Suffering as Social Capital

I see a dangerous idea circulating: the idea of suffering as social capital.

I see it in the way many will regard suffering to be the determining factor for transness: more suffering/dysphoria = more trans; the most true form of transness being death itself. (Glares at truscum.)

I see it in activist circles too, the idea that the more you suffer for The Cause, the more radical you are. Isn't the perk of socialism that it does not demand equal labor from all people? We seek liberation. Why would we replicate the destructive approach to get there that capitalism offers? Why would we demand those with different abilities to perform the same productivity or else deem they be accorded less liberation?

Sometimes it feels like everything is violence and hate and it becomes overwhelming. Then a friend talks about how they made pudding, and I can be a little more okay. I need that connection with others. I need solidarity. People on Facebook are what keeps me going, are part of what fuels the revolution. If there's no room for people who can post things on Facebook and make pudding, stop the bus and let me off, I will take no part of this fake socialism.

Trans Suicide Rates

For Transgender Day of Remembrance, let us remember that violence comes in more forms than direct physical attacks:

"A staggering 41% of respondents reported attempting suicide compared to 1.6% of the general population, with rates rising for those who lost a job due to bias (55%), were harassed/bullied in school (51%), had low household income, or were the victim of physical assault (61%) or sexual assault (64%)." http://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/reports/reports/ntds_summary.pdf


"Nearly half (49%) of black respondents reported having attempted suicide." http://www.transequality.org/PDFs/BlackTransFactsheetFINAL_090811.pdf

"[Non-binary/genderqueer people] are slightly more likely to have attempted suicide at some point in their life (43 percent) than [binary transgender people] (40 percent). Both of these figures strike a stark contrast against the 1.6 percent rate of suicide attempts over the lifespan for the general U.S. population" http://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/release_materials/agendernotlistedhere.pdf

So, for TDoR, I want to remind you that even if you feel like you don't matter to anyone in the world, you matter to us. Please remember that self-care is not selfish, that sometimes reaching out for help makes you the strongest person in the world. It may not "get better", but every time a trans person lives another day, you have the satisfaction of knowing you've pissed off a fundamentalist simply for existing. 

My TDoR will be intersectional or it will be BULLSHIT.

Sitting here shedding white tears because I haven't even finished my coffee yet and already been hit with 4 powerful reminders of how racism shits all over everything, and how fond society is to look away instead of clean our mess up.

NPR ran a couple good stories this morning: one on the lashback against the choice to cast a light-skinned Hollywood-approved Nina Simone, and another on the rising acceptance of black people as valid nerds. I did a little fist-pump (while trying not to swerve off the road) because I was glad to hear the momentum going in the right direction. Just a few minutes later, NPR addressed the pro-pot movement as it pertains to Colorado, and of course they didn't mention how white-washed that movement is nor how racist anti-marijuana law enforcement is, nobody ever does.

Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) - I'm sure you've heard of it. Pay attention to how the remembered are portrayed. See how many times you see happy white faces (or worse: white man faces) as the focus of all the attention. Make no mistake: this is about race. Trans women are killed because of their race and often their association with sex work. "Whore! Pervert! No need for an investigation" and the case is closed.

My TDoR will be intersectional or it will be BULLSHIT.