On not being a doomer, having solidarity, working together and motivating me out of the slump I’ve been in lately:
pg. 143

The people who make a difference in history are those who fight for freedom – not because they’re guaranteed to succeed – but because it’s the right thing to do.

pg. 141

The truth is, you and I are the stuff that great leaders are made of. We don’t have to wait for a distinguished white man on a horse or a politician wealthy enough to win office in a multimillion dollar campaign to usher in justice and equality. The ranks of rebellions and revolutions that have shaped human history have been made up of people like you and me. That history lesson has been purposefully kept from us.

pg. 136

To safeguard what we’ve won and to move forward requires securing, solidifying, and making more permanent alliances with other who are hurt by the same system. Consciousness plays an important role in cementing this coalition. Shared consciousness becomes a material force because what you’re fighting for and what you are determined to win together has a big impact on how your foes react to you.

pg. 121

The essential glue of teamwork is recognition of the value each individual brings to the group.

(pg. 146)

I’ve never wanted to change myself to conform to bigots. My goal is to change the society so that there isn’t oppression. I’ve seen the difference the progressive movement can make in people’s lives and how working collectively forges what might appear to be unlikely alliances. The struggle against racism, sexism, and queer-phobia is the best place to be. Human potential is vast and to tap into it we have to struggle. -Deirdre Sinnott

You heard it here, approved by Leslie. We can’t have change without struggle sessions. 😩

Don’t have a lot of quotes this week but holy shit i loved this book.

When i talk about unity, i don’t mean reducing all our particular identities or struggles to one. I mean putting our collective strength and energy behind the defense of ALL our identities and ALL our demands.

^^^ FUCK yes, this is it. Right here.

The problem for trans people isn’t just backward attitudes, it’s the system. It’s an economic system that is profit-driven – valuing only the bottom line - so people’s needs always come last. This Robin-Hood-in-reverse system robs the poor to enrich a tiny fraction of the population. Yet that small wealthy class has learned in a highly refined way that the success to maintaining its rule is to split up the majority, make us point our fingers at one another, focus our anger at each other.

This book is fucking based and goes off y’all. It’s free. Please read it. It’s short and goes off a lot. Trans comrades have always been here for us all, fighting against oppression and for equal rights.

What are your feelings about the book overall?

These last few sections are very nice. Describing how movements weren’t monoliths but made up of lots of smaller groups but worked together for a goal that would help everybody.

A good book, easy to read, accessible to me with what I understand of trans/queer issues. The thesis of the book was about how all of the individual groups in the LGBTQ+ community, ultimately are fighting for the same outcomes and should work together to succeed.

There was subtext about how anybody can help and should help, even if they aren’t a superhero there is something that they can do no matter how small. Even people who don’t identify with any particular group being oppressed should support their liberation because ultimately everybody will benefit.

How did you react to Leslie spitting mad anti-capitalist facts in chapter 8

I think the chapochatters would probably like chapter 8. I know it kinda got me fired up.

Was anything eye opening to you?

Some of the “portrait” sections had little bits and pieces of things here and there that reminded me that I might have generalized or taken some descriptions for granted. I mentioned in one of the earlier megathreads, the two spirit term I heard years ago to describe trans gender individuals from indigenous peoples. I just assumed that it was an okay term that was applicable across all of the indigenous groups, didn’t know there were some uses of the term “two spirit” that referred to parentage. Then there were the bits of history reframed in other sections, like Joan of Arc might have been trans.

Coming from a society that does a great job of forgetting what happened yesterday, being reminded how much history is important was nice. How damaging it is for a subculture or group within a larger culture/group to have their entire past erased. It hurts those who have lost their history and it makes everybody else have to start over again in learning about those groups.

Theory that never touches reality is somewhere between garbage and a waste of effort when it comes to changing society. I can appreciate that. I don’t think I highlighted that section in the later chapters but I did read over those paragraphs a few times.

QUOTES:

pg 130, William/Peaches

People that need help don’t care if you are a Drag Queen, Trans, Bi, Lesbian, or what. If you can help them, you get respect, teach them, you get respect, fight for them, you get respect.

Maybe a universal sentiment that I’ve heard expressed again and again for many years. Seeing the posts/tweets from liberals about the 2020 presidential race in the USA… I just don’t know how many times they can be told, “If you don’t offer people something, why would they support you over somebody who does even if what is being offered is garbage?” Kinda goes against the elimination rhetoric I’ve been hearing/reading from liberals and some lefty types, since Bush 2 was reelected.

pg 132-133, a Leslie Feinberg section

What are the goals of the trans movement?

It depends on who you ask… What definition of liberation At what points will their political paths diverge.

I was expecting some examples in the following paragraphs but I don’t think there were any. Would have liked to read more of, “This was a conflict between two factions withing a group, here’s how it played out, here’s why each group thought there was a conflict, etc.” Probably not necessary for the purpose of this book, but sitting on the outside of all of these spaces being told that there were potential or perceived conflicts between groups whose ultimate projects would benefit each other but not going into what those were leaves disappointing my curiosity.

pg 135

gender-phobia

That’s a term I haven’t heard before, going to have to look that up.

pg 140

The Democratic Party cannot lead us forward…

:agony-4horsemen: :ussr-cry: What a time to read this line in a book that’s 20 years old, talking about things that have been going on for decades.

pg 143, more anti Doomerism

We remember their names… because they fought back, even when the economic and social system that oppressed them seemed invincible… In doing so, they became catalysts to the movement…

I see that frequently in the comments of chapochat posts. Can’t tell if its ironic doomerism, backstabbing a comrade, or what? I have to try very hard to not reply with a, “if they’re willing to do the work, help or get out of their way” every single time I come across it.

To our TransComrade 69,

Thanks for this. I appreciate you offering up your book and posting the mega threads, and cleaning up the comments from that one spammy commenter last week. I’m not sure what you may have expected from this project, from our comments, but I hope that those of us who participated made it worth while.

:cat-vibing: