4/18/09

Queer Subversion | An Emotional Outburst

I have been following Jackson on Twitter and after reading this on his blog wanted to share

An Emotional Outburst

This is hopefully my last "emotional outburst" for the day. see, I've been paying attention the the Andrade Murder Trial (for the murder of Angie Zapata, an 18-year-old transgender woman who was bludgeoned to death with a fire extinguisher last July) and also sort of keeping track on Twitter, more for my own records but of course a couple people saw fit to follow me so I'll keep track for them too. I'm not shocked, but I am appalled, and I'll admit, I had my own emotional outbursts today. The most common response I've gotten from people who ask about these sort of outbursts is along the lines of "bummer," "oh, that's too bad," and other slightly apathetic ways of putting it, not only outside of the queer community, but within it.

So for this "emotional outburst..." Angie, although I have never met her, has a lot in common with me. We both were assigned the opposite gender to the one we currently claim, although we have gone different directions in that journey. Unlike me, however, Angie was brutally murdered. Now, it's not that I assume I will be brutally murdered. It's that I identify with her. I identify with having people constantly mistake you for being something or somebody you are not, being faced with the decisions of whether or not to tell them, having to deal with the consequences of whether or not you choose to do so. Those consequences should never include murder. Never. What happenede was not excusable. Not because Andrade felt deceived, cheated, or whatever the fuck else.

I watched the story on CNN.com, watched Angie's mother and sisters and some of her best friends come up on the stand and go through questioning. The prosecution, "The People," would refer to Angie in an appropriate way, I feel. Her name is Angela, she is a she, she is their sister/daughter, etc. Then the defense attorney would come up and my blood would boil beneath my skin.

Annette Kundelius is her name... Andrade's attorney... she stands there, stone-faced, asking the loved ones of Angie Zapata about "his" lifestyle, never once deterring from her theme of referring to Angie as "Justin," using male pronouns, and otherwise dealing major blows and insults to not only Angie and her family, but the entire transgender world. I know this is her tactic... she is emphasizing Angie's supposed "maleness" to get the jury to view her as such, as a deceiver who tricked Andrade into thinking she was a "real woman." Kundelius calls this a "crime about a deception." That Andrade was provoked by Angie's smiling at him.I really want to be angry at her, but I am trying not to. And I'll admit, I am. Furious. Blood-boilingly furious. Somebody standing there, in court, on television, completely shattering the identity of a woman who was brutally murdered in order to convince a jury that she deserved it. But a large part of me tells me I shouldn't be angry at Kundelius. After all, she's an attorney. Does she really believe this? Is she just trying to be a good lawyer, to Hell with ethics? If she isn't as cold or heartless as this case makes her appear, I strongly wonder how she falls asleep at night... do thoughts of Angie Zapata run through her head? Does she think of the pictures of her, covered in a blanket with her face smashed in? I try not to be a vengeful person, but I must admit, a part of me hopes she does. Of course, one thing is for certain... this rage that Kundelius has set aflame within my very soul has not once made me feel like taking a fire extinguisher and slamming it into her face. Not even once. I have been having these "emotional outbursts," but they have yet to escalate to "crimes of passion and deception," such as the deceptive notion that because we are transgender people, we deserve to be murdered.

I felt for Angie's family. Her sister, Stephanie, would correct the defense when the words "Justin," "he," and "brother" were used, adamantly defending Angie's right to be Angie, her sister. But of course, the defense would remain firm in their mis-labeling and mis-gendering of Angie, attempting to drive the jury to their bigoted goal of representing Angie as having been a man posing as a woman rather than the reality, that she was a transgender woman who should be presented as such.Before I close my little rant, I feel I need to address one more thing though. See, throughout this case and many others, I've seen a number of people try and raise the case that Zapata's murder was somehow a "lesson" to the rest of us in the transgender or transsexual communities... that we should not misrepresent ourselves in some youthful naivety, or it could lead to us lying dead in our rooms... while I do not discount that this is good advice, and feel it is best to be open to one's partners, this is still victim blaming. There are any number of things one could learn about a partner after the relationship has taken off, but nobody is saying it's okay to murder them for it. If it turns out my partner has breast implants, is it okay for me to stab her for being deceptive? No. So why is this okay? Why is it acceptable? Any normal, functional human being with a conscience should be able to see that this is murder without dragging in a bunch of victim's issues into it. No, she didn't deserve it. No, she wasn't being deceptive. No, Andrade was not provoked by an irresistable rage.I only hope the jury can see that, too.--Jackson


Website built by Jackson - 2008-2009 If I wrote or drew it, you are free to use it in any publication or website which promotes the causes of liberation.

LGBT In Iraq is a Death Sentence | LGBT في العراق حكم الاعدام

العربية الانجليزية مترجم جوجل في الجانب الأيمن
كيلي وBusey
planetransgender

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender people in Iraq are being routinely hunted and murdered. Those LGBT people who have gone under ground can not contact their relatives out of fear that their own family will kill them.

The BBC is verifying this horrifying reality. Transgender people who prior to the American occupation were living authentically have all been murdered. The remaining queer community living in terror are now being stopped by local militia's and humiliated, beaten, dismembered and burned to death.

How many gay men have ever put on a piece of women's clothing? In Iraq this would be your fate.

BBC NEWS|Middle East|Iraqi gays face 'lives of hell'

Gays killed in Baghdad as clerics urge clampdown

Americans Killing Gay people in IRAQ وقف إعدام العراقيين مثلي الجنس

4/17/09

Defense: Colo. slaying because of deception

Found on 365Gay is AP article "Defense: Colo. slaying because of deception"

This article gives us a description of the transpanic tactic being deployed by Andrade's Defense team as they try to lessen the burden of guilt.

On 365Gay,

"Andrade’s attorney, Bradley Martin, said the case is about Zapata’s deception and his client’s reaction to that deception."

“This girl that he had just spent the last day with, was in fact a man, and Allen snapped,” Martin declared in opening statements."

"Prosecutor Brandi Nieto told jurors that Andrade and Zapata communicated nearly 700 times via text message, cell phone and computer between July 12 and July 16 as Zapata was apparently searching for a roommate. She said Andrade did not make a snap decision but rather decided to kill Zapata after the pair spent hours in Zapata’s tiny one-bedroom apartment."

"Andrade could have walked away once he learned Zapata was biologically male, Nieto said."

Please read on but be forewarned, accounts of lieing, deception and lowdown dirt crawling cowards spiting up hateful misconceptions are vividly described which has been know to precipitate crying and/or rage.

365Gay Defense: Colo. slaying because of deception

Call for an independent investigation into torture : Amnesty International USA



In a pivotal moment in our call for accountability, yesterday the Obama administration finally released the four infamous memos crafted to provide legal cover for the U.S. torture program.You and I know there is no legal form of torture. But Obama wants us to believe that "this is a time for reflection, not retribution."We've done plenty of reflecting, and the information in the memos only confirms what we've known all along. Torture is illegal under both domestic and international law and no set of legal memos can change that.Within hours of their release, the memos fueled new speculation that there is just too much out there now for Congress to ignore calls for accountability.

Incredibly, our lobby week is wrapping up today, giving us an amazing opportunity to push Congress on accountability, when they're most receptive to our calls, both in person and online. Send a letter now to Congress calling for a full and independent investigation.Before today, major editorial boards from the Boston Globe, Salt Lake City Tribune, and Philadelphia Inquirer threw their hat into the ring, calling for accountability.While we may have convinced editorial boards, it's Congress that has the power to setup independent investigations. This is the last day of our lobby week. While Amnesty members finish up their meetings, let's hit Congress from both on and offline.Send an email to your elected officials and tell them that you want to know the truth about torture. Once members of Congress realize they can't turn down the buzz about torture in their own districts, they'll have to confront the issue in Washington.The Obama administration has truly taken some important steps to correct past mistakes. Just a week ago, the CIA announced that it is no longer operating any of the secret overseas prisons used to detain terror suspects. While correcting some of these bigger problems certainly puts us on the right path, it doesn't tell us how we veered so far off in the wrong direction.By this time, anyone who isn't the slightest bit curious about how we became a nation that tortures needs a wake-up call. And we're just the group to give it to them!Thanks for standing with us,


Njambi Good
Director,
Counter Terror with Justice Campaign

American Violet Showtimes and Trailer



Too often, police drug raids in low-income communities across the county sweep up innocent people. Once in the system, it can become nearly impossible for these folks to prove their innocence. They lose their freedom; their families are broken; and the true story is rarely told.

American Violet is a new award-winning film opening in your area today that can help shine a light on the problem. By going to see the movie, you can help it get more exposure--it will run longer in theaters if it does well at first.

You can view the trailer and find your local theater, here

If you're able to see the film, please let us know what you thought by emailing us at violet@colorofchange.org.

American Violet tells the amazing story of a young, single mother swept up in an unjust, out-of-control drug raid that targets the Black community in a small town in Texas. The film is based on true events and it examines how our country's drug laws and enforcement practices target African-Americans, and how the justice system uses threats and intimidation to steer people towards guilty pleas, regardless of their innocence or the evidence against them.

Click here to find showtimes and buy tickets

The film is inspired by the real life story of Regina Kelly, an African-American, single mother of four girls who was arrested in 2000 in a military-style drug raid. The raid resulted in the arrest of nearly 15% of the town's young Black male population for felony cocaine distribution. Kelly was innocent. Her name, along with the names of many others arrested (nearly all African-American), were given to police by a single, highly unreliable informant with personal reasons to antagonize her. Despite Kelly's innocence, she was urged to plead guilty by her family and even her public defender so that she could return to her children and receive a minimal sentence. A felony conviction, however, would have resulted in the loss of her right to vote and the public assistance programs on which her family depended, not to mention the tainting of her personal reputation and her ability to obtain employment. She chose to maintain her plea of not guilty. American Violet tells the story of her fight for justice.

Please consider supporting this film, and please forward this email to friends and family to spread the word!

Thanks and Peace,

-- James, Gabriel, Clarissa, William, Dani, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
April 17th, 2009

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The Bombshell Dropped In Prosecutor's Opening Statement At The Angie Zapata Hate Crime Murder Trial

by: Autumn Sandeen
Fri Apr 17, 2009 at 02:06:49 AM EDT Cross posted with full permission from Pam's House Blend. Thank you Autumn.

Today, 8:00AM to 5:00PM-ish MDT, I was in the Weld County, Colorado courtroom where the Angie Zapata Murder. The prosecution dropped a bombshell in the afternoon's opening statements: The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, And Transgender Community Center Of Colorado -- in an understated way -- states the courtroom revelation:
In opening statements, the prosecution said they will present evidence that shows that Andrade knew that Angie was transgender long before he killed her.
Prosecuting attorneys said in the days leading up to the two meeting in person, they had exchanged nearly 700 communications.
After meeting, the two went to a traffic court hearing in Greeley in which Angie was identified in court by her previous male name and by male pronouns.
The defense team contends Andrade did not learn of Angie's transgender status until moments before he killed her.
What came out in court, per Deputy District Attorney Brandi Lynn Nieto, was this traffic court trip took place 36-hours before Allen Ray Andrade admittedly killed her.
As the prosecution is describing the timeline, a trans panic or gay panic strategy would, with the evidence that the prosecution has stated in court it will present, be impossible to support. And, that's because a trans panic/gay panic defense is a crime of passion strategy: If, as suggested, Allen Ray Andrade knew Angie was transgender 36-hours before he killed her, then this wasn't a crime of passion.
And, since the defense is using a classic gay panic/trans panic/blame-the-victim strategy -- the defense using the hated language of "deceptive" to describe Angie in their opening statement, and using the language of "supposedly female" to describe Angie in questions posed to witnesses in cross-examination later in the day -- and if the prosecution uses can adequately support their opening statement assertions in their presentation to the jurors, then this alleged 36-hour awareness of her transgender status would destroy the veracity of the defense assertions.
This really is a bombshell dropped by the prosecution team!
Autumn Sandeen :: The Bombshell Dropped In Prosecutor's Opening Statement At The Angie Zapata Hate Crime Murder Trial