Brandy Martell was murdered April 29th. The Daily Kos posted a relatively good article connecting it to the general lack of coverage of the murders of trans* people in the United States (albeit I really hate when media doesn't post the victim's name in the title). It scares me. I know I'm not in the same situation as Brandy, but I don't take the harassment and death threats I've received lightly.
We finally found a parking space and got out of the car. We walked up a street and I see Wiley standing outside his house. Wiley and I have been friends since high school; I admire him for his strong convictions paired with honest humility. We get along because of our cynical outlooks and our dark sense of humor. One of my favorite things about visiting him is getting to talk about all sorts of political and personal issues. The death of Brandy was on my mind. Other things were on Wiley's though. Specifically gossip about his city's leftist groups and members. So-and-so collective was fighting with the blah-blah-liberation front. The conversation was so negative that I attempted to derail it by talking about how a classmate of mine, who I had never talked to, had talked about how he has cis-gender privilege and how much it bothers him that other cis people don't recognize theirs. While I was telling the story I could tell Wiley was just waiting for me to say how this guy had said something fucked up, and when I said the opposite he was visibly disappointed.
When we got to his friend's house to pick up signs for the parade, I saw this was a systemic rather than a personal problem. The most excited I saw either Wiley or his friend E the entire day was on the walk over to the park where the parade was starting. Their excitement was due to relating to the group about a fight which erupted over facebook between them and a local union leader, which ended in Wiley making an accusation about the leader which he admitted he wasn't sure was true. He then proceeded to also accuse the leader of being a sexual predator, which he also admitted he wasn't sure was true. What Wiley did not know was that I knew this guy, and although I hadn't spent too much time with him, our interactions had been cordial and he specifically had gone out of his way to make sure I felt safe in the space as a trans* person.
The park really brought to a head premonitions I had from the tone of the recent conversations. I understand an event like the May Day Parade reaches out to a broad range of groups and people, and that those people will primarily socialize and interact with their own group. But even the groups here were divided amongst themselves; we certainly did not have the numbers to be so separated. There were a number of speakers, but each focused on speaking to their group or cause, and with the exception of two groups, they neglected intersectionality and threw out solidarity as a chant rather than an aim.
Luckily the march itself, despite disagreements on where it should have gone, was successful and a major road was completely blocked without anyone being arrested. Unfortunately, as soon as the march ended the cliques reformed and began to squabble again. For a fleeting moment I had seen solidarity, making it all the more disappointing when the dominant paradigm of division returned.
Get your shit together folks. While you argue on facebook and tumblr about who is more queer or who is more anarchist, the state and corporations take advantage of our splits to dismantle opposition. Guess what ya'll, you don't have to like someone to work with them. And gossiping about things as serious as sexual assault is not only a worthless gesture to solving the problem, it is belittling to the gravity of the situation. Coming in as an outsider everyone was nice to me, and although I suspect that some of those there didn't really understand my gender identity, they are certainly not the bigots that we claim to be fighting against. I would never be so naive to say that prejudice does not exist within leftist communities and groups: but these spaces can only be free of it by eliminating the prejudice, not those who hold it. We can both protect the safety of people and reform violent people: remember that it is the state that wants you to choose between the two.
I want a world where what happened to Brandy Martell happens to no one. And we are not going to get there until we have the power that comes from intersectional solidarity. Solidarity with all who worked to make their May Day events diverse and inclusive. Solidarity with those who call out prejudice to eliminate it rather than to pick a fight. Solidarity with all those arrested yesterday, and all those who are unjustly detained in our vengeance-centric justice system.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Worker Appreciation Brunches: What They Are, Why We Do Them, and How You Can Do Them
Spivak tells us that it is neither our responsibility nor an effective organizing tactic to speak for the subaltern, or those who are systemically denied a voice. Rather, we must work to create a space in which they can have a voice. There are many creative and worthwhile ways to do this but I will be talking in the post about worker appreciation brunches (1).
What is a worker appreciation brunch? The student labor organization on my campus began these brunches as a means for students to interact with campus workers and for campus workers to interact with each other. It is simply reserving a space every month/2 weeks to host a food-based event funded either through collective contributions of the organization or funds received from the school after agitation. Securing funding from the school administration is not very difficult, as many colleges in the United States wish to use as little resources as possible to help their workers but also wish to be portrayed as worker-friendly. If they do not have to plan or carry out an event but are only asked to provide funding, administrators are usually cooperative. If not, try agitating a specific administrator through petitions, letter deliveries, etc., making sure to highlight the lack of services provided to your campus workers. This pressure on administration is part of the benefit of having these events: even if the administration is cooperative, it makes sure that workers and their rights are always on the agenda. It is important that your organization remains the face of the event, don't get yourselves stuck in a "Worker Appreciation Brunch Sponsored/Made Possible by XXXX College/Corporation" situation.
Orient publicity through the following methods:
-post break room areas (with permission if possible)
-have your group members divide up based on who regularly sees certain workers/departments/etc. Ask your members about comfort level: capitalism builds up as many walls as possible to divide people based on class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, etc. Have more experienced members show how to approach workers during the regular meetings before the event. Try to have at least two of these workshops.
-print out quarter sheets to hand out. Layout is important: express solidarity, emphasize student-worker relationships, etc.
-Ask local IT how to email all the workers about the vent.
Have a separate training workshop that covers how group members should interact with workers at the brunch. Make sure to point out that it is an opportunity for exchange with the workers: this is not the venue for going off on tirades on Marxist theory, etc. Ask the workers about work: that may seems a little obvious, but many people will not want to talk about work. After all, work usually sucks: I know when I've had service jobs I did not like to talk about it. Find ways to open the conversation up to work: i.e. "How's your day been?" "What building do you cover?" "When's your shift over?"
Have people show up an hour early for prep. "An hour?" the hypothetical dissenter asks, "Why do we need to be there so early?" Because something will go wrong. Every time we get too much food, more people than expected show up. Every time we plan during a departments break time, everyone forgot to tell the workers in that department. Plan ahead and have people (often those who would like to forgo social interaction will spring to action)ready to run/bhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifike/drive out to wherever they are needed.
Have the youngest/newest/least experienced members of the organization spear head interactions. If you are older/know the workers facilitate this interaction through introductions, bringing over food, etc.
Does your organization have an event coming up? Does a worker at the event tell you they are so desperate they would go on strike? Agitate! Although I forewarned to avoid theoretical tirades, use these opportunities to talk about solutions to workers' problems. Anecdotes are a useful mechanism in this instance, especially if the example relates to the workers' situation i.e. "Well I heard that when people in Alabama were worried about the new immigration law, they filed a complaint with Nafta." Speak clearly and do not talk down or with arrogance.
Even more important than how you speak is how you listen. Learn what the workers' complaints and problems are: a simple majority or average is not necessarily the most appropriate evaluation. Look them in the eyes, repeat what they say in your head, do whatever you need to to be an active listener. Don't worry if it takes you time to interject your point about the upcoming rally or sit-in: this event is so that workers know their voice is heard.
Helpful feedback/criticism is welcome, bigoted comments are not. Solidarity with all student activist who work to reveal how interconnected our lives as workers and students (and often both) are. Solidarity with all who try to break down walls created by socio-economic class, racism, sexism, ableism, transphobia, and other prejudices created by a patriarchal capitalist system.
What is a worker appreciation brunch? The student labor organization on my campus began these brunches as a means for students to interact with campus workers and for campus workers to interact with each other. It is simply reserving a space every month/2 weeks to host a food-based event funded either through collective contributions of the organization or funds received from the school after agitation. Securing funding from the school administration is not very difficult, as many colleges in the United States wish to use as little resources as possible to help their workers but also wish to be portrayed as worker-friendly. If they do not have to plan or carry out an event but are only asked to provide funding, administrators are usually cooperative. If not, try agitating a specific administrator through petitions, letter deliveries, etc., making sure to highlight the lack of services provided to your campus workers. This pressure on administration is part of the benefit of having these events: even if the administration is cooperative, it makes sure that workers and their rights are always on the agenda. It is important that your organization remains the face of the event, don't get yourselves stuck in a "Worker Appreciation Brunch Sponsored/Made Possible by XXXX College/Corporation" situation.
Orient publicity through the following methods:
-post break room areas (with permission if possible)
-have your group members divide up based on who regularly sees certain workers/departments/etc. Ask your members about comfort level: capitalism builds up as many walls as possible to divide people based on class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, etc. Have more experienced members show how to approach workers during the regular meetings before the event. Try to have at least two of these workshops.
-print out quarter sheets to hand out. Layout is important: express solidarity, emphasize student-worker relationships, etc.
-Ask local IT how to email all the workers about the vent.
Have a separate training workshop that covers how group members should interact with workers at the brunch. Make sure to point out that it is an opportunity for exchange with the workers: this is not the venue for going off on tirades on Marxist theory, etc. Ask the workers about work: that may seems a little obvious, but many people will not want to talk about work. After all, work usually sucks: I know when I've had service jobs I did not like to talk about it. Find ways to open the conversation up to work: i.e. "How's your day been?" "What building do you cover?" "When's your shift over?"
Have people show up an hour early for prep. "An hour?" the hypothetical dissenter asks, "Why do we need to be there so early?" Because something will go wrong. Every time we get too much food, more people than expected show up. Every time we plan during a departments break time, everyone forgot to tell the workers in that department. Plan ahead and have people (often those who would like to forgo social interaction will spring to action)ready to run/bhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifike/drive out to wherever they are needed.
Have the youngest/newest/least experienced members of the organization spear head interactions. If you are older/know the workers facilitate this interaction through introductions, bringing over food, etc.
Does your organization have an event coming up? Does a worker at the event tell you they are so desperate they would go on strike? Agitate! Although I forewarned to avoid theoretical tirades, use these opportunities to talk about solutions to workers' problems. Anecdotes are a useful mechanism in this instance, especially if the example relates to the workers' situation i.e. "Well I heard that when people in Alabama were worried about the new immigration law, they filed a complaint with Nafta." Speak clearly and do not talk down or with arrogance.
Even more important than how you speak is how you listen. Learn what the workers' complaints and problems are: a simple majority or average is not necessarily the most appropriate evaluation. Look them in the eyes, repeat what they say in your head, do whatever you need to to be an active listener. Don't worry if it takes you time to interject your point about the upcoming rally or sit-in: this event is so that workers know their voice is heard.
Helpful feedback/criticism is welcome, bigoted comments are not. Solidarity with all student activist who work to reveal how interconnected our lives as workers and students (and often both) are. Solidarity with all who try to break down walls created by socio-economic class, racism, sexism, ableism, transphobia, and other prejudices created by a patriarchal capitalist system.
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