Organizing for America | Vanessa Edwards Foster's Blog

Vanessa Edwards Foster's Blog

Monday, March 3, 2008 from www.TransPolitical.blogspot.com Pounding the Pavement in Primary Season: It’s Obama Time! “We need a revolution for the people – for the poor, for [those] who have nothing! The politicians and the rich, they’ve already got it all! What do they need?” — Stonewall veteran, Sylvia Rivera at the 2001 NTAC Board meeting in Washington DC It seems just like old times. Admittedly I’ve been jaded after a decade plus of political activism, with nothing to show for it other than broken nails, broken dreams, broken promises and a broken spirit. Yet just like the old war-horse that everyone presumes is out to pasture, as soon as I hear the battle bell and become inspired, I’m back in the game just as before. This inspiration came from the same source that appears to be inspiring the country, the likes of which haven’t been seen since JFK. This inspiration is Barack Obama. So it was that I’ve been wearing out one of my two good pair of Nikes hitting my precinct to get folks to the post-election caucus, and on a Saturday night spending in the heart of Houston’s gayborhood bar district, pushing folks to vote and then go back to the post-primary caucus to elect delegates. Frankly it’s been two very different tales from my suburban precinct here in wild, wild West Houston, and the tony, elite progressive environs of the Montrose. From my home precinct, one I chaired until 2005 (when economics demanded I start focusing on my own housekeeping before I lost the house I was keeping) it’s been pretty inspiring a response so far. This was a raw meat-red precinct when I took chair in 1999, and it would be another four years before this transitional spot began the domino flipping of red-to-blue in my area. When I turned the chair over to my successor, I never presumed we would have a situation where Texas would ever matter in a presidential primary selection. We never had before. Lo and behold, Texas matters for the first time in my lifetime in primaries. In fact, as it’s looking now, Texas may well be the knockout punch for Obama over Hillary Clinton. From what I’m seeing in my precinct and the undecideds I’m bringing over (especially among African American voters and men of all categories in my ethnically diverse neighborhood) things are looking very promising for caucusing on Tuesday. However, I’d be remiss to use my precinct as a bellwether. I block walked heavily during the Kerry 2004 campaign, and even helped a neighboring precinct chair do likewise for her first elections. Kerry carried my precinct with 57% of the vote, 54% in the precinct I helped and 53% on the precinct on the opposite side of me. The initial ebullience over now having three blue precincts in our sea of red was dashed when I got home to see the numbers in the rest of the city and the nation. Kerry didn’t carry everywhere else. So on Saturday afternoon at a Montrose café after one of my board meetings, I happened to meet a young college student at the counter who asked if I’d go pass out flyers in the bar district on a Saturday night with her and others. Shades of the Parker Campaign in 1997, and the Gore Campaign in 2000 – I found myself outside the bars with the same old verve. “Hope will never be silent.” — late San Francisco City Councilmember, Harvey Milk I even saw a couple of other old familiar faces, notably Randall Ellis, former executive director for the Lesbian Gay Rights Lobby (LGRL), an activist I truly respect despite LGRL’s previous history before his tenure. He’s a man after my own heart, not someone who simply talks and directs others while he preens for the camera. Like me, he’s out the pounding pavement, leading by example. There were lots of other Obamamaniacs as well, with a surprising contingent that made the trip down from the Seattle area. One of them was a very cool transwoman from Bellingham, WA named Rebecca who appeared about my age. There were also a gaggle of younger Obama supporters who were there on assignment from the media from the Seattle paper (and working on contract out of the Chronicle). They watched us work the crowd and took notes; including the same ugly earful we drew from a few of the Clinton supporters who sought to evoke a reaction. That ugliness surprised me a bit. I understand their candidate is losing and that they have tight loyalties, but Obama supports the gay and lesbian community virtually as much as Hillary Clinton, only without the long-term relationship. Why this would draw the Hussein comments (uttered with intent derision) or worse the “Obama bin Laden” from the flitty little gayboi (with his jaunty equal sign/HRC ball cap) and clinging to his boyfriend’s arm. The worst was the drunken old vato suavecito who took great pleasure in getting in my face, then Rebecca from Washington’s while referring to Obama rather loudly as the antichrist. Something like this was what I’d expect from Rove-led Republican Red-Meatheads. It was astonishing coming from progressive liberals. However, it wasn’t all bad news in the heart of the Montrose. A notable portion of the passers-by was supporting Obama. Unlike my home precinct, it was probably the opposite – about 55-45, maybe 60% for Clinton at best. However, I did note that all gay African Americans were for Obama, as well as what few trans people I encountered there. One thing I didn’t expect: being tabbed as the impromptu “election expert” on the street. It was amazing to watch folks (even if they weren’t those directly asking the question) begin flocking over to listen to how the delegate process works. I’d had that individually in homes in my precinct, but seeing folks come over and begin asking multiple questions and learning the process was heartening, even if surprising. There may not have ever been much reward for all those years working the precincts and maneuvering the delegate process, but suddenly it became useful knowledge. It seems improbable until you understand that by the time primaries ever made it to Texas, the presumptive nominee already had the election sewn up. That was a recipe for apathy and no need to learn the rather complicated processes. Now, with both sides’ supporters needing to learn on the fly, I’m almost like a rock star to the suddenly curious. All of this comes courtesy of Barack Obama’s campaign. Four years ago at the Boston DNC convention, I thought he was a phenomenal speaker. But I must admit that I didn’t think he had a chance at securing the nomination in 2008. Here’s a kid of mixed-race, from a teenage mom in a single-parent household, from Hawaii who even had his period of “youthful indiscretion” as George W. Bush would phrase it, and now this man has grown and is proving the impossible may be possible after all. For a transgender person like myself who got a lifetime of naysayers telling me “it’s impossible,” it catalyzes your inspiration. If there was ever a time we needed this, it’s now. Obviously all the work I do will not even get the scarcest of notice outside of my own precinct, yet another year of my life spent with no personal return. But for once, someone from this same improbable background, someone who’s an outsider like most me (and most all trans folk) is getting a chance to fulfill the dream. My dream won’t be realized, but at least I can work to fulfill someone else’s dream rather than work for someone who’s already got it and for whom it’s just another trophy in an overfull trophy case. I’m sore, I’ve worn out one pair of my Nikes, and I’ve lost a bunch of sleep. But I’m back in the game again. Who knows … maybe I can dream someday? “You gotta give ‘em hope….” — late San Francisco City Councilmember, Harvey Milk These dreams, they won’t let me close my eyes. Every moment I’m awake, I live another life.” — Dreams, Heart

It’s Not The Left, Not Transgender or Bisexual, Not POC – It’s Gay & Lesbian vs. Warren, Period.

By Vanessa Edwards from Houston, TX - Dec 27th, 2008 at 11:07 am EST

http://transpolitical.blogspot.com/2008/12/its-not-left-not-transgender-or.html

For the record, it needs to be stated: this brouhaha over Pastor Rick Warren is not a strategic protest from “the left.” To say this is a concerted effort by the whole of the liberal or democratic wing is false.

For the record, this is also not the creation of the entire GLBT. That’s also false. The transgender community is mortified that the candidate we busted butt to get elected is being blasted for the choice of Pastor Warren. We’re worried about staying alive – uh, employment?!? This low-level issue is a tempest in a teapot. And the bisexual and gay / lesbian people of color are also not uniformly lock-stepping into this criticism of President Elect Barack Obama over the invocation selection.

There are so many more important issues to be raising our voices over that this isn’t even remotely funny!

It seems that every gay and lesbian activist leader from every org, former and current, has been parading through every media outlet, taking swipes at President Elect Obama’s choice. Alarmingly, it seems the echo chamber they’ve been working has succeeded in making the convenient perception be that the entire “left” as it were, is actively protesting Obama’s selection of Warren.

On MSNBC’s Hardball, gay activist Mike Rogers describing how “diverse” the gay community is had this to say: “I actually use the gay community as a way to unite and bring everybody together.” That was a shocker. Certainly the trans community’s history has been anything but feeling “included” beyond the “T” slapped onto missions and speeches (something which Rogers, to his credit, didn’t patronize – preferring to use the more accurate descriptor, “gay community”).

“We have seen for centuries, certainly for decades, of how gay people have led the way” on uniting. Centuries, hmm?

But I do think Rogers has a point to be made, as he continued. “For example, it was Barack Obama who brought in Pastor Warren, and it was the gay community that stood up and said this was wrong…. Pastor Warren said “I need to change. Something about the language I’ve been using is not inclusive. It’s divisive. I’m going to recognize that.”” In essence, this garbage about holding our tongue and being “tempered and measured” is doomed to fail. You make change be doing exactly what HRC, NGLTF, Rogers and all the others plastered on media have done the past couple weeks – point taken.

“So strong, I can't let it pass.I gotta tell you all about it.

I gotta scream and shout it!” — Uncontrollable Urge, Devo

That said, in typical fashion these parties have gone forth without bothering to ask whether anyone else thought this a worthy expenditure of time, political capital and issue prioritizing. Big GLBT (or “the gay community” as Rogers would put it) owns this issue entirely while the rest of us are being accused by association.

Attention media! This is purely the product of leaders in the gay and lesbian community and their lead organizations. It allows great face time on media. It allows wonderful PR to their own and the rest of the world in showing “Hey! Look at us! We’ve got political muscle!”

It’s also (most importantly) a great leveraging tool to pry out more fundraising from the wealth that support causes du “GLBT” (in quotation because in reality, as everyone knows, it’s GL ………….. b … t)

Yes folks, funding makes the activist world go round. This type of media massaging creates a conveniently useful straw man to then waylay the crap out of – it makes great mainstream media theatre. It then draws a blizzard of greenbacks on same-sex marriage (the money button).

Demonstrating power and collecting money, that’s what’s behind this. NOT the left, not the other subsequent groups within this PC GLBT concoction. Mainstream Gay. Mainstream Lesbian. Mainstream power!

So attention media, please get the story accurate! Gay outrage, strategy, protest – much more accurate. But left (or liberal), or GLBT strategy, outrage, protests? No. We aren’t even in that vehicle. We aren’t going there.

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Expect The Dirtiest Election Season Ever

By Vanessa Edwards from Houston, TX - Oct 11th, 2008 at 2:35 pm EDT

This has really gotten very ugly, very quickly. It was reported on McClatchy Report that a new 30-second McCain Campaign TV ad attacks Barack Obama's record on education, saying that Obama backed legislation to teach "'comprehensive sex education' to kindergartners." The announcer then says, "Learning about sex before learning to read? Barack Obama. Wrong on education. Wrong for your family."

Fact of the matter is the legislation voted on by Obama and others in the Illinois Senate allowed local school boards to teach "age-appropriate" sex education. There was not “comprehensive sex education” lessons to kindergartners, but rather it gave schools the ability to warn young children about inappropriate touching and sexual predators.

Obama voted for a sexual education class that taught young, pre-adolescents what was, and how to avoid adult molestation by pedophiles.

Clearly this does not meet John McCain nor Sarah Palin’s approval. Better to let kids fend for their own! And in fact, better to keep kids innocuous and potentially victimized rather than make it harder for child molesters to have their way with them and get away scot free! This is family values, Republican style. Keep child molestation out of sight and in the closet – nudge, nudge, wink, wink. Read More »

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HRC + LCR = GOP, Not GLBT

By Vanessa Edwards from Houston, TX - Oct 11th, 2008 at 2:11 pm EDT

http://transpolitical.blogspot.com/2008/09/hrc-lcr-gop-not-glbt.html

reprint from TransPolitical blog: 9/9/08

“I don't know about the rest of you, but I am absolutely furious about this. Not only is this inequitable, it's fuckin dismissive and disrespectful.” — Steven Driscoll, National Stonewall Democrats Board Co-Chair

Can anybody tell me why HRC had such prominence with the Obama Campaign once Hillary was officially out of the race? They even proffered their own handpicked trans person, a relative unknown to the trans community itself that they brought onto the business council, to be the campaign’s transgender steering committee member. And this for what support they’ve shown?

As Andrew Sullivan noted at the time Hillary dropped out, HRC’s own board of directors had given to the following presidential candidates’ campaigns:

That’s right, zero to Barack Obama’s campaign by the time Hillary Clinton had suspended her campaign. Immediately after, Obama graciously allowed HRC’s current and former executive director, and one of their board doing the speaking on a campaign conference call to the LGBT community (including, though rarely mentioning, the plethora of trans leaders who long worked the campaign). HRC even played petulant, suggesting it would take time for their ranks to come around and pleading for “patience” from the campaign until they decided to engage. Read More »

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Abstinence-Only For Non-Conservative Youth Only

By Vanessa Edwards from Houston, TX - Oct 11th, 2008 at 2:04 pm EDT

http://transpolitical.blogspot.com/2008/09/abstinence-only-for-non-conservative.html

reprint from TransPolitical blog 9/7/08

“Poor is the manWhose pleasures depend

On the permission of another.” — Justify My Love, Madonna

The chattering hubbub has somewhat died down on Bristol Palin’s pregnancy out of wedlock. Ironically, it appears that both Republican and Democrats’ campaigns were happy to see this subside. As a blogger, I didn’t really have any issue with Bristol Palin as it’s unfortunate, but still a natural occurrence. I actually felt sorry for both her and her unwitting husband-to-be.

What was saddest was seeing how the oh-so-sanctimonious-and-now-embarrassed Republican National Committee operatives did everything they could to obfuscate. They paraded her out (gotta have those family values), but had baby Trig attached to her as if umbilically, complete with baby blanket plastered strategically over her body to hide the baby-bulge. It wasn’t really overt of a bulge, but the RNC and McCain campaign’s paranoia was such that even the slightest breath of pregnancy out of wedlock was enough to induce palpitations.

Once the news became obvious (how they thought they were powerful enough to shut off all private conversation, I’m at a loss!), they discovered it didn’t matter so much to their evangelical moralist base. Evangelicals rallied round, regardless of the values dichotomy. Now that Bristol was allowed to be a real teenager, sans blanket, and without permanent babysitting penance of mom’s progeny, she actually looked happier. She was just another of the Palin kids, enjoying the moment. Read More »

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Unmarried Pregnancy And Stunning Hypocrisy: It’s Gotta Be GOP!

By Vanessa Edwards from Houston, TX - Oct 11th, 2008 at 1:55 pm EDT

Rumors were flying on the blogs recently about Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s five-month old son actually belonged to her unmarried teenaged daughter. To quell the rumors that her son, Trig was indeed hers, she made public the announcement that her 17-year old daughter Bristol was indeed pregnant.

However, her quote and the response of the Republican pundits and evangelical supporters expose a glaring dual standard.

“Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents," Sarah and her husband Todd Palin were quoted in the released statement. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080901/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_palin_daughter)

Note the use of “proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby”? That phrase begs the question: was there ever a decision? If so, why? Gov. Sarah Palin is proud to proclaim her right to life and elimination of choice. If there’s no choice, what is there to decide in the Palin family?

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Brace Yourself America, It’s Going To Be A Bumpy Ride!

By Vanessa Edwards from Houston, TX - Oct 11th, 2008 at 1:50 pm EDT

http://transpolitical.blogspot.com/2008/09/brace-yourself-white-america-its-going.html

reprint from TransPolitical Blog 9/4/08

As I’d blogged before about a month ago, the GOP strategy this campaign will be one of the ugliest on record. They have discovered that racism can be their friend when it comes to scaring off white voters. And if that’s what it takes to have their nominee in the White House to choose the next Supreme Court Justices and to rid themselves of liberal influence in legislation and law, and throw it into neo-conservative sway for the indefinite future, then stirring up race wars are AOK with them.

Well make no bones about it, they are beginning the process now.

As such, I’m coming out and calling them on the carpet: Republicans are xenophobic racists and will rip this country apart simply for a cheap (cheat) victory. Read More »

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Senator McCain. Define "Free Nations"

By Vanessa Edwards from Houston, TX - Oct 11th, 2008 at 1:39 pm EDT

http://transpolitical.blogspot.com/2008/08/senator-mccain-define-free-nations.html

reprint from TransPolitical blog 8/13/08

“Georgia, Georgia, no peace – no peace I findJust this old, sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind” — Georgia On My Mind, Ray Charles But the Americans have no extra money. They have their own problems. They can provide financial assistance for two, three, four, or six months at most.” — Eduard Shevardnadze, former President of Georgia

Today Sen. John McCain enjoyed his own small Berlin moment with his “Ich bin ein Georgian” press confab.

It wasn’t as glorious as the Brandenburg gate. It also wasn’t even uttered in Georgia – whether in Europe or (as McCain would normally do a la his Obama Euro-trip shadowing, e.g. going to Berlin NH) whether in the U.S. in, say, Atlanta, Georgia. During a press statement made on the campaign trail in York PA, McCain said, “I speak for every American when I say … ‘Today we are all Georgians.’”

“My friends, we learned a great cost of the price of allowing aggression against free nations to go unchecked,” McCain added.

The last statement got me to wondering, in this world of nuanced politic-speak, what does Sen. McCain mean by free nations? How is that defined? Read More »

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McCain Campaign: "Don't Worry! Be Happy!"

By Vanessa Edwards from Houston, TX - Oct 11th, 2008 at 1:31 pm EDT

http://transpolitical.blogspot.com/2008/08/mccain-campaign-dont-worry-be-happy.html

reprint from TransPolitical blog 8/7/08

“Campaigns are tough, but I’m proud of the campaign we’ve run.” — Sen. John McCain on the Paris Hilton ad.

“In every life we have some trouble.When you worry you make it double.

Don't worry, be happy.” — Don’t Worry - Be Happy, Bobby McFerrin

Yes it’s quite a parallel universe Republicans and Democrats live in.

For Republicans, we’re taking things like the economy too seriously (and whining about it!). We should take a page from Sen. John McCain and just be humorous about this election season. Have a laugh! It’s not like anyone is hurting or things are really bad – these are great times! Look at our “robust” and “fundamentally strong” economy and the rising GDP!

Our energy problems can be solved simply by injecting Paris Hilton into the mix! You know, she’s got a good plan! Maybe we don’t need someone as serious as Sen. Barack Obama after all … or semi-serious as John McCain for that matter! Hilton’s short entry into presidential politics has had great benefit! The price of a barrel of oil has dropped 20%! No offshore drilling, no new energy plan … just humor and someone who’s concerned about America’s future – and having fun! Yay Paris! Read More »

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There Will Be Racism II: "White People, Vote Race -- Not Party!!"

By Vanessa Edwards from Houston, TX - Oct 11th, 2008 at 1:24 pm EDT

http://transpolitical.blogspot.com/2008/08/there-will-be-racism-ii-white-people.html reprint of TransPolitical blog 8/3/08

Exitus acta probat (the outcome justifies the deeds) — Niccolo Machiavelli

After processing what I heard the other day, the reality of this election season, this is what the message in the upcoming election boils down to:

For democrats, it’s Corporate America (big business) vs. the people.

For republicans, it’s blacks and muslims (terror) vs. white people.

In a nutshell, that’s how this all plays out. Democrats are going to point out the classism inherent in our current state in America and how it’s created the ills we’re seeing economically. Republicans are going to focus on terrorism and remind everyone of their fears of terror, whether it be from muslims or from blacks who they will try to conflate with them, whether muslim or not. For the vast majority of Americans, the economy is the urgent issue. For conservatives, it must be shifted to fear and terror. Read More »

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Race Card? You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet!

By Vanessa Edwards from Houston, TX - Oct 11th, 2008 at 1:16 pm EDT

http://transpolitical.blogspot.com/2008/08/race-card-you-aint-seen-nothin-yet.html

reprint 8/1/08 TransPolitical blog

“[Republicans] are desperate to win this election – there’s a lot at stake. And they’re going to say and do whatever they need to to get [re-]elected. … The Supreme Court’s at stake.”

Oh! “Buy a gun. And learn how to use it.”

This is a difficult blog to write, and I’m still mulling through how to process this information. One thing I’ve noticed over the years in politics: there are those who create chaos in order that they control and then make their own order out of that chaos.

The bottom line of what I learned today: Republicans will start a race war if they have to in order to win the presidency. It’s one of those “options” that’s not “off the table.” The logic? If they get blacks (and other minorities) out in an L.A. riot fashion, it’ll scare most all of the whites back over to the Republican side come election time. Read More »

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Grace In Victory For Obama, Sowing Sour Grapes For LesBiGay Leaders

By Vanessa Edwards from Houston, TX - Oct 11th, 2008 at 12:54 pm EDT

“Well I'll be damned, here comes your ghost again.But that's not unusualIt's just that the moon is full and you happened to callAnd here I sit, hand on the telephone,Hearing a voice I'd known a couple of light years agoHeading straight for a fall” — Diamonds And Rust, Joan Baez

“They were fast-moving opportunists encased in cynicism and proud of it.” — journalist, Jay Carr

For some reason, it seemed like a lot was going on while we were convened in Texas’ Democratic Convention last weekend. The economy tanked. Hillary Clinton suspended her campaign. And for trans supporters, Barack Obama held a conference call with the LGBT community. (No, I don’t get invitations to those things … I just volunteer on the campaign, organize, get others involved in volunteering and win a delegate slot to Denver instead. That’s plenty on the plate, I reckon.)

The Obama Campaign LGBT conference call focused on bringing in (of all people) HRC leaders, as in Human Rights Campaign or Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters – however you want to slice it. Indeed during the conference call, there was apparently some issue with the HRC (the group) focus and how “99% of the issues voiced” were gay or lesbian, while transgender was mostly never heard. For those in Trans America, we know we’re not Johnny-come-latelys and had long ago thrown our support to Obama (knowing Clinton’s gay/lesbian-only propensity).

Some of the trans participants in the conference call expressed surprise, hurt or “dismay” (as Donna Rose noted in her blog) at the focus of the subject matter due to HRC’s prominence in the call. For those who’ve been at this since the 90’s, especially old-line NTAC folk like me, having transgender being an equal part of something HRC-focused would’ve been the surprise. This opportunism and self-focus was classic HRC. If anything, how the conference call played out should serve to remind trans leaders that HRC is still HRC, and is still (as always) gay and lesbian. Period.

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The Ratchet Effect

By Vanessa Edwards from Houston, TX - Oct 11th, 2008 at 12:50 pm EDT

“Recession means that people's incomes, at the employer level, are going down, basically, relative to costs, people are getting laid off." —George W. Bush

Corporate America always wins. That’s the bottom line, and that’s their entire focus: the bottom line.

A couple days ago, the Senate voted for cloture on a windfall profits tax for the obscene, record levels of profit being raked in by Big Oil. Predictably, it fell to defeat on party lines: Democrats voting for it, Republicans voting against it (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,364846,00.html)

As the story began “Saved by Senate Republicans, big oil companies dodged an attempt Tuesday to slap them with a windfall profits tax and take away billions of dollars in tax breaks in response” to the record profits on record oil and gasoline prices. What was likely overlooked in the clutter was this little tidbit: Republicans voted against it saying that this would “raise the costs” of oil and gasoline.

Did ya get that? They are raking in the largest quarterly profits ever in American history, and any windfall tax would require them to raise prices in order to make up the loss. Even with eleven-figure quarterly profits (that’s three months … tens of billions).

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Why I'm A Delegate for Obama

By Vanessa Edwards from Houston, TX - Aug 18th, 2008 at 10:59 pm EDT

This is a break from my typical TransPolitical blogs (www.transpolitical.blogspot.com)

So I thought I’d just start with why I am a delegate.

“Economic Recovery,” recovering from the disaster of Bush/Cheney’s economy, began for me on Jan. 1, 2003. My job was outsourced. Afterwards I went 26 months without steady work. I went from earning $45,000 a year to under $4500 during that 26 month stretch for a family of two (my mother and me) and for six months with my sister as well (who was also not working with no other place to go).

Once upon a time I had excellent credit. While I’m a homeowner who’s never paid a late house payment, and managed to pay off my car note off on time as well, the rest of my credit is thoroughly trashed. Once had dreams, now my home is my only asset and is falling in disrepair in an era of tight budget, tight credit and falling home prices.

Even with that somewhat bright spot, the rest has been a struggle what with utilities doubling and gasoline shooting beyond three times what it was. To make ends meet I’ve been living without air conditioning or heat since 2003 (living in Houston makes the winters without heat doable, the long summers are tougher). Without medical insurance, I stopped the doctor visits after 2004. My prescriptions lapsed in 2005. Things like buying clothes, eating out and trips (save for Democratic conventions and lobbying) have completely stopped.

Rather than feeling bad, though, I feel I’m part of a larger trend. To borrow from the fashion industry phrase: Poor is the new “black.”

What compounds my personal situation is the fact that I’m also transgender. Being a trans delegate makes me a rare breed – even amongst GLBT delegates as a whole. However, I’m one of six delegates and two committee members this year. Most particularly, I’m giving voice to the unemployed, under-employed and economically marginalized in our community.

No, I’m not unemployed. At the moment, I work as a temp for one of the big five oil companies training my counterparts in India to assume the jobs I and my other team members do currently. Yes, we work in accounts receivable and accounts payable – or as George W. Bush puts it, “jobs that Americans won’t do.” (Funny thing is I’ve been doing all facets of accounting for over twenty years now.)

Additionally, I’m more fortunate than most. I’m now making about 75% of what I made at the beginning of this millennium, but I’m working fairly steadily, at least for the next two months. While I’m lucky to not be in the position of some of my friends: an endless spiral of joblessness and poverty at the moment, the memory of that period is as fresh as yesterday. Like many of my other friends, I know well the tenuous nature of jobs in the 21st century. We’re still in the neo-con conceived Economic Recovery, jobs grow ever-tighter by the day and costs keep rising to match.

While it seems I’m only concerned with transgenders, it only speaks to what I directly represent.

My community and I realize it’s not just us getting crushed under the wheels of maximized profit – everyone is. The haves have become the have mores. Income disparities increase remarkably. Our social fabric continues to split and diverge. These days collusive price fixing (or gouging), rising costs everywhere and flatlined wages and offshoring jobs are the norm.

As soon as you think it’s truly bad, you realize how much worse it is for others. Still recall vividly my friends fleeing all the folks who were pulled out after Hurricane Katrina. As bad as times were for us, it was exponentially worse for New Orleans. Even my friends who came to Houston ended up fleeing a month later when Hurricane Rita hit our area and points east.

George W. Bush talked about accountability and bringing respect back to the country when he first ran for president in 2000. There has been no accountability – no one is ever responsible in this government. And respect is rapidly vanishing around the world. Indeed our own self-respect is beginning to tremor. When you see even Republicans trashing their own party’s elected president, and doing everything to avoid being affixed to their party’s image, you know the self-respect is failing.

For me, hope is also starting to disappear. There’s only the faintest of glimmers at the moment, and I can only have faith that I’m placing my trust in something that won’t help crush hope completely. Time will tell. But in the face of what we’re seeing from the other major party’s candidate, and to what lows their presidential nominee will go in forsaking his own values for winning an election, I can only cleave to that hope.

Looking down the road from where I stand, there’s a foreboding darkness. I only hope we make it through.

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