I Believe

Time for some church up here in TransGriot.  

I am a Christian, and I'm naming and proclaiming it in this post because I'm beyond sick and tired of people in the TBLG community attacking all Christians and mocking our faith.  

If you're pissed off at the right wingers who have wrapped themselves in the cross, the flag and the Bible to attack you, take it up with those fools. .

Direct that hateraid at the people who are attacking you, not your rainbow family members who are on your side and who do believe that there is a higher power greater than ourselves that is a force for good in the world and not evil.

For many of us, especially who are non-white transpeople, that faith has gotten us through difficult periods in our transitions, and attacking it is tantamount to you disrespecting us and spitting in our faces. 

If you want me to respect your faith choices including not having one, then you must respect mine.

And on that note, let me allow you to ponder what I just wrote.   You can do so while listening to the music of the Jam and Lewis produced Sounds Of Blackness.   This song 'I Believe' is lead vocalized by Ann Nesby. 

I Repeat People, I'm NOT Evangelist Denise K. Matthews

One of the more amusing things that keeps happening is that for some reason, ever since I wrote the 50th birthday post wishing Evangelist Denise K. Matthews a happy birthday, every now and then I get people e-mailing stuff to me that is clearly meant for her.

I ended up writing a post that clearly stated that this is TransGriot and not Ms. Matthews' site, but it seems that some peeps failed reading comprehension back in their school days.

Peep the latest comment that got caught in my spam filter.

Hello blessed Ms. Matthews,
God bless you in all your works and endeavors in praising God's teachings and works. If you ever decide in your spare time to visit SW Florida, There's a few churches out here that are very spiritual . Feel free to contact me either in email: palomoiiijosej@yahoo.com, facebook, or by telephone (XXX) XXX-XXXX and when you're here I'd love to meet you in person and become your lifelong brother and friend in Jesus Christ. Anyway, keep up the blessed works and teachings you inspire to others. Looking forward to have a spiritual bondage and a mutual friendship with you. God Bless, Jose J. Palomo III

Hello Jose and 'errbody' else who can't read the TransGriot header at the top of this blog.  Although I deeply appreciate you coming to my cyberhome, this is not Evangelist Matthews' blog and I am in no way connected to her website.  

I primarily discuss transgender issues here in addition to other subjects including at times spirituality and religion.  If you wish to direct comments to her you need to surf in this direction.

As I said before, while I wouldn't mind looking like her, I'm Moni and I'm happy and comfortable with the skin I'm in,.and the feminine journey I'm traveling.  Would love to meet her one day as well and who knows, maybe that day might happen. 

She's living her life and walking in her pumps and I'm doing the same to the best of my ability.

But still people, if you want to contact Evangelist Matthews, do it on her website

The Gospel Of Diamond Stylz

She's back!.  Diamond Stylz in an interesting video tells you about her relationship with God.

You Conservafools Really Need To Chill With The Islamophobia

"How could they say that my religion, Islam was a ‘race hate’ religion after all the plunder and enslavement and domination of my people by white Christians in the name of white supremacy?" Muhammad Ali

Since the tenth anniversary of the 9-11 terror attacks on  the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in DC is rapidly approaching, the Islamophobic comments are not only coming from GOP candidates like Herman Cain,   but Republican politicans, fundies, right wing pundits and others calling themselves proud conservatives.

Adding to the constant drone of anti-Muslim rhetoric are the efforts of several Republican controlled state legislatures to enact bans against Sharia law, wingnut preacher Terry Jones burning a Quran, with deadly consequences to a UN mission and towns from New York to Murfreesboro tying to stop the establishment of mosques.

Um people, ever heard of the First Amendment to the US Constitution?  The Bill of Rights?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

'Religious Freedom' cuts both ways, including the ability to be free FROM religion.   It does not mean I get to be as bigoted and hateful as I want and hide behind the Bible to do so.

And oh yeah, since y'all like to scurr your 'Real American' voters in thinking there's an Al Qaeda terrorist under their gated suburban community beds,.as Chris Rock once said in a comedy routine that had  some serious truth to it, he was more afraid of Al Cracker than Al Qaeda. 

I recall the name of the instigator of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing was Timothy McVeigh.


But back to the Islamophobia you're pimping for electoral gain. 

It is a dangerous political game you're playing, but then again you conservafools never care about how your political rhetoric affects the lives of people unless they look like you.

Seriously, Y'all Need To Chill In The TBLG Community With The Christian Bashing

One of the places in which we African American transpeople are different from our white transbrothers and sisters is that our faith is an important component to who we are.    I've talked about the fact that it seems in the TBLG community every faith tradition up to and including atheism is expressed or respected, but let someone in a TBLG space say their are a Christian and they get no love and respect for that, but derision..

The Christian bashing we see in elements of the TBLG community is offensive to us in the African American community and our allies.

Remember as I have said numerous times, the trans community is a microcosm of our parent society, and the parent society we African descended transpeople are raised in has a deep faith tradition as a component of it.   That spiritual and faith tradition that undergirds our culture is one that we African descended  transpeople reconcile our faith and our transitions with as the recently completed TransFairth In Color Conference recently demonstrated.

That TransFaith of Color conference in Charlotte was one in which many of our leading activists attended and if I can work it out with the people who run it, I would love to be in Charlotte for the 2012 event.   So yeah, when we see predominately white transpeople merrily attacking and mocking the Christian faith but would have a cow if we did the same to them and their faith traditions, it's another one of the issues which causes blood pressure to rise for us and contemplate going our own way..

It's understandable why elements of you have major issues with organized religion, the bigots who wrap themselves in religious cloaks and use the Bible as a baton to beat people with.    We have issue with those little c 'christians' as well and call them out on a regular basis.

But at the same time you cannot dismiss the folks who are people of faith such as Bishop Carlton Pearson, Bishop Yvette Flunder, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rev Al Sharpton and countless others who are standing up for TBLG people. 

But seriously, y'all need to chill in the TBLG community with the Christian bashing in this community.   It's problematic, it ain't cute, and it's complicating our ability to convince some people of faith of the importance of supporting the trans civil rights cause when some you irresponsibly mock and attack the faith of Christians.  

Mass Walk Out At Mclean Funeral

One of the things we worry about once we leave this world as trans people is being disrespected at our funeral services or having our lives and the way we have lived them totally ignored by our grieving relatives.

When you're an African-American transperson, that concern is magnified because we are still trying to educate our people on our lives, fight through the disinformation on trans issues and reconcile them with our spirituality at the same time.  .

At Lashai Mclean's July 27 funeral at the Purity Baptist Church, those issues all came to a head when the sermon of Agape Missionary Baptist Church pastor Rev. A.W. Montgomery Sr. offended many of the people in attendance and triggered a mass walkout of 100 people.  

According to a Washington Blade article, people were also were offended by the misgendering of Lashai and an insensitive remark allegedly made by a deacon 

The service was held at Purity Baptist Church near Capitol Hill because the funeral home handling the arrangements for Lashai's service asked Rev. Robin Toogood, the pastor of Purity if he would do so.  Montgomery's church sanctuary in Suitland, MD is the one that grieving members of the Mclean family have ties to and was too small to accommodate the numbers of people expected to attend the funeral service for Lashai. 

Rev. Toogood told the Blade that after giving the welcoming remarks, he turned over the service to Montgomery.    He raised the ire of Mcclean's friends by referring to Lashai as 'he', to which people audibly shouted back 'she'.   D.C. activist and comedian Sampson McCormack relayed to the Blade, “And that came after somebody, I think it was a deacon, said when you live a certain lifestyle this is the consequence you have to pay.”  

Okay, as a Christian, I have a major problem with a minister preaching a funeral sermon laced with anti-TBLG remarks at a funeral for a TBLG person.   We had the same thing happen at a funeral for a gay Louisville friend of mine I attended a few years ago and I had to literally bite my tongue and restrain myself from interrupting the service and calling his butt out right then and there.  Fortunately I didn't have to because the GLBT ministers in the audience discreetly pulled the pastor aside and had the 'come to Jesus' meeting with him on behalf of me and 'errbody' else who was offended by his remarks.

Rick Rosendall, the vice president of the Gay and Lesbian Activist Alliance said it best about the jacked up situation on the GLAA website. "We cannot change the world or people’s minds all at once, but we sure can make it clear that we will not silently accept that kind of disrespect at a funeral.”

Lashai, hope you're finally resting in peace and getting acquainted with the Washington transwomen who preceded you in death.