Yes, That Would Make You Sellouts

I've had a little pushback (as usual) about one of my posts.

I penned my thoughts (and Kat was reading my mind long distance)  concerning the instant trans org Gender Rights Maryland and the deja vu similaritities to 2003.   This situation reminded me of when I was part of a multicultural NTAC and all white NCTE suddenly appeared complete with a Washington DC office, rumors of funding and a Quisling promising that cooperating with HRC would yield faster trans civil rights advances instead of NTAC's carrot and stick approach with the Evil Equal Sign Organization.

Been more like acquiescence than cooperation over the last decade...but that's a story for another time.

The GRMD post was shared on a friends Facebook thread, and was followed by this posted comment:

That's so sad, this is one reason we can't get anything passed in Maryland.. Division of people in our minority group.. Those girls are not "sell-outs".. I have testified beside them both in MD house and senate hearings, the sad part is it is usually the same few people who do so every year.... One of the reasons we fail is that we do try to get as much protection as possible, with so little support.

My response to the person:

you tried to pass an unjust bill that didn't have public accommodations language over the objections of much of the Maryland trans community, tried to squelch the voices of people opposed to that, and were on the boards of or working with the Gay Inc org that cut the backroom deal in the first place

So yes, that would make you sell outs

Sellout in this vein is a person or person in a marginalized community who compromises their character, convictions and ideals and abandons a cause to advance the civil rights of that marginalized community for personal advancement, greed or popularity at the expense of other members of that marginalized group.

Now that you have the context in the way I'm using the world sellout, let's continue this post.

The reasons you failed in Maryland was you tried to cut a backroom deal that didn't have the support of the trans community of the Free State.   You only sought the input of well to do white transpeople.  You tried to use Sandy Rawls as a token to imply you had African American trans support for the bill and when she learned HB 235 didn't do what it's backers claimed it would and withdrew support for it you and your EQMD friends marginalized her.  You also tried to ignore, belittle, drown out, erase, attack, or silence anyone who had a dissenting opinion about your unjust bill.    

So yes, engaging in those behaviors in order to pass a bad bill that will not benefit the community at large while trying to cozy up to Gay Inc orgs like Equality Maryland for your personal gain make you sellouts.

Hope when you look in the mirror in the morning you can live with that.

Deja Vu All Over Again

This sounds so 2003.

Gay, Inc organization caught by trans community engaged in back room dealing concerning legislation purported to help trans community.  

Predominately white privileged trans community sellouts working with Gay, Inc org try to defuse anger in trans community about deception and spin resulting piss poor legislation as 'best deal trans community can get'

Grassroots trans people led by POC trans activists form multicultural organization and working partnership that with national help successfully thwarts unjust bill Gay, Inc organization and assembled quislings wanted to ram through to passage.     

In the aftermath, Gay Inc organization undergoes leadership shakeup and doesn't want to work with already existing multicultural grassroots trans rights organization.    New instant trans rights organization forms with same predominately white privileged transpeople with ties to Gay, Inc org and rumored large financial contributions to facilitate startup.

If that scenario sounds familiar to you long time trans peeps, that's because it is the old NTAC-NCTE one from the early 2K's.


History repeated itself as the newly formed group Gender Rights Maryland announced their formation chock full of the cast of loud and wrong vanilla flavored privileged characters from the losing side of the HB 235 battle.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the newly formed group Gender Rights Maryland announced that former eye surgeon and nationally recognized transgender rights advocate Dana Beyer will serve as the group’s executive director.

Sharon Brackett, president and CEO of a Maryland-based systems engineering company, will serve as chair of the group’s board, a statement released by the group said.

Three other founding board members include Donna Cartwright, co-president of Pride AT Work, an LGBT group within the AFL-CIO; Caroline Temmermand, division chief for Parks and National Resources for Arlington County, Va.; and Alex Hickcox, former board member of Equality Maryland.

"The purpose of Gender Rights Maryland is to promote civil rights, education, tolerance, equality and acceptance on the basis of sex and gender identity/expression in the State of Maryland,” the group said in its statement. “Gender Rights Maryland’s initial legislative goal is to see the passage of a comprehensive gender identity anti-discrimination bill by the end of the 2012 legislative session.”

Beyer told the Blade that the new group plans to work closely with Equality Maryland, which led efforts to push for the gender identity bill this year and in past years.

Yeah right,  tell us something we, the folks at TransMaryland and Trans United didn't know.already.    

Every age has circumstances where it is necessary for people of untested character to pick up the torch that illuminates human dignity. Such a time is upon us and the greatness of these people will be revealed to the world - and to themselves. - Caroline Temmersand

Oh, your character at GRMD has been tested, alright.   You and your vanilla privilege wielding friends were openly working to sell out other transpeople in Maryland for your own comfort and security by pimping a flawed trans rights bill with stripped out public accommodations language in it.


Excuse me if I'm extremely skeptical of GRMD's character, much less your ability to accomplish what you are setting out to do in 2012.   I have your past history and NCTE's track record of failure to go on.

Brown Faces Hate Crime Charges In McBeatdown

18 year old Teonna Monae Brown has been charged in the videotaped McBeatdown of 22 year old Chrissy Polis that went viral after it was posted on the Web last month.

According to WBAL-TV the office of the Baltimore County State's Attorney said Brown was indicted by a grand jury today on charges that included hate crime and first and second degree assault.

The 14 year old female juvenile accompanying Brown who participated in the attack is also facing the same charges, according to the office.

22 year old Polis was attacked inside a Rosedale, MD McDonald's restaurant on April 18.   The video of that assault was recorded by a now terminated McDonald's employee, posted online later that week and quickly went viral.

The video garnered thousands of page views on various websites and sparked outrage in the trans community..  The attack also happened just weeks after HB 235, a controversial trans rights bill that was stripped of public accommodations language died in the Maryland Senate.

Brown and the juvenile, who are currently being detained, were also charged with second-degree assault charges regarding Vicki Thoms, who tried to intervene during the attack, and Darrick Jones.


Stay tuned, this case is going to be followed by a lot of people inside and outside the trans community.