Pai Maluca

Despedidas sem fim! Que alegria.

Today was Father's Day Sunday at church. Rev. Pat asked all the fathers to stand up. Chelsea and I stood up. Then she launched into a prayer for grace for all the men standing who were fathers. So Chelsea sat down, but I hung on, resolviong to be a genderqueer to the hilt in the land of genderqueers. Then I looked around at the standing men and thought "this is absurd" and sat down. After the prayer Reverend Pat made a big apology for her "insensitivity to Chelsea and Rusty", and admitted that even she makes mistakes sometimes. I thought it was a great teaching moment for the gays and lesbians. A "parent's day" would do just well, and be more realistic in contemporary society. Chelsea and I were not even paying any attention to the whole thing, but it was sensitive of Pat to see that old patterns do not always fit.

Then Dean Spade, founder of the Sylvia Rivera Transgender Law Center at the Urban Justice Center came on to give her sermon. Dean first became visible to me when he was arrested in the men's room of Grand Central Station during the demonstrations against the World Economic Forum in 2002. Even trans lawyers get arrested. Dean later produced a film entitled "Bathroom Follies" in which Chelsea had some role. Now Dean is the key trans person in New York, taking a legal approach to trans rights, as opposed to the political action path. Dean takes a "radical" perspective on the contemporary social scene, and also on the contemporary Gay/lesbian politics scene. He said that the assimilationist leaders of the major gay organizations ignore the plight of the poorest and most abused people in the queer community. Obviously he is one of the few visible trans leaders who follows the radical social line that our group has espoused since the early 1990's. Chelsea thinks he is great.

At a certain point Spade lauded Transy House as the inspiration and exemplification of the appropriate social attitudes people would ideally be taking. He said something like "we know that after all else fails, and all doors are closed to a transperson asking for help we can get them a place to sleep at Transy House." The audience said a collective amen, and Chelsea and I looked into each others eyes and groaned. Now we will get even more calls which will tear us apart and to which we cannot respond.

People were really nice to us after church.

Jonica called as soon as I got home to wish me a happy fathers day, and to invite me to dinner. She is going to 7th Heaven, the street fair on 7th Avenue in Park Slope today with her friend Kathleen (if I remember her name).