Wednesday, June 16, 2010

TransGriot Nuke A Troll

Every now and then I get a comment that if it isn't outright racist or transphobic and gets flushed, makes me shake my head.

This is one of those shake my head ones I received on the 'Black Transpeople Are Tired Of The Erasure' post that purports itself to be from an African descended trans person named Latrice.

i agree i am an african american trans woman also, it is hard for us. and the stereotype against us is big, but i have to say kind of true. it is not , or nor can we blame the white trans people for moving forward when we behind , because of our own mishaps. we cant blame the white trans for being organized, and not into cutting each other out and sticking together through the cause. black people mess things up for themselves, then later on try to attack white people because they choose to do the things they do , its time out to stop putting the blame on others , and change our ways and stick together like others do , and black trans causes harm to come there way, by being loud and flamboyant in them streets, playing dangerous games, and bring a lot of not needed attention to themselves, so who can we blame but our selves. u can't get nothing for black people in general because they are lazy and don't want to do nothing until they see another person worked for it , ,and this is spoken from a black person


To borrow a line from my Original Black Voices board colleague Dymolishn, time for the USS Monica to drop 20 megatons of knowledge.

I'm going to play along and assume that Latrice is Black and trans.

Go to DEFCON 1. Tubes flooded, board is green. Release authorized, authenticated and confirmed. Begin countdown on my mark. Mark...5...4...3...2...1...launch!

it is hard for us. and the stereotype against us is big, but i have to say kind of true.

And what 'stereotype being kind of true' are you referring to, Latrice?

nor can we blame the white trans people for moving forward when we behind , because of our own mishaps.

And what mishaps are you referring to? Jim Crow segregation? The fact that African American and Latina transwomen are taking the brunt of the anti trans violence casualties? Spell it out for the TransGriot.

The white trans community has had the advantage of visibility since the early 20th century and disproportionately so since Christine Jorgenson stepped off the plane from Denmark in 1953. All we've had in terms of positive publicity is occasional pieces in JET magazines.

In addition to that, Black transpeople were a little busy along with the rest of the African American community fighting for first class citizenship, taking a major hit from the initial stages of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the early 80's and trying to stay employed and alive in the face of faith-based transphobia and violence.

black people mess things up for themselves, then later on try to attack white people because they choose to do the things they do ,

Your claim to Blackness just became shaky with this comment. I know plenty of white trans people who messed things up for themselves (and the community) as well.

Calling out being excluded from the leadership ranks of this community, whitewashed out of a history and a movement we helped play major roles in is not 'attacking white people'.

its time out to stop putting the blame on others , and change our ways and stick together like others do

I was part of a team of people who help put together two African American oriented trans conventions in 2005 and 2006. Others have been in leadership roles inside and outside the trans community for decades such as Earline Budd and Dr. Marisa Richmond.

Black transpeople are and have been organizing at the local, regional, national and international levels. The 1965 Dewey's Lunch Counter Sit In was a FUBU event that was the first instance of a protest focused on trans issues.

It's not anything new, we just don't get the publicity or credit for it. But when they want to portray someone as the un-transwoman, we're at the head of the line for that.

and black trans causes harm to come there way, by being loud and flamboyant in them streets, playing dangerous games, and bring a lot of not needed attention to themselves

Tyra Hunter wasn't being 'loud and flamboyant' in 1995 when DC firefighter Adrian Williams discovered her trans status, disrespected her and stopped critical medical treatment on her after a car accident that would have saved her life. Duanna Johnson wasn't being 'loud and flamboyant' when a cop decided to violate her civil rights and beat her down in a Memphis police station. Patricia Underwood and Sharon Franklin Brown weren't being 'loud and flamboyant' when they were unfairly fired from their jobs for being trans.

u can't get nothing for black people in general because they are lazy and don't want to do nothing until they see another person worked for it

Now I know you aren't black regurgitating some conservafool bull feces like that.

Most of the Black transpeople I know, myself included, work for a living and don't mind busting our butts. The one who aren't would love to have a 9 to 5 with benefits, which is why I gripe about ENDA so much.

One thing we do want is more control of our political and economic destiny. We'd like a unified national trans community, fully integrated within the leadership ranks of the national trans community, and interconnected with our African descended trans cousins across the Diaspora.

We also want the white washing of our roles in trans history to cease and desist.

If you are Black, Latrice, I'm calling the DROP Squad for you right now.

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