Lateisha Green Post-Conviction Update & Essence Interview

I have some good news to share for those interested in justice across the board. The now-convicted murderer Dwight DeLee has been sentenced 25-years to life for killing Lateisha Green. Ms. Green was a lovely trangender woman who was brutally murdered by DeLee for no reason other than her gender identity which I've discussed in this post.

While this won't bring her back at least her family can take some comfort (I hope) knowing consequences have been meted out. As someone who has experienced the murder of a beloved innocent sibling by a DBR (damaged beyond recognition) black male I wish that one chapter would be closed. If there can be no justice in this life I trust there will be some in the afterlife. See the great post that blog host Monica wrote up at Transgriot.

One other interesting development is how MESSence, er Essence magazine interviewed Lateisha's mother Roxanne Green and published it on their web portal. I think they are desperately trying to combat the negative publicity and ridicule they justifiably received after a) telling black women they were low value, desperate and should take whatever they can get by b) dating black men (not suggesting they seek out a man of caliber of any race/ethnicity) WHO FREQUENTS STRIP CLUBS. I for one was very glad my subscription had lapsed and I missed that month of debasement for I most certainly would have cancelled it after being so insulted.

Anyhoo, not to detract from this one incident of decency I still cannot in good conscience recommend any black woman who values herself to ever read MESSence again but this is one interview. You can decide for yourself about that. This is good exposure to an audience of "conservative black church-going black community" loving women though. I wonder how well they'll respond to this seeing how the strip club recommendation went over many heads.

You're So Lame Award of Shame: Trashing Michael Jackson & Republican Foolishness

Things were looking to be chugging along until we got the news that rocked our world. I started working on a post comparing the emails of SC Gov Mark Sanford to former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick but Mrs. Sanford's kick butt and taking no prisoners attitude had me rethinking that. I celebrated her triumph from a weak-willed man instead. Not to forget about Ensign and his mistress, her husband and son...but that's just too twisted and I'm not soiling my mind with trying to figure that one out!

Then I'd heard that Mr. Truthiness himself, Stephen Colbert had made a "tranny" joke which is a big no-no. Also John Stewart had the nerve to insult Malcolm X's memory by comparing him to those hypocritical Republicans. He theorized the Democrats were like MLK. His comparison makes zero sense though and trying to deconstruct his pea brain on this one isn't worth the effort to me. See, that's why these comedians have staff writers. They're not so brilliant, irreverent or funny without them. 

I've been hearing about but not wanting to watch the widow Russert Maureen Orth on MSNBC or hack writer Toure playing in endless loops on tv trashing MJ one way or the other. Of course Orth's entire career has been solely based on trashing Jackson so this isn't surprising. CNN is asking whether Jackson transcended race which is a stupid question to begin with. Fixed News immediately chose to give unflattering coverage but that's not a surprise. Entertainment Tonight decided to show us MJ's not quite dead body being worked on by EMTs. Perez Hilton said he got slapped by a Pea and whined about it. He also claimed MJ was faking an illness for media attention. Gee here's someone who'd know all about that. 

This year's BET Awards airs tomorrow and with it's planned MJ tribute will likely be its highest rated show ever. Boy timing is everything. You know I have a BET ban in effect but broke it to see Maxwell's debut video and I'll be watching (and critiquing) this one. Chris Brown and a whole other cadre of BW beaters/abusers/haters will get to take center stage. Hurl. One thing MJ did not advocate was violence and he always spoke highly of Black women so this is an insult of the highest proportion to mar his legacy by throwing these idiots in the mix. So drumroll....the award goes to: All of Them.

There's so much foolishness going on this week they all deserve it.

Prop 8 Fight Rages On: What About Trans Women and Men?

Now while the fight for marriage equality for LGBTs doesn't directly affect me in my daily life it certainly bothers my sensibilities. One of the major arguments about the passage of Prop 8 in California is how it discriminates against a marginalized group. Who has determined the criteria for marginalization? There has also been this somewhat successful meme-stealing by linking Civil Rights for African-Americans to Marriage Rights for gays. As an African-American woman I cannot express my continued outrage over this!! Not to mention the fact it posits those LGBTs being discriminated against must only be white. I have intentionally used "gay", because it's a dirty little secret amongst the LGBT "community" that it is in fact as fractured as what we commonly refer to as the "Black community".

There is a well-documented history and current bias that gays and lesbians engage in by attacking members of the trans community. I honestly had no idea it was as prevalent and entrenched as it is. Why would I - it's not as if they're going to ADVERTISE it!! I've been reading Voz Latina blog hosted by a transwoman who has been educating me on the history of violence and oppression by gay and lesbian activists against trans men and women. *She asked that I remove her name from this post for security reasons. Even in attempting to dismantle the biases of people within the LGBT community, transwomen are under additional scrutiny and potential for harm. This is why when we speak of all the "isms" we must make sure to get ALL sides of the story and tell the WHOLE truth. Otherwise we're nothing short of an echo chamber that feeds our ego and point of view. 

So we should be asking who does it benefit stepping over transpeople when you are trying to get your "homo" agenda pushed ahead? Who's the "real" victim? There have been cases where transwomen have had to sue companies for the right to use the women's restroom. The latest is a Denny's restaurant case but there was an rather embarrassing kerfuffle at the Beverly Hills Hilton last year with a music producer who was ejected based on her masculine appearance. Since she showed her driver's license and identified herself as female that should have been the end of it, but she was humiliated for being "different". Yes even in LaLaLand! 

Now admittedly I've had to do double-takes from time to time with whom I've shared a public space with but I've also had to get a group of women to commandeer stalls designated for men when there weren't enough available for us to use - which is practically all the time. I don't think I'd deserve to be presumed guilty of some uncommitted offense just because I was a cis-gendered woman. 

So I've written a few posts about the unsolved assaults and murder of transwomen like Duanna Johnson as well as the ongoing fight for gender parity and racism. It's all the same thing that manifests itself differently. I suppose we'll never have utopia but I can't abide with hearing about how "wrong" it is for two LGBTs who want to be themselves and be together from a pseudo-religious person who's following "God". Especially when I know and THEY KNOW they were doing everything under the sun before Sunday service or sit in harsher judgment of people than the Almighty ever would. We have come far but we have a long way to go. So let's continue the good fight and check ourselves along the way to have a little slice of heaven in THIS life.

Gwen Araujo Murder Conviction Stands

I know this is part of the legal process but sometimes I just wish some people would be sent away and never heard from again. You know child molesters, rapists and certain politicians! Well this is a good thing. The men who murdered the transgender teen in 2002 got their appeal rejected. I hope for the same result when Angie Zapata's murderer comes up for appeal and parole as well.

Per Inside Bay Area:

In a unanimous ruling, the 1st District Court of Appeal rejected the appeals of Jose Antonio Merel and Michael William Magidson, serving 15-years-to-life in prison for murdering Gwen Araujo, found beaten, bound and strangled in a shallow grave in the Sierra foothills. The case sparked a national outcry in the transgender community because the assailants killed Araujo after learning she was biologically male.

The world needs sources of good watching over it. The justice system is very flawed but we have to ensure it's distributed fairly.

Matthew Shepard's Mom Responds to Foxx's Homophobia

Judy Shepard was interviewed by Rachel Maddow a few nights ago. In her response to North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx (who got my Award of Shame last week) Mrs. Shepard said Foxx trying to distance herself from her earlier claims of Matthew's murder being a "hoax" was an argument of semantics not a renunciation of her ignorance. 

"Well, you know, attacks of lesser consequence, I guess, have been said about Matt since the beginning, and in 2007 when it passed the House, the same sort of vitriol' was spoken from the floor as well. I did not ever expect it to be called a hoax. Anyone who has done research into what happened to Matt knows it was a hate crime, although technically we couldn't prosecute it that way because there was no hate crime law in Wyoming and no Federal hate crime law protecting sexual orientation. So we couldn't call it a hate crime, but it was."

Exactly! If we don't speak out against such atrocities we are silently co-signing them. That acceptance leads others to add to the depravity  - until it starts to look like the normative circumstance instead of evil that needs to be stamped out. Here was a situation where white (male) privilege and class status did not protect someone. That makes it all the more perilous for the rest of us. So this is for all the Duanna Johnsons and the justice that has still been denied most (trans)women of color. 

P.S. Can we please end the "That's So Gay" and "No Homo" stupidity now!?

Weekly Wrap-Up

I'm condensing multiple posts into a one and giving some other blog hosts a shout-out. Please read them!

Did anybody use GeoCities? Nope me either. Another one bites the dust. 

Speaking of biting the dust, wearing a cheap cotton painter's mask won't protect you from the swine flu. Is this latest outbreak an accident or biological warfare being tested on populations is open for debate. Discuss amongst yourselves. FunkyBrownChick has an interesting take on things.

• The Supreme Court will review Ricci v. DeStefano where white male fire fighters (who have like a 99% hire and promotion rate) charge they're being discriminated against as municipalities look into altering testing to bring in more POC. Now I'm not advocating the dumbing down of qualifications, but US firefighters have a hero complex and die at a rate of 8-1 compared to other countries because they rush into situations without evaluation. Despite San Francisco having a female Fire Chief it's still a rare occurrence and they had to be sued to allow women and non-whites in. So I'm just sayin'......

In the "It's A Post-Racial World - Not!" files: 

Michael Kors decides to have a little racism with his (black) coffee. Who wants to deconstruct the racism and sexism in this ad? Any takers? I wish these fashion people would just stop trying to use Black people to make a buck during this depression when they were perfectly happy ignoring us before. See the Field Negro blog.

We all know this won't be a Jeopardy question, "Who Is the First Person Convicted for Murdering A Trans teenager?" but a murderer got his due for the killing of Angie Zapata. Fem.Men.Ist is a great blog by the way and blog host Richard is a Black man who fights for women's equality. Just so you know I may write about the pathologies of some, but there are plenty of fully functional people of color out there.... 

How you plan on spending President Obama's 100th day in office depends on whether you were happy or sad he got elected in the first place.

• I learned just how filthy our planet is. Have you heard of the trash vortex the size of Texas? Hmm maybe that's where we can send Gov. Perry! It has motivated some to take action. No wonder Klaatu came to get rid of us.

Unemployment rates have increased as projected. The state of California's is more than 11% now. Blacks with degrees have a disproportionately high jobless rate? Do you have a plan?

• So many people seemed shocked, shocked I tell ya that the ignorance, apathy misogyny and prejudice they pass onto their kids actually takes effect. Why are people so reluctant to turn in the criminals in their families?

Airlines come up with yet another scheme to bilk us out of our money while sucking on the teat of corporate welfare. Well since we know people are getting bigger why do they keep making the seats on the plane smaller with less leg room? I bet you if all of us "fatties" stopped flying in protest they'd really start howling.

South Park does a send-up of Susan Boyle. 

I found out American Violet isn't a story of one Black woman's triumph, but the same ol' okey doke by whites making a victimization movie. Clink the link and it will take you to the Black Woman Blow the Trumpet blog. You can read the analysis of how this film is showing (some of) us at our worst. See Tyler Perry isn't the only one you know. Glad I didn't waste my time or money on this drivel. FAIL!!!

When Transgendered People Are Assaulted Why Do People Make A Joke Out Of It?

Los Angeles based rapper Pam Jones was reportedly robbed, beaten and assaulted. The story appeared on All Hip Hop and Media Take Out, which is known for being particularly vicious in its coverage of entertainment/gossip. If you read the comment section (though really why would you want to) you'd find the usual knuckle dragger responses where some think it's a kind of joke for a transgendered woman to be raped. As if rape is any less a heinous crime and violation when it happens to someone who wasn't born a biological female, or is a lesbian or even a male. 

Roving gangs of Black men gathering together to steal, beat and rape should send a shudder down the spines of people instead of dismissing it. This is what's going on in Darfur, Congo and has been used as the first tactic of war to control the general population. Calling attention to these acts of violence is more important than worrying about lingering racial stereotypes. If the thugs don't care about the image of innocent men who are law abiding we can't be protectionists for criminals.

The larger issue has to do with the attempts at dehumanizing the person because if they're not a person, then what happens to them doesn't matter. Which is what's happening to Black women right now by the way. So in reporting the assault on Jones, she has been referred to as a transsexual, tranny and he/she. All of those are incorrect terms and should cease immediately! By the way there's a MySpace link with an update on Ms. Jones' condition.

Transphobia, Prop 8 and Racism = Same Thing

For all the continued brouhaha over the failure of the No on 8 campaign I am curious how many of the protesters bothered to pay attention to other ballot measures that have an equal or greater impact on the LGBTQI community. I also wonder if the court challenges are successful and Yes on 8 gets shot down will the Gay Rights Industrial Complex pat itself on the back for a good job and ignore all the lack of involvement with communities they're still trying to blame?

There's this great open letter written by Adele Carpenter, a fellow SF resident who asks why was there a lack of support of Propositions that would have made life a little easier for a lot of people and potentially saved some as well. She also mentions how the State of CA incarcerates a high percentage of some of its citizens. I've not seen a larger discussion about how that's tied to Prop 8 by many others. This is also why I am supporting Kamala Harris' run for Attorney General. Read Ms. Carpenter's letter here.

What were some of those Propositions?

Prop K: To decriminalize prostitution. Yeah I know that's a yucky topic for many but since we know it's the 'oldest profession' why not make it legal and safe for those that do it? Also SF is a big market for human trafficking and we'd actually prevent people from abusing children.

Prop B: Affordable Housing initiative. We know how ridiculous rents are here. Enough said.

Prop 5 & 6: More treatment, less jail and an increase in crime prevention programs. List of other results are here.

LGBTQI is a long acronym and usually the Q(ueer) and the I(ntersex and Questioning) are meant to be encompassed in the first four but they're not really. I know a Queer woman who I thought was a lesbian because she was dating a woman but as it turns out she likes men as well - though she's not bisexual. I don't need to understand to be supportive. Our identities are mutable and should be our own choice.

L = Lesbian

Probably the only time the "Gay" community will put a woman first.

G = Gay

Lots of straight people still think it's men in short shorts making out at clubs.

B = Bisexual

There's still some resentment and questioning whether you can truly be bi and not just being greedy choosing between genders.

T = Transgender

It's one thing to like and love someone the same gender, what do you do when you think you're the wrong gender?

Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance. From Gay/Straight Alliance Network site:

The Transgender Day of Remembrance is held in November each year to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgender, each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgender people. The list of deaths available at Remembering Our Dead only contains those deaths known to the transgender community or that have been reported to the media. The Day of Remembrance is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder kicked off the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester’s murder — like most anti-transgender murder cases — has yet to be solved.

I wanted to write about the life and death Duanna Johnson, a beautiful ebony woman who's life was taken less than one week ago. She was a transgender woman from Memphis who was arrested on a prostitution charge (it was later dropped). She suffered a vicious beating by the police back in February while being held and objected to being called he/she (and probably ni**er) by them. Thank goodness the officers involved were fired, and there's a lawsuit pending. One of the reasons this tape came to light was the officer filed a complaint that he wasn't getting help in beating Duanna! I hope the killer(s) will be brought to justice.

So this is why I think the Gay Rights Industrial Complex is intentionally being short-sighted by focusing solely on marriage equality as the issue of importance. This does nothing to address the lives of working class people or those whose work is not met with societal approval. This does not address the inequality of our lives and the specific danger transpeople of color face. I hope that singular agenda will be reassessed and the ignored people and their 'less important' needs will be given their "props". I'm not counting on it though.