Tag Archives: classism

San Francisco Is Failing Its Residents

[Image: Handmade signs bear the names of some of the over 240 San Franciscans who died on the streets in 2018.]

In today’s post on Medium, “San Francisco Is Failing Its Residents“, I share thoughts on homelesssness in San Francisco in the wake of last week’s Solstice processional in memory of those who died on the streets.

Nation of immigrants

[Image: Protesters march behind a banner reading “Stop All Deportations!”]

Today’s post on Medium, “Nation of immigrants“, is about last week’s protest of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in San Francisco. This story is unlocked, so everyone can read it; please share if you like it.

Reminder to readers: Please follow me on Medium if you aren’t doing so already, thanks!

Dare to disarm

[Image: Armed police officers wearing riot helmets stand ready on the UC Berkeley campus.]

Today’s post on Medium, “Dare to disarm“,  expresses my thoughts on gun control, and my desire to eliminate all firearms from the Earth. This story is for Medium members only, but non-members get three free stories a month, and my Patreon supporters get access to exclusive drafts.

Reminder to readers: Please follow me on Medium if you aren’t doing so already, thanks!

Tax March San Francisco

[Image: A giant inflatable “Trump Chicken” looms in front of San Francisco City Hall.]

Yesterday I returned to San Francisco’s Civic Center for yet another anti-Trump demonstration, the Tax March. Like the Women’s March, the Tax March was held simultaneously in dozens of cities. I helped update the Wikipedia page on the event as well.

The purpose of this event was to protest Trump having not released his tax returns, despite promises during his campaign that he would do so. March organizers and participants didn’t necessarily think that these marches would pressure him into releasing them, but hoped to spotlight the lack of transparency in the Trump administration.

Speakers at the San Francisco event included Board of Supervisors member Jane Kim, House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi, and investigative journalist David Cay Johnston, who was mailed a page from Trump’s tax return and revealed it on the Rachel Maddow Show last month. As she did on Arts Advocacy Day, Kim said “I’m not afraid to call Donald Trump an enemy of this state.” Pelosi pointed out that Democrats have raised motions for Trump to release his taxes every week in Congress.

Jane Kim at the Tax March rally[Image: Jane Kim speaks at the rally.]

Nancy Pelosi shaking hands[Image: Nancy Pelosi greets rally attendees. I was nearly trampled by people seeking handshakes and selfies when they caught sight of her.]

David Cay Johnston at Tax March rally[Image: David Cay Johnston speaks at the rally.]

Also featured at the rally were three giant inflatable chickens. I watched the last and largest of them being inflated just before the start of the rally, to cheers from the crowd.

Deflated chicken[Image: A Trump Chicken lies in the street just before being inflated.]

Trump Chicken inflated[Image: The fully inflated Trump Chicken rises before the crowd.]

Thousands of people filled Civic Center for the rally and Market Street for the march, which ended at Justin Herman Plaza.

Tax March crowd at Civic Center[Image: A Tax March attendee at Civic Center holds a “Mein Trumpf” sign.]

Crowd at Tax March San Francisco[Image: The crowd leaves Civic Center and heads toward Market Street.]

Tax March on Market Street[Image: Tax Marchers head down Market Street.]

Tax marcher in pussyhat[Image: A Tax Marcher in a “pussyhat” has words for the President.]

While the march and rally were well-attended, there were sound and accessibility problems. The audio speakers were inadequate for the crowd size and had frequent, squealing feedback, and there was no sign language interpretation. At least two of the featured speakers had difficulty getting on and off of the flatbed truck that served as a stage, with one of them actually falling.

I hesitate to criticize logistics at events like this as I know volunteers are perpetually overworked and underfunded, but sound problems in particular have been a recurring theme at rallies I’ve attended this year. Messages voiced at these events are important and deserve to be heard by as many people as possible. Hopefully more funding can be raised to address these problems in the future.

My full set of photos from the rally and march is available on Flickr. Most of them are also on Wikimedia Commons, alongside those of other contributors. Please credit me as Pax Ahimsa Gethen if you use any of my photos, thanks!

Day Without a Woman

[Image: London Breed, President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, speaks at City Hall for A Day Without a Woman.]

Yesterday I attended a rally at San Francisco City Hall for A Day Without a Woman, an event created by Women’s March organizers to coincide with International Women’s Day. The peaceful gathering included an hour of speakers, starting with an invocation from Kanyon Sayers-Roods (aka Coyote Woman), who reminded us that we were standing on Ohlone land.

Kanyon Sayers-Roods (aka Coyote Woman) [Image: Kanyon Sayers-Roods (aka Coyote Woman) speaks at City Hall for Day Without a Woman.]

Several of the speakers were from the currently majority-female San Francisco Board of Supervisors, including board president London Breed and board members Katy Tang, Hillary Ronen, and Sandra Lee Fewer.

London Breed at Day Without a Woman[Image: London Breed, President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, speaks at City Hall for Day Without a Woman.]

Katy Tang at Day Without a Woman[Image: Katy Tang, member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, speaks at City Hall for Day Without a Woman.]

While it was great to see representation from women of color in high positions, this event has been criticized for focusing on the mostly-white women who are privileged enough to take the day off. In that respect, it was good that one of the speakers was Maria Trujilo, a Latina janitor from SEIU United Service Workers West. Unfortunately, I could only see her translator when Maria was at the podium, as the sound monitor was lifted up there in an (unsuccessful) attempt to boost the volume, blocking many of the subsequent speakers from view. I did manage to catch a photo of Maria and the next speaker, Maya Malika from Refuse Fascism, off to the side.

Maria Trujilo and Maya Malika at Day Without a Woman[Image: Maria Trujilo of SEIU United Service Workers West raises her fist. Next to her is Maya Malika of Refuse Fascism.]

Other than the sound problems and lack of ASL translation, the event was successful, with a turnout of over a thousand people. The beautiful sunny weather (in contrast to the pouring rain on the weekend of the Women’s March) no doubt helped, though I’m sure many women who would have liked to attend were unable to leave work, childcare, or other duties.

Women in red at Day Without a Woman[Image: A woman and young girl, both dressed in red, sit on the steps of City Hall for Day Without a Woman.]

Crowd at Day Without a Woman[Image: The crowd at Day Without a Woman fills the sidewalk and street next to San Francisco City Hall.]

Day Without a Woman attendees[Image: Day Without a Woman attendees hold a sign reading “Not a paid protester – If I were would I make 78 cents for every $1 too?”]

I’ve posted my full set of photos of the event to Flickr. I’ve also posted some of the photos to Wikimedia Commons (alongside photos from other contributors). Please credit me as Pax Ahimsa Gethen if you use any of them, thanks!

Rallying against white supremacy

[Image: A protester speaks into a microphone, while standing under an umbrella in front of a banner.]

Yesterday I ventured out in rainy weather to attend another anti-Trump protest in downtown San Francisco. Unlike the one I attended last Sunday, this rally and march was organized by the ANSWER Coalition, which has mounted numerous protests against racism and imperialism. Having attended the rally against racist police that ANSWER co-sponsored this summer, I knew that they would center people of color at this rally, and not just to pander to Democrats.

I was not disappointed. The speakers condemned white supremacy and neoliberalism as much as they condemned Donald Trump himself, if not more so. Some in the audience seemed impatient at this, but this was not merely a group of Hillary Clinton supporters expressing disappointment that their candidate lost. These were people who have been fighting back against white supremacy all along.

ANSWER Coalition Dump Trump rally[Image: Protesters stand in the rain in front of a banner, with their fists raised in the air.]

I recognized one speaker from the Justice for Alex Nieto coalition, from another rally against racist police violence I attended this year. He pointed out that protesting, not voting, was what ousted San Francisco police chief Greg Suhr. He wore a shirt honoring another Bay Area person of color killed by the police, James “Nate” Greer. There’s plenty of racism right here in our “blue” state, sadly, and that’s always been the case.

ANSWER Coalition Dump Trump rally[Image: A protester stands in the rain holding a sign reading “Got $ for War but Can’t Feed the Poor. Party for Socialism & Liberation”]

ANSWER Coalition Dump Trump rally[Image: Protesters stand in the rain, holding signs.]

ANSWER Coalition Dump Trump rally[Image: A protester stands in the rain, holding up a sign reading “8 trans people have died since the election”.]

Many carried signs for socialist organizations. Other causes were represented as well. One held up a heartbreaking sign pointing out the impact of the election on trans people. I went up to them and told them I was trans, and invited them to attend today’s Trans Day of Remembrance event in San Francisco.

ANSWER Coalition Dump Trump rally[Image: A protester stands in the street in the rain, holding up a sign reading “Nasty women rise up!”]

ANSWER Coalition Dump Trump rally[Image: A protester plays the trumpet while standing in the street in the rain.]

After the rally at UN Plaza, we marched down Market Street. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve marched there, this year alone. The mood was lightened by a group of musicians, who I think were from the Brass Liberation Orchestra.

I was glad to have the company of my friend and fellow queer vegan Saryta at this rally. I encourage all vegans and animal rights activists to speak out against oppression of marginalized humans, at every opportunity.

My full set of photos from the rally is available on Flickr. Some are also on Wikimedia Commons (alongside photos from other contributors). Please credit me as Pax Ahimsa Gethen if you use any of them, thanks!

Black trans excellence

[Image: Activists Joshua Allen and CeCe McDonald speak in front of a screen showing their images and the words “black excellence tour”.]

Yesterday I was still feeling very shaky and sleep-deprived after the election results, and was tempted to either stay home and rest or go out to join a demonstration. But I had committed to attending the Black Excellence Tour, featuring black activists CeCe McDonald, a trans woman who was imprisoned in a men’s facility for defending herself, and Joshua Allen, a gender non-conforming organizer and abolitionist.

CeCe McDonald[Image: CeCe McDonald speaks into a microphone.]

I had first seen CeCe speak at the Trans Day of Remembrance last November; my photo of her speaking there is currently featured on her Wikipedia page. She is the subject of the documentary Free CeCe, which I’m attending tonight at the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival. I contributed to the fundraiser for this film, which also features Laverne Cox of Orange is the New Black; CeCe was Laverne’s inspiration for her character on that show.

Hearing CeCe talk the day after the election was a great reality check. She said that she woke up that morning “unbothered”; with all the oppression she and folks like her have faced, including under the Obama administration, it was “just another day” to her.

CeCe is a woman who gives no fucks about respectability politics. She said we need to respect the people with their pants down around their knees and the heroin users as much as any other folks. This was especially poignant given the talk’s location in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. The venue, Faithful Fools, offers ministry and services for the people in that troubled area. I had a good talk with Sam Dennison, one of the residents and workers there.

Joshua Allen[Image: Joshua Allen speaks into a microphone.]

Joshua Allen spoke about their activism for queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people, and the intersections of gender, race, and class, especially with regard to policing. I asked them a question about how to cope with being non-binary in a binary world. They replied that they had hope for change, and that if others tried to force their “gendered apparatus” on us then that was their problem, not ours.

I’m very glad I went to this event, and spent time in the company of queer and trans people of color. We need each others’ support, now more than ever.

My full set of photos from the event is available on Flickr. Please credit me as Pax Ahimsa Gethen if you use any of them, thanks!

ETA: A video of the event has now been posted.

Jill Stein rally: Observations and opinions

[Image: Jill Stein postcards and Stein/Baraka buttons on a table.]

*Note/reminder*: I am registered with no political party, and have not endorsed any presidential candidates in this year’s election. I’m not voting for Hillary Clinton (nor Donald Trump), and that’s not up for debate.

On Saturday night, I attended a rally for Jill Stein at the Berkeley City Club. While I voted for Stein in 2012 (and for Green candidates Cynthia McKinney and Ralph Nader before her), I left the Green Party when I updated my voter registration after my legal name (and gender) change in 2014. I am currently an independent (not to be confused with the ultra-conservative American Independent Party).

Despite my friend and fellow black vegan Dr. A. Breeze Harper running for vice-president with the Humane Party, I have been strongly leaning toward voting for Stein, partly because the Greens have ballot access in almost every state, and winning 5% of the popular vote would qualify the party for federal matching funds. So I attended the rally not as a supporter, but an observer, hoping to listen and talk with people about why I should support Stein, or any presidential candidate when I have lost virtually all hope in the U.S. government (and humanity in general).

As I arrived at the venue, two people outside were trying to get the attention of those entering, and offering them copies of the Workers Vanguard. I spoke with one of them, asking if, as a socialist, she supported Stein and the Green Party. She said no. I mentioned that I had met some Socialist Alternative people who supported Bernie Sanders, and were now supporting Stein. She said that those weren’t real socialists, and that the Green Party is capitalist (among other things). She asked if I would buy her newspaper for fifty cents, and I happened to have two quarters in my pocket so I agreed. (I got the two most recent quarterly editions for that price.)

I spoke with her about being a pacifist. She asked what I thought about the Civil War. This took me aback, and I responded “Well, it was certainly necessary to end slavery.” By this I didn’t necessarily mean that we had to go to war to do so, though she understandably took it that way. When I explained how important pacifism is to me, she seemed less interested in talking with me; when I offered her my business card, she shoved it in her back pocket without looking at it, and went back to hawking newspapers.

Socialist Alternative at Jill Stein rally[Image: Two people staff a table with a banner reading “Socialist Alternative – Struggle – Solidarity – Socialism”.]

I entered the venue, staked out a seat and took some preliminary photos. I was then approached by a Socialist Alternative representative, offering their newspaper “to convince your friends to vote for Stein”. I explained to him that I was an independent, and told him about the conversation I’d just had outside. He said that those socialists weren’t being practical, and that we had to gain the support of the workers before we “marched on Washington”. I pressed him about their prior support of Sanders, since he was running as a Democrat; he said that they were actually very critical of him, but he had mobilized lots of people, including many independents, and they were harnessing that energy. He mentioned that he and another socialist would be speaking at the rally, and promised that they would “bash the Democrats”. I said that I didn’t want to “bash” anyone necessarily, I just wanted to get shit done.

A.J. Hill at Jill Stein rally[Image: A.J. Hill smiles while introducing speakers on stage.]

So as the rally started, I felt more confused and cynical about politics than ever. The crowd was mostly white, which wasn’t much of a surprise, but more than half of the speakers were people of color.  One of the speakers and event co-organizers, A.J. Hill, is a black vegan and activist with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE); though I left DxE last year, I was glad to hear animal rights mentioned at a Green event.

David Cobb at Jill Stein rally[Image: David Cobb speaks on stage.]

One of the main speakers at the rally was 2004 Green presidential candidate David Cobb, who is now Jill Stein’s campaign manager. (I didn’t vote for Cobb that year, opting to go with Nader instead, who was supported by many other Greens.) Cobb spoke at great length, emphasizing how he was a “mostly-straight” white man but understood the need to be anti-racist and anti-sexist. He said that people of color don’t want “white guilt”, they want action. He told a story about a black woman lovingly but angrily calling him a “cracker” for questioning the organizing tactics of women/of color in the movement.

While Cobb got lots of applause, and I’m sure he meant well, the length of his speech really turned me off. Good allies cede space to marginalized people to speak for themselves. After 45 minutes, I was more than ready for him to get off the stage. The next speaker, who was part Native American (but white-passing to my eyes, at least), also spoke too long; an organizer was repeatedly trying to get his attention and pointing to his watch.

YahNé Ndgo at Jill Stein rally[Image: YahNé Ndgo speaks into a microphone on stage.]

The main person I came to the rally to see was YahNé Ndgo, who I watched give a powerful speech at this year’s Green Party Convention. A “Bernie or Bust”er, she switched to the Green Party after the Democratic National Convention, and has been campaigning for Stein nationwide. I took lots of photos as she’s such a dynamic speaker. I got a chance to chat with YahNé briefly after the rally, and told her I came specifically to see her; she gave me a hug.

Kor Element at Jill Stein convention[Image: Kor Element sings into a microphone on stage.]

Up-and-coming artist Kor Element gave a talk and an energetic hip-hop performance, with plenty of audience participation. Another former Bernie supporter, he wrote a song specifically for Stein’s campaign.

Ajamu Baraka at Jill Stein campaign[Image: Ajamu Baraka speaks into a microphone on stage.]

At 9 p.m., three hours into the rally (and now at the originally scheduled end time), Green vice-presidential candidate Ajamu Baraka finally took the stage. Baraka announced that Jill Stein was recovering from pneumonia, and could not attend. I already knew this, but only because I had been told by the Marxist outside; I knew that Stein had a recent bout of pneumonia, but there was no mention on the web site or either of the Facebook pages for this event (one of which was titled “Jill Stein Visits Berkeley!”) that she would not be at this rally. I certainly agreed that she needed more rest, and I can understand why her absence wasn’t announced at the beginning of the rally as then some people might not have stuck around, but it still seemed disingenuous.

Regardless, I was personally more interested in Baraka than Stein, and was delighted to see him since he wasn’t originally scheduled to speak. I got to chat with him very briefly afterward (after waiting for many people to pose with him for pictures), and thanked him for speaking truth to power. I also mentioned how I tried to find out about him on Wikipedia, and he said that when he looked at that page, he didn’t recognize what he saw. I wish we’d had time to chat more about that, but many people were still waiting to talk with him, and his helpers were trying to get him out of there.

On the way home, I read part of the Workers Vanguard newspaper. I agreed with some of it, but was turned off the dismissal of Green values in one article, saying (in part) that bike paths and vegetable gardens were for rich people in developed countries, not for workers that had to live near industry, and decrying a call to “save the Earth” at the expense of the people living on it. I understood where they were coming from, but to me animals are people, and the Earth is not separate from its living inhabitants, humans included.

In any case, I’m not going to make voting decisions based on one article, one rally, or a couple of conversations. I’m definitely going to the polls on November 8, if only to vote on ballot measures and local, non-partisan offices, as I did in the primaries. Californians, today is the last day to register, so even if you hate every single person who is running for office, please at least vote on propositions that affect those living in our communities.

My full set of photos from the rally is available on Flickr. Some of the photos are available on Wikimedia Commons as well. Please credit me (as Pax Ahimsa Gethen) if you use any of them, thanks!