Originally posted to facebook on the day of Leslie Feinberg's death.
Dearest Leslie Feinberg,
There a thousand things I want to say to you. Where do you start when someone who has saved your life passes on?
I
mean this in multiple ways. Maybe in the way that many people often
tell authors that they have saved their lives... Reading Stone Butch
Blues saved my life, yes. It validated me, my trauma, my responses to
trauma, my gender, my sexuality, and my struggle with those things. It
also gave me hope that no matter how bad it was, there can still be good
found in this life.
But, it is so much more than that...
When
I say you have saved my life, I mean you really have saved my life.
Literally. You've made this world safer for me. Your work, your
activism, your writing, your existence, your perseverance, and you
merely leaving the house each day has made this world safer for me.
Because of you, and others like you, trans gender folks and folks of
many other oppressed groups from my generation are more likely to get
the medical care we need, are more likely to walk the streets safely,
are more likely to have our basic needs met, and are more likely to be
seen as human. Because of your work and that of those like you, I have
doctors who are tender and sweet and care about me as a trans person, a
masculine female, a working class person, a disabled person, and an all
around weirdo. Because of your work I feel a little safer using public
restrooms even with the risk of harassment or violence. Because of you, I
can work and go to school and go grocery shopping and go to
restaurants. Because of you, I feel like I can risk all of that. Because
of you, I know how important it is for me to be visible each day. That
that alone is an act of courage.
Because of you, I value what and who
I am as something part of a larger struggle. Because of you, I know I
am not alone in seeing these intersections. Because of you I feel more
confident not being a "single-issue" activist. Because of you, I keep
speaking out and continue to avoid hiding.
Because of you, I am not only surviving this world, I am living it in, with faith that it will continue to grow.
I
began writing this love letter months ago. I could feel you approaching
your time to leave us behind and I was afraid. What would we do without
you? I knew that you were struggling with illness every day. While I am
devastated by your passing, I am happy to hear that your struggle is
over. And I know that even though you are gone, you are always here, in
your books, your speeches, and in the changes for the better that you
have left behind. We will continue the struggle with you in our minds.
Thank you. Because better words don't exist yet.
Love, always,
Corvus
In loving memory of Leslie Feinberg
September 1, 1949 – November 15, 2014
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Dear White People
Originally posted on a private website
Hi, white people, I’m white, too. You may be feeling nervous already, I’ve called upon you by race. If you’re feeling anxious, hang in there. This is important for your well being and that of everyone around you.
About a week ago in Ferguson, MO, Mike Brown was shot by police. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/09/ferguson-teen-police-shooting_n_5665305.html)
Mike Brown was someone’s son. A human being. He was an 18 year old black male youth. Walking down the street. And now he is gone forever.
Police in Ferguson unleashed violence at protests and vigils leading to days of rioting. People in Ferguson and surrounding areas are defending their homes, their town, their lives. Sometimes with violence (https://twitter.com/zellieimani/status/498700754577010689), sometimes by holding space passively, sometimes by speaking out, sometimes by remaining silent.
Frankly, I believe that when police kill kids and youth and anyone for being black and outdoors, they should fear that the city will burn.
I am asking you, white people, to imagine a world where your brothers, fathers, sons, cousins, friends, lovers, and family are at risk of murder by the state for existing within a certain race. Where your schools, pay checks, access to medical care, and daily safety are all inadequate, degenerating, or nonexistent due to your race.
I am asking you not to make excuses or use respectability politics as the media (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/14/media-black-victims_n_5673291.html) and police (http://www.blackgirldangerous.org/2014/08/things-stop-distracted-black-person-gets-murdered-police/) have attempted to. It does not matter if this kid stole cigars (even though the officer who murdered him admits he did not stop Brown on the street for suspicion of robbery (http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/15/us/missouri-teen-shooting/index.html)). I don’t care if he stole cigars every day of his 18 years of life. It does not matter how he walked, talked, what time of day he was out, what he wore, or who he associated with. There is no reason why police should shoot unarmed black youth with their hands in the air. And they do (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/13/lapd-suggests-mentally-il_0_n_5675782.html). Every day.
I am asking you to realize that this is part of a larger system. A system you are part of. So, speak out against police violence and brutality, but don’t stop there. Please call your white friends and coworkers out when they say racist shit. Use your white privilege (http://occupywallstreet.net/story/explaining-white-privilege-broke-white-person) to make space for people of color. Challenge your own internalized racism. We all have it. Acknowledge people of color, talk to them, listen to them, say fucking hello. Shake hands. Challenge the racist assumptions you are taught to make about black men or black women or black trans people or any people of color. Unlearn that shit. Because we’re part of this. It is OUR responsibility to dismantle this. To make space for people of color. To rip this racist system to shreds.
So, the next time you hear an excuse for why it was ok for a white cop to shoot another black kid or black man or to beat another pregnant woman of color or to murder another trans woman of color, ask yourself what reasoning would be good enough if it was your family, your partner, your community, or you.
Unlearning racism and white supremacy is liberating for everyone, including white people. Make the world better for you and everyone else. Racism affects you, white people. And you can help stop it.
Want to read more about racism and white supremacy and how to unlearn it? Here is a good place to start: http://wwhatsup.wordpress.com/study-group-readings.
Hi, white people, I’m white, too. You may be feeling nervous already, I’ve called upon you by race. If you’re feeling anxious, hang in there. This is important for your well being and that of everyone around you.
About a week ago in Ferguson, MO, Mike Brown was shot by police. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/09/ferguson-teen-police-shooting_n_5665305.html)
Mike Brown was someone’s son. A human being. He was an 18 year old black male youth. Walking down the street. And now he is gone forever.
Police in Ferguson unleashed violence at protests and vigils leading to days of rioting. People in Ferguson and surrounding areas are defending their homes, their town, their lives. Sometimes with violence (https://twitter.com/zellieimani/status/498700754577010689), sometimes by holding space passively, sometimes by speaking out, sometimes by remaining silent.
Frankly, I believe that when police kill kids and youth and anyone for being black and outdoors, they should fear that the city will burn.
I am asking you, white people, to imagine a world where your brothers, fathers, sons, cousins, friends, lovers, and family are at risk of murder by the state for existing within a certain race. Where your schools, pay checks, access to medical care, and daily safety are all inadequate, degenerating, or nonexistent due to your race.
I am asking you not to make excuses or use respectability politics as the media (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/14/media-black-victims_n_5673291.html) and police (http://www.blackgirldangerous.org/2014/08/things-stop-distracted-black-person-gets-murdered-police/) have attempted to. It does not matter if this kid stole cigars (even though the officer who murdered him admits he did not stop Brown on the street for suspicion of robbery (http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/15/us/missouri-teen-shooting/index.html)). I don’t care if he stole cigars every day of his 18 years of life. It does not matter how he walked, talked, what time of day he was out, what he wore, or who he associated with. There is no reason why police should shoot unarmed black youth with their hands in the air. And they do (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/13/lapd-suggests-mentally-il_0_n_5675782.html). Every day.
I am asking you to realize that this is part of a larger system. A system you are part of. So, speak out against police violence and brutality, but don’t stop there. Please call your white friends and coworkers out when they say racist shit. Use your white privilege (http://occupywallstreet.net/story/explaining-white-privilege-broke-white-person) to make space for people of color. Challenge your own internalized racism. We all have it. Acknowledge people of color, talk to them, listen to them, say fucking hello. Shake hands. Challenge the racist assumptions you are taught to make about black men or black women or black trans people or any people of color. Unlearn that shit. Because we’re part of this. It is OUR responsibility to dismantle this. To make space for people of color. To rip this racist system to shreds.
So, the next time you hear an excuse for why it was ok for a white cop to shoot another black kid or black man or to beat another pregnant woman of color or to murder another trans woman of color, ask yourself what reasoning would be good enough if it was your family, your partner, your community, or you.
Unlearning racism and white supremacy is liberating for everyone, including white people. Make the world better for you and everyone else. Racism affects you, white people. And you can help stop it.
Want to read more about racism and white supremacy and how to unlearn it? Here is a good place to start: http://wwhatsup.wordpress.com/study-group-readings.