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Marti Abernathey |
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New York has been
hit with many tragedies that have made headlines
for the past couple of years. December 17th,
2002 a sad event happened, and most of the world
never even knew. Trans-inclusion was not amended
into SONDA (Sexual Orientation
Non-Discrimination Act), and the prospects of
any trans-inclusive legislation passing in the
near future are slim.
T-Party
hosted two sides of the issue with guests
Pauline Park of http://www.nyagra.tripod.com/
and Chelsea Goodwin of http://www.nyagra.org/.
On Tuesday the 17th, I interviewed
Pauline Park. Park droned on and on with a long
winded essay on wanting a trans-inclusive SONDA,
but expressed that she would not protest the
passage of the non-inclusive legislation. She
came off as aloof and even, at times, mean. When
I asked Park what she thought of the “work” that
Sylvia Rivera did for the community, Park coldly
stated that Rivera “had her fans and
supporters.” Instead of an obligatory comment on
Rivera’s obvious accomplishments, Park declined
comment.
I went on to ask Park if she
would be willing to form alliances or work with
STAR (Street Transgender Action
Revolutionaries), or any other gender activist
group in NY. Again, Park rebuffed the notion.
By the way, can someone tell me what is
up with the “official NYAGRA website” being a
tripod address? That doesn’t have much of an
“official” ring to it, yet Park assured us the
official website for NYAGRA was the tripod
address. I checked at directnic.com and it said
that NYAGRA.com was available for thirty dollars
for two years.
On Thursday following the
vote on SONDA, I took to the internet airwaves
to interview Chelsea Goodwin. From the very
outset, Goodwin seemed very irritable and ready
to spit nails from my intro. I introduced
Goodwin as representing NYAGRA, and she
thoroughly took me to task about this incorrect
assumption. I had assumed that since she
responded to my email to nyagra@nyagra.org , she
was representing NYAGRA.
From that
moment on, Goodwin set out preaching a sermon
that “the Lord made us who we are” and talked
about us being like “Angels” sent by God during
this time of “apocalyptic talk.” Goodwin sounded
so emotionally worked up; I wondered if our
interview had physically tired her out.
The ensuing discussion seemed almost
like a testimony of faith which would have been
inspiring in any other setting. However, in the
context of talking about SONDA, it seemed almost
surreal, like I had fallen asleep during our
conversation and woke up in the middle of
another. When asked what the plan was in
reaction to the passage of SONDA, she stated
that we need to “organize a march to the
statehouse on Dr Martin Luther King’s birthday”
and continue to work on legislation under the
name of GINDA (Gender Identity
Non-Discrimination Act). While her sermon was
chock full of pie in the sky optimism, I found
little concrete direction from Goodwin.
Goodwin and Park both refused to talk
about NYAGRA and the split both are presenting
to the community as though we don't see a
glaring crack. If you aren’t familiar with the
rift, last year the group broke into two
separate groups under much drama. Insinuations
of theft and embezzlement within NYAGRA have
been lofted in the air. Both groups claimed the
name NYAGRA and existed as separate groups but
refuse to talk about it publicly. I’ve heard
through the grapevine that the Goodwin faction
of NYAGRA is now being called the New York
Transgender Coalition. Lord, where in God’s name
will this end? If the largest and most powerful
transactivist group in New York State cannot
unify their own community, much less themselves,
why would anyone think they could unify the GLB
community into supporting transgender inclusion?
Goodwin and Park both stated that they
would be working with ESPA (Empire State Pride
Agenda) in getting further trans legislation
passed. Why not insist that skinheads support
affirmative action? Matt Foreman, Executive
Director of ESPA, support of us is lukewarm at
best. His “support” of the transgender community
shows in his public discussion of
trans-inclusion. "No one's denying that
transgendered people need protection. We're
certainly not, [But] this is about winning
rights for people as quickly as we can." He said
it was too late to change the bill and “The
notion that you just suddenly and quickly and
easily insert a whole new protected category,
and that the State Senate that has clearly been
reluctant to act on this would just accept it
blindly, is beyond naïve," He knew that
transgender activists have been lobbying for
transgender inclusion in SONDA for some time,
but he has portrayed this as a last minute “Hail
Mary” from the trans community. Why are we
depending on someone who supports us in word but
not action? Why don’t we introduce legislation
and work through people that do support us like
Senator Tom Duane? Duane has already assured the
community that he would work for trans-inclusive
legislation. Isn’t it about time we stop
bitching about what others aren’t doing for us,
and start doing for ourselves?
It's
obvious to me that there is not a strong
consensus building activist leader or
organization in the state of New York. As I look
at the results of the December 17th vote, one
thing is glaringly obvious. Unity and leadership
is needed in the New York trans community. I’ve
read statements made in the press from NYAGRA
representatives Andrea Sears, Pauline Park, Hawk
Stone, and Chelsea Goodwin. WHO IS NYAGRA??? All
this confusion reminded me of the old game show
where two fakes people where mixed in with a
real one and you had to guess who the real
person was. My question to the NY Trans
community is will the real NYAGRA please stand
up?
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