crimes Bill should be making it to the Senate vote any time now. In this case, we should have the votes to pass it. The only caveat is it's been attached to a Tourism Bill (whatever that's about). This means there will have to be a conference committee revisitation from a joint committee of Senate and House. Prospects are good, but anything can happen in a conference committee. The downside (if any) is if it gets stripped there, it goes on to the President for signature and we have no ability to affect it at that point.<br /><br />If I had to put money down on it though, I'd say there are better odds on it passing inclusively as the President has already asked for the bill and checked it's progress. <br /><br />Meanwhile on the DOMA brief from the Dept. of Justice, I've been watching the rhetoric and heat flying around. It's true that the head of the DOJ is President Obama's doing, but I'm sure that there's not been a massive purge of all former DOJ employees from the Bush years, nor is it the President's responsibility to micromanage the department. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder wasn't exactly known for his "bleeding-heart liberal" credentials, save for the likes of Rush Limbaugh or other extremists. Ultimately they do their job and the President reviews, but doesn't necessarily have obligation to second-guess everything.<br /><br />That said, it seems some of the immediate blasts may have been more than just premature, but from a position of not even reading the brief in the first place! Originally even Cong. Barney Frank took initial umbrage, then stepped back from his initial statements by admitting he hadn't read the brief and was relying on oral arguments! <br /><br />While that is a black eye on Ol' Barn', he actually came clean and admitted! That's a refreshing bit of honesty, and I've got to give Rep. Frank credit there. <br /><br />Much of this seems deriven from John Aravosis' Americablog and possibly references to Charles Socarides' article, and its initial read (if indeed it was read) on the DOJ brief. Lawdork blog had the following to say (<a href="http://lawdork.wordpress.com/2009/06/17/chairman-frank-and-aravosiss-misstatements/">http://lawdork.wordpress.com/2009/06/17/chairman-frank-and-aravosiss-misstatements/</a>)<br /><br /><blockquote>Soon thereafter, John Aravosis published a piece that just went round the bound. I have tried to keep my blog as forward-looking as possible, but it’s clear that Aravosis’s heavy popularity at his blog and media contacts have allowed his false statements about what the filing means to push the debate into the twisted, contorted view he is giving it.<br /><br />The two main problems that I have with Aravosis’s coverage are:<br /><br />(1) His continued misstatements regarding whether Justice should have filed a brief in this case. <br /><br />(2) His “comparing us to incest and pedophilia” claim is overstated and does not withstand any serious, legal scrutiny.<br /><br />First of all, it’s clear that his poisoning of the well most likely led to Chairman Frank’s misimpressions about the brief, which he said he had not read until today. (I’ll admit that I too was surprised that he hadn’t read it yet, but I have noted before that Frank is wholly dedicated to the financial reform package that he’s been working on for the past several months.) Frank said: “I made the mistake of relying on other people’s oral descriptions to me of what had been in the brief, rather than reading it first.”<br /><br />So, then John (Aravosis) falsely concludes that “Frank now thinks the brief is just super.”<br /><br />Here’s what Frank actually said:<br /><br /><blockquote>Now that I have read the brief, I believe that the administration made a conscientious and largely successful effort to avoid inappropriate rhetoric. There are some cases where I wish they had been more explicit in disavowing their view that certain arguments were correct, and to make it clear that they were talking not about their own views of these issues, but rather what was appropriate in a constitutional case with a rational basis standard – which is the one that now prevails in the federal courts, although I think it should be upgraded.</blockquote>Of course, John cites to none of that in his post, which is very similar to what I’ve been writing and what Harvard Law School Professor Laurence Tribe and former Clinton Justice Department senior staffer Robert Raben have said as well. [...]<br /><br />Then, Aravosis gets into this notion that the President regularly just “goes about telling the DOJ to oppose existing law in court.” Aravosis states that Richard Socarides’s vague statement results in a factual, final reality: “It’s not debatable, it’s what actually happens in the Oval office, and it’s not illegal – it’s a fact.” Yes, it is.<br /><br />Aravosis has to turn words up-side-down to create this idea. He keeps changing statements from people, which admit of times when a law can be challenged, into statements that people haven’t said, which is that Justice can “never” fail to defend an existing law. Despite Aravosis’s false statements, Justice spokespersons never said that Justice always has to uphold laws. As I pointed out, Justice has consistently said only that it “generally” must defend laws. [...]<br /><br />(2) “Comparing us to incest and pedophilia” claim is overstated and does not withstand any serious, legal scrutiny.<br /><br />This claim, to which I’ve previously objected, has been Aravosis’s claim to fame on the brief, with him taking credit whenever anyone uses the claim.<br /><br />Here’s the actual line — yes, only one sentence, and not really even a sentence but just a list of cases (called a “string cite”) after a sentence — from the brief:<br /><br />And the courts have widely held that certain marriages performed elsewhere need not be given effect, because they conflicted with the public policy of the forum. See, e.g., Catalano v. Catalano, 170 A.2d 726, 728-29 (Conn. 1961) (marriage of uncle to niece, “though valid in Italy under its laws, was not valid in Connecticut because it contravened the public policy of th[at] state”); Wilkins v. Zelichowski, 140 A.2d 65, 67-68 (N.J. 1958) (marriage of 16-year-old female held invalid in New Jersey, regardless of validity in Indiana where performed, in light of N.J. policy reflected in statute permitting adult female to secure annulment of her underage marriage); In re Mortenson’s Estate, 316 P.2d 1106 (Ariz. 1957) (marriage of first cousins held invalid in Arizona, though lawfully performed in New Mexico, given Arizona policy reflected in statute declaring such marriages “prohibited and void”).<br /><br />These were three cases about marriages, which were valid in one jurisdiction, not being allowed under the laws of another jurisdiction. There is nothing further. The brief does not ever use the words “incest” or “pedophilia.” And, by the way, the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR), the standard for diagnosis, defines pedophilia as involving “sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 years or younger).” Under that definition, there is not even a case involving pedophilia appearing in the brief at all — which is likely the reason that no mainstream publication has repeated that claim.<br /><br />Despite all that, this is what Aravosis concluded this evening about Chairman Frank:<br /><br /><blockquote>Barney thinks the language of the brief was great. He even, between the lines, defends the invocation of incest and pedophilia.</blockquote>No, he clearly did not think the brief was great, as his statement made clear. Moreover, he never defended anything that isn’t in the brief, despite your constant claims to the contrary.<br /><br />It is Aravosis’s spreading of this continued falsity — particularly to demean the smart, legitimate statements of members of Congress — that lead me to continued reporting about why it’s false.</blockquote>That last point spiked my curiosity enough to pull up the brief and begin reading in search of the comparison to pedophilia (though I was still a long way from finishing before I got this post from the Lawdork blog. Hey, I'm not a legal beagle – it takes me a bit more time to read through the technical and the legalese. Nevertheless, I'm glad to see this. The claim seemed a bit more like hyperbole than fact, and apparently so.<br /><br />One thing everyone needs to keep in mind is that the President cannot overturn DOMA. He can state his opinion (which he has), but ultimately it's something Congress must enact and then get the President's signature on. It's how the damn bill was enacted in the first place, and signed by Pres. Clinton! One person (one is they're George W. Bush with Dick Cheney interpreting his constitutional law) cannot simply overturn or undo a passed, signed and enacted law.<br /><br />Additionally, it'd probably look a bit odd if the Dept. of Justice had sent a brief that supported overturning DOMA. Their job is to carry out the voted and enacted law of the land and interpret what's on the books. They are not in the business of defying existing law on the books (again with exceptions given to Bush-Cheney era justice opinion). <br /><br />Perhaps they should've withheld any amicus, but they would've drawn howls for going against the DOMA law. If DOMA is to be overturned, even better than having the Supreme Court do so in a ruling, DOMA must be undone via legislation. <br /><br />Yes, Obama could use his bully pulpit. But last I checked, we're still hemorrhaging jobs and the economy's still in the bottom of the tank. I know, I'm one of those falling through those widening economic sinkholes. Not to mention Iran, North Korea, corporate bankruptcies and fending off right-wing nutcases throwing the conjectural kitchen sink at him. Maybe priorities aren't there at the moment.<br /><br />And this comes from one of those "impatient," "screaming" trannies from NTAC! Hmm ... and we're the only ones who are supposed to be histrionical, huh? <br /><br /><em><strong>"No, I ain’t lookin’ to fight with you,<br />Frighten you or tighten you,<br />Drag you down or drain you down,<br />Chain you down or bring you down.<br />All I really want to do<br />Is, baby, be friends with you." — All I Really Want to Do, the Byrds</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-13698750351945579502009-06-17T20:16:00.016-05:002009-06-18T21:20:23.631-05:00Who Cares About The Stonewall Girls (And Guys)?<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SjoxQ9pAN6I/AAAAAAAAA6g/7An5LM9t6bo/s1600-h/Sylvia,+Bob+Kohler+%26+another+queen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 302px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SjoxQ9pAN6I/AAAAAAAAA6g/7An5LM9t6bo/s400/Sylvia,+Bob+Kohler+%26+another+queen.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348641674950096802" /></a><br /><em><strong>"The crowd began to get out of hand, eye witnesses said. Then, without warning, Queen Power exploded with all the fury of a gay atomic bomb. Queens, princesses and ladies-in-waiting began hurling anything they could get their polished, manicured fingernails on. Bobby pins, compacts, curlers, lipstick tubes and other femme fatale missiles were flying in the direction of the cops. The war was on. The lilies of the valley had become carnivorous jungle plants." — Jerry Lisker, from the New York Daily News, July 6, 1969</strong></em><br /><br />As the LGBT community been enrapt in Pride celebrations in numerous cities across the globe this month, there's been plenty of news that's hit the wires. Most all of it in America has centered around Don't Ask, Don't Tell (a campaign promise by President Barack Obama that has yet to be addressed) and marriage issues or the Dept. of Justice's recent amicus curiae brief filed regarding DOMA (the Defense Of Marriage Act of 1996).<br /><br />Individual organizers in the GLBT community are using this anniversary and devoting media to capitalize on the event to address the recent outrages in the gay and lesbian community.<br /><br />It's a notable anniversary for Pride celebrations and marches this month as it is the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. That occasion was also about outrage. The folks that night had had enough of being treated like crap. No más!<br /><br /><em><strong>"If the police came in, they were going to check your ID, rough-up some people. The drag queens always seemed to get roughed-up first." — Larry Stansbury of Capital Pride.</strong></em><br /><br />Today, of course, those surviving veterans of Stonewall are all near, or in their sixties or above. They still remember that night well. And though this is a milestone anniversary, there appears to be a collective yawn in this country at least in recalling our history and having these pioneers of Queer history around for the retelling.<br /><br />Odd. We want to revel in this special anniversary with parades and parties and such. Yet the organizers and perhaps a sizable portion of at least the gay and lesbian community would rather just forget what this date memorializes or the people who created the flashpoint on June 28, 1969.<br /><br /><em><strong>"We've had all we can take from the Gestapo," the spokesman, or spokeswoman, continued. "We're putting our foot down once and for all." The foot wore a spiked heel. — excerpted from the New York Daily News, July 6, 1969 <br /><br />"[Stonewall Inn] catered largely to a group of people who are not welcome in, or cannot afford, other places of homosexual social gathering.... The Stonewall became home to these kids. When it was raided, they fought for it. That, and the fact that they had nothing to lose other than the most tolerant and broadminded gay place in town, explains why [riots occurred]." — Mattachine Society Newsletter, Aug. 1969</strong></em><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SjoxWgGpKKI/AAAAAAAAA6o/0I5-qNf90qs/s1600-h/Sylvia+in+Chorus+Line+protesting.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SjoxWgGpKKI/AAAAAAAAA6o/0I5-qNf90qs/s400/Sylvia+in+Chorus+Line+protesting.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348641770100566178" /></a> <br />We currently have two or three trans members of the Stonewall Girls, those who began the protests that night, that live out in California. I've been in touch with one of them, Miss Major, and in touch with mutual friends with the others about marching with the trans community in the Sons & Daughters of Sylvia Rivera entry in New York. She was definitely interested in attending, but finances was the prime obstacle. At one point in frustration, she wrote:<br /><br /><blockquote>I am hoping against the reality that the gay community will get off it's ass & do the right thing by the girls that are still here from the 1969! The shit stops here. (The) riot at Stonewall – when you think about it – that was 40 years ago. If you can add, that makes us elders, ones that need the respect for what we began and for living with the bullshit they throw at at us.... WE ARE STILL HERE, DAMNIT!!! <br /><br />We are not going to disappear or fade away. I have no closet to hide in – I burned the house to the ground. NO HIDING PLACES.</blockquote>I had to remind her that this wasn't being organized by the Pride or any gay/lesbian orgs, but was being done by trans folks, thus the lack of funding, etc. It wasn't without inquiring though. When the issue was brought to the Heritage of Pride organization in New York, they stated they had no money and added they weren't so keen on inviting more Stonewall rioters in. The Stonewall Veterans Association they already had marching tended to be "demanding" and generally a pain to deal with.<br /><br />For Miss Major it was all for naught as she ended up twisting her ankle. But at least one of the other girls in Los Angeles that she had spoken with wanted nothing to do with Pride, the March, Stonewall or any of it. As Miss Major related it, she said "she was tired of us being shit on. All (Pride, Stonewall) did was bring back bad memories of how we got screwed over and shoved to the back of the bus."<br /><br />We've got a gay Stonewall vet here in Houston, whose interview I reprinted in a recent blog. There's been a little interest on Big Roy McCarthy again, mostly from out of the country – the article will be translated into Danish and reprinted there on the anniversary of the beginning of the Stonewall Riots. Not only is he not getting interest in New York, even Houston's giving a collective yawn. Big Roy's not their idea of an attractive spokesmodel. <br /><br /><em><strong>"Screaming queens forming chorus lines and kicking went against everything that I wanted people to think about homosexuals ... that we were a bunch of drag queens in the Village acting disorderly and tacky and cheap." — gay activist, Randolfe Wicker</strong></em><br /><br />In another ten years we'll see the fiftieth anniversary of Stonewall. Perhaps that will draw more interest in the folks who were there that night inciting the one catalytic moment in our community's history which is remembered around the world. Or perhaps, since these instigators were trans, drag queens, street hustlers, mostly people of color, and also those white trash rioters too. Perhaps that memory's one that the modern-day movement of the HRCs and the NGLTFs and the like doesn't want to face. Perhaps that's been the plan since shortly after the riots finished.<br /><br />The Stonewall Girls and Guys? They virtually all feel they've been co-opted and tossed away by the modern day movement like a used condom. <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Sjox6_p5GmI/AAAAAAAAA6w/zLnO25eFmRo/s1600-h/Sylvia+%26+Bob+Kohler.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 297px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/Sjox6_p5GmI/AAAAAAAAA6w/zLnO25eFmRo/s400/Sylvia+%26+Bob+Kohler.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348642397045201506" /></a><em>Bob Kohler & Sylvia Rivera circa 1970</em><br /><br />We march in the Parade and point to the history of Stonewall. But simultaneously there's no sense that anyone wants to know or to remember the community's warriors or even know the history of that night. <br /><br />People want to mouth the words "Stonewall" as it's become only an occasion in which to party. Unfortunately there will be no lessons learned from it. In Twitter-ese, time to bring out the Fail Whale.<br /><br /><em><strong>"I had been in enough riots to know the fun was over. The cops were totally humiliated. This never, ever happened. They were angrier than I guess they had ever been, because everybody else had rioted, but the fairies were not supposed to riot, no group had ever forced cops to retreat before, so the anger was just enormous. I mean, they wanted to kill.” — gay activist and "father" of the Stonewall movement, Bob Kohler</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2612946722366528344.post-3395094295291354092009-06-14T18:48:00.009-05:002009-06-16T07:12:21.542-05:00Presto! New York State's Same-Sex Marriage Without Even Passing A Law!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SjW72KfSeKI/AAAAAAAAA6I/lk7aAITgY1c/s1600-h/NY+Marriage.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 384px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SjW72KfSeKI/AAAAAAAAA6I/lk7aAITgY1c/s400/NY+Marriage.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347386671775250594" /></a><br /><em><strong>"That's great, it starts with an earthquake, <br />Birds and snakes, and aeroplanes -<br />Lenny Bruce is not afraid. <br />Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn,<br />world serves its own needs, satisfy your own greed." — It's The End Of The World As We Know It, R.E.M.</strong></em><br /><br />The world ended in New York State on May 26, 2009. Or it least it should have. The AFA and the FOF and the NOM and all of those right-wingy, cover-your-thingy, religiopolitical fundamentalist orgs had long worried about the fabric of society suddenly disintegrating if ever a same-sex marriage occurred in a state where it was outlawed. <br /><br />Well it happened! After the state of New York went through court same-sex marriage occurred!<br /><br />So, how is life in post-apocalyptic New York? Hmm ... funny thing is it's still there! And life is going on as normal (there's that *word*!) I talked with a friend up there ... no big changes ... just an ordinary June day. No big bang, no anarchy? I guess I should be disappointed, huh?<br /><br />In fact, the news media didn't even pick up on it until today's New York Post broke it this morning! And still everything's functioning! That's gotta be breaking some stony little religiopolitical hearts.<br /><br />Here's the real kick in the crotch! As much as it's been a major wet dream for the gay and lesbian community these past years to be able to marry ... it was a trans woman and her husband who tied the knot! That's okay, though. They'll be buried in the annals of history with nary a memory. (It's the way things work in GLBT ... history must be by G or L – they'll see to it.)<br /><br />As the Post put it: <br /><br /><blockquote>Hakim Nelson and Jason Stenson married on May 26 with nary a raised eyebrow among the oblivious city bureaucrats who not only OK'd the marriage license, but conducted the ceremony, despite gay marriage being illegal in the state. <br /><br />The plucky couple filled out their marriage application online at the Apple Store on 14th Street in May. A few days later, they went to the City Clerk's Office on Worth Street to complete the form and get their marriage license. [...]<br /><br />The gullible clerk didn't seem to notice that both Nelson, 18, and Stenson, 21, have male first names. They both had to present identification to obtain the license. Stenson used his state ID card, and Nelson gave a state Benefit Card, which he uses to collect food stamps. <br /><br />By a fluke, Nelson's ID card has an "F" for female on it, because the official who issued it in April assumed from his appearance that he was a woman. </blockquote><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SjW7727YrDI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/tP_mRhSV6zw/s1600-h/NY+Marriage-Hakim+Nelson.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MYks-zls9Jc/SjW7727YrDI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/tP_mRhSV6zw/s400/NY+Marriage-Hakim+Nelson.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347386769603603506" /></a><br />Government issued I.D. in the gender she presents, female. Yet the courts want to consider her male in some states. As a result of this paranoid thrashing attempt at social engineering by the religiopoliticos, they've actually created more problems. States like Texas and Kansas consider post-operative transsexuals their birth gender, and perhaps New York currently intends the same. But if this couple goes across the river with their fresh new marriage license, legally married in a state that doesn't recognize same-sex marriage, the state of New Jersey will honor her marriage to her spouse, especially post-surgically.<br /><br />And beyond all the gnashing of teeth and protests and blitzkriegs on statehouses around the country, what exactly is being hurt by this marriage beyond some peoples' feelings? There have been, however one wishes to slice it, same-sex marriages per some states' opinions for decades and decades! It's only now that it's a hot-button to keep "the gay agenda" in check that it's been moved to the fore.<br /><br />In these times with foreclosures and destitution rising like bread dough, jobs disappearing like moderates from the GOP, and Kim Jung Il threatening nuclear annihilation to all (and to all a good night), very few people have enough spare time in their over-stressed lives to pay much attention to a same-sex couple getting married. They don't like the overpoliticizing and street-protest whiners, but bottom line is that if it happens, 99% of Americans are going to shrug and go, "whatever! It's not my problem! I got crap of my own to deal with!"<br /><br />Crap like how to survive this corporate-induced economic Chernobyl we're in!<br /><br /><em><strong>“This is exactly what the right wing is afraid of. People have had a year of legal marriage in Massachusetts to see how ending marriage discrimination helps gay and lesbian families and hurts no one.” — Exec. Dir, Freedom To Marry Coalition, Evan Wolfson</strong></em><br /><br />Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs. Stenson! Now move across the river to Jersey, settle down, have a nice life and leave the battlers behind to fight amongst themselves. It's official: New York state has married (per its estimation) a same-sex couple, and the world didn't come to a calamitous end!<br /><br />So, New York legislature ... how about take a clue here? Just pass the damn thing. <br /><br />Ultimately there's no equal reason to not extend everyone the same rights. Marriage has happened in five states now (and a sixth in January), including all of your neighbors adjacent to your eastern border have it. Their world didn't come to an end. Moreover, continuing to hold up passage only sanctions unequal application of the marriage rights granted all your state's citizens. Do you really want to advertise that to the rest of the world?<br /><br />Then once it's passed, maybe then – FINALLY – we can finally start employing trans people in large numbers in these so-called civil rights groups there in the Empire State and allowing them to make the connections, speak to the powers and enact legislation to where Trans people can work? Maybe even get some protections from hate violence too? Equanimity in sentencing for all victims' attackers, hmm? Hey, it's only been, like, fifteen years or so pushing for that stuff there, forty years after Stonewall and the Gay Rights movement.<br /><br />One fact I forgot to mention: the newly married couple reside in Sylvia's Place at the MCCR Church in New York: a homeless shelter for Queer Youth. Yep, they married. They just can't work or make a livable wage to survive anywhere in the Big Apple. Get it?<br /><br />But yeah, I know ... priorities. Survival subjects aren't sexy. They're just so hard to market ....<br /><br /><em><strong>"Gay people want the freedom to marry for the same reasons non-gay people do.” — Exec. Dir. for Freedom To Marry Coalition, Evan Wolfson<br /><br />"Transgenders already have legal same-sex marriage. Why then is the lesbian and gay community reluctant to use this as a wedge issue when lesbian and gay same-sex marriage is debated on the news, on talk shows, and in litigation? The reluctance is incomprehensible." — from the Albany Law Review, "Same-Sex Marriages Have Existed Legally In The United States For A Long Time Now by Phyllis Randolph Frye & Alyson Meiselman</strong></em>Vanessa E. Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04301512822816441705noreply@blogger.com6