Why I’m Voting YES on F & I

INTRO

(Scroll down to skip to the arguments for Prop F & I.)

I’ve lived in San Francisco since 2008. Some of the reasons my partner and I moved here included the culture of acceptance, diversity, good food, queer scene, and natural beauty. We love this city. It gave us a fresh start on life, free of the harsh Boston winters we fled. We arrived with very little money but we had a good friend who lived in a big house with an extra room. The rent was cheap. the Asian food nearby was delicious. Golden Gate Park was right next door. It was a classic San Francisco setup: 3 trans guys, 2 lesbians, some dogs, and us. Eventually my partner and I were ready to move in together without roommates. We found a pet friendly, affordable, rent-controlled apartment in Fox Plaza at Civic Center.

Over the years we saw the city changing, and over the past three years, especially, that change has accelerated at an alarming rate. All around our building shiny new condo buildings have popped up. The rent for newcomers to Fox Plaza is double what it was, reminding us to be eternally grateful for our rent-control.Twitter got a multi-million dollar tax cut to move in across the street. The divey restaurants like the Chinese takeout place gave way to fancy new ones like Alta.  Several gay bars within walking distance have been sold and are now artisan cocktail bars featuring tired, trendy decor of reclaimed wooden bar stools and exposed-wire lightbulbs. (Note to new bars: Enough with the bird names and old-timey decor!)

The nonprofit organization I once worked for, like many others, could no longer afford the rent in San Francisco and moved to Oakland. Knowing that in order to stay in San Francisco – and maybe, just maybe not live in a studio apartment anymore – we would need to grow our careers, my husband quit his job and underwent a 4 month tech marketing bootcamp. He works for an app now.

I wouldn’t be angry about all these changes if I didn’t have a deep love of San Francisco and what this city means to so many of us.

I believe we can save what is left of the beautiful diversity that makes San Francisco special and still have some fancy restaurants, tech companies, and high-end coffee right alongside our nonprofits and family run businesses, if we put our minds together.

I am not anti-tech. I love innovation. I was an early adopter of the internet and began building web-based businesses (They were about pets. I was young.) in the mid/late-nineties.

I’m not anti-development. I support Prop D because it will allow for the development of a park and housing, 40% of which will be “affordable.”  (If we can get 40% affordable near ATT&T park, what can we get elsewhere when we fight for it?!)

What I’m “anti” is greed and unfairness. That’s why I’m supporting Propositions F and I.

PROP F

Proposition F is a commonsense set of regulations to ensure our neighborhoods are not turned into hotels.

I think Airbnb is a cool concept. I’ve used it before. I think people who go on vacation should be able to rent out their home and make a few bucks, but I do not think people, especially big businesses, should be able to gobble up our precious real estate, including rent-controlled units, and run illegal mini hotels out of them.

The incentive for landlords to rent out their units on airbnb and make big bucks is too great, and the current law is too flawed. It was written in-part by Airbnb and has been called “unenforceable” by many of our own city officials. Less than 10% of short-term rental hosts have registered with the city.

Airbnb’s $8million dollar campaign against Proposition F is full of misleading ideas. The notion that your neighbors will hire a lawyer and launch a lawsuit against you for letting grandma sleep in your house while you are away is absolute hogwash. Anyone can sue anyone in America, for sure, but lawyers often won’t take on frivolous lawsuits and judges often drop them, too.

The new law would still allow people to rent out a room in their home for up to 75 days a year. That’s a lot!

We’re in the middle of a crisis in which many people have been evicted or are under threat of being evicted by landlords who want to raise the rent or flip their units into short-term rentals. Folks, we’ve got to reign this in. Other cities around the world, from Santa Monica to Barcelona have already passed their own versions of regulations, and many more are sure to follow suit.

Everything in Prop F is common in other American laws and regulations. It’s one of the important tools in the toolbox we’ll need to save existing affordable housing.

PROP I 

Prop I would put a temporary moratorium on new housing construction in the Mission unless it is 100% affordable.

In order to find yourself at YES for Prop I, you’ll need to recognize the reality of hyper-gentrification and how it is caused. Opponents of Prop I will argue that building more condos in the Mission will bring housing prices down because “supply/demand.”

That argument is flawed and way too simplistic to address the complexity of the housing crisis.

It’s just not possible to build the number of units (100k?) in a short enough amount of time it would take to really bring down rents and also maintain San Francisco’s diversity. On top of that, if you did plunk down 100k units onto SF, this place would be excruciatingly sterile.

When a new condo building is erected or an old factory becomes fancy condos and they are subsequently marketed to the wealthy, it creates an influx of wealthy people into the neighborhood. Soon enough, the nearby landlords give in to the temptation to evict the family-run burrito joint and raise the rent to the point where only, say, a fancy coffee company can open in its place. As the neighborhood shifts, like I saw happen in Civic Center as all the new towers went up, it gets whiter and richer. This makes the neighborhood even more “desirable” to other rich people, and the home values and rents go up, not down, because of the new upscale supply. More people are evicted, more can’t afford to stay, and the process intensifies.

This process has already displaced thousands of poor and working-class Latino families in the Mission. When poor families are displaced from San Francisco it can be devastating to them. In the Mission there are centralized community resources – from immigration assistance to health care – available that may not be available in other area cities. We are also a sanctuary city, which for many families is extremely important for holding them together.

Admittedly, this type of gentrification is but one part of the problem. We live in the Bay Area, which is chock-full of high paying jobs and has always been a very desirable place to live. San Francisco does have limited land, too, so ultimately the housing crisis is one that will need to be solved with a multi-pronged, multi-regional approach – preferably one that looks at how to create housing for mixed income communities along public transit.

The Mission moratorium is important because it could slow the hyper-gentrification and displacement and give the city time to create a new plan to acquire some of the available lots of land in the Mission which could be developed for people of mixed incomes. It’s a pause. It’s a breather. And we need it.

Don’t let big real estate and Airbnb buy off our local politicians and our city. Vote Yes on F & I. 

Zero Tolerance Policies: Mean & Stupid

As published on HuffingtonPost:

My entire high school experience was a living hell that still haunts me sometimes when I’m least expecting it – a flashback when I see a school, a nightmare just before it’s time to wake up for work.

In seventh grade there was a boy who used to follow me through the hallways lightly kicking the back of my heels while mumbling sweet little anti-gay epithets. After several months of trying to avoid him, asking him to stop, and ignoring him I decided to stop in my tracks, turn around, and punch him in the face. I’m not going to lie, for a hot minute, it was empowering and awesome.

Unfortunately a teacher saw me and promptly escorted me to the principal’s office where I was sentenced to detention. I was too embarrassed to tell them I was being bullied based on my sexual orientation or my femininity, but I’m certain everyone knew anyway. There was a little piece of me that felt badass for getting detention, and I made sure all the other kids knew I punched the bully, which helped curb some of the harassment for a few weeks.

This wouldn’t be the last time I landed in trouble for defending myself from bullies. I was punished for skipping gym class, where the bullying was relentless. I was forced to apologize to a boy who tried to choke me on the bus because I “aggravated” him. And in a school counseling session, referred to as “group,” a counselor suggested that I should “stop walking around the halls like a sad puppy dog.” So helpful.

The continuous re-victimization I experienced from my school was extremely damaging to my confidence to the point that I became suicidal. After 9th grade, I switched schools. But not every student is able to switch schools or leave town for a fresh start. Just two years ago a gay student from my very same high school killed himself due to anti-gay bullying. I can’t help but wonder if he was also let down by the school administration.

Today thousands of schools have zero tolerance policies that end up punishing any student involved in an altercation or rules violation. These policies are not effective at preventing or addressing bullying, and often result in students being suspended from school. Students who are suspended are more likely to land in jail, potentially ruining their life into adulthood.

Students of color and LGBT students are often re-victimized by these terrible policies for defending themselves from bullies or for expressing themselves. I met a black, lesbian student last year who was suspended for wearing a hat to cover her hair, which her family couldn’t afford to have professionally done regularly. Her suspension put her behind in school, angered her parents, and triggered a downward spiral in her self confidence.

Recently, I’ve been working with the family of Jewlyes Guiterrez, a transgender student of Hercules, California, who is facing battery charges after punching the students who were bullying her on a daily basis. First she was re-victimized by her school, which has since revised its policies, and now the DA has gotten in on the action. Fortunately, her sisters and parents are incredibly supportive and have even set up this petition. I urge you to sign it!

We live in a society that seems to thrive on violence and punishment instead of creativity and compassion. CeCe McDonald, a transgender woman from Minneapolis, has a story that draws comparison to Jewlyes’s. She was recently released from jail after serving a sentence in a men’s prison. CeCe, in self-defense, stabbed someone who was violently attacking her while yelling racist and transphobic slurs.

At a time when our government should be working to reduce the violence and discrimination faced by transgender women of color, it is further victimizing and stigmatizing the community. It behoves us all to draw attention to stories like CeCe’s and Jewlyes’s, and call for change.

In my family we had discussions about the students who were bullying me. We talked about how difficult their lives must have been. Most of them were farmers. They were getting up at the crack of dawn to shovel pig shit, and they would come to school smelling like it. They lived in poverty. Perhaps some had violence at home, or other familial challenges. Cultivating compassion for my bullies was the best way to soothe the emotional wounds they inflicted.

I was moved by the parents of Sasha Fleichman, an agender student who was lit on fire by a bully on an Oakland city bus. They called for compassion towards the young attacker, noting the potential for him to change and grow. And recently, the father of Emilie Parker, a student who was killed in the horrific school shooting in Connecticut, offered love and sympathy to the family of the shooter in a speech that has gone viral.

School policies desperately need an injection of this style of radical kindness. They need to empower teachers and administrators to look at each child, each situation, and address them in compassionate ways that bring peace. Oakland Unified recently implemented restorative justice policies to address the high rates of suspension, particularly among students of color. And, just last week the Department of Justice released new guidelines that encourage schools to move away from zero tolerance policies to reduce suspensions (see video below). Schools would be wise to follow suit.

My Sissy Tattoo…

brain dump written April 2007

Today  as I feel the pain of a gun injecting black ink into my tattoo-virgin arm I will remember each and every time someone has called me a sissy with hate in their eyes and voice. I will think about Kindergarten when I cried because boys are not allowed to practice on the balance beam, and when my friend’s mom told me boys don’t touch other boys like that. I will think about my babysitter who resisted the protests of her husband to allow me to purchase a make-up kit “just for pretend.” I will think about twirling my very first baton, secretly slipping on my mom’s old high-heels, and carefully folding and rolling my jeans while admiring the scrunchies of the girls at school.

I’ll remember my obsession with the New Kids on the Block and the Spice Girls. I’ll remember Oprah’s soothing voice after a long hard day at school. I’ll remember when the boys on the bus who walked passed me one by one muttering “sissy-city-boy.” I’ll remember getting my first black eye and giving my first black eye. I’ll remember the empty, heartless, blank stares of my teachers. I’ll remember crying in the middle of the soccer field before storming off to sit in the grass with the little girls so we could pick dandelions together.

I’ll remember holding my father’s black pistol to the side of my head, and I will remember carefully putting it back into the closet.  I will remember scribing as small as possible  “I am gay”  on the wall  behind the books in  my bedroom closet.  I will remember the years I spent nurturing my doll, Nathan. I will remember each time during my childhood that someone asked me if I was a boy or a girl. I will remember my first time performing in drag.  I will remember my first year in Boston, my first truly supportive friends, my first queer meeting, my first HIV test, my first encounter with a transgender person, my first gay pride, the first time I used the word queer as a term of empowerment…

I will use this experience and the very existence of this tattoo as a constant reminder to purge myself of shame and to actively resist the culture of shame so prevalent in our community and our society at large today.

This tattoo is in resistance to the cab driver who pulled over to call us faggots, the people who have kicked me punched me pushed me spit on me gossiped about me or threatened me. It is in resistance to the sad right-wing religious terrorists who protest our existence, republicans, the bush administration, capitalism and greed, occupation and war, sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, conformity, assimilation and fear-based reasoning.

This tattoo is in honor of the poor, the lonely, the isolated, the oppressed, the activists, the genderqueers and fucks, the girls of stonewall, and everyone else brave enough to stand up in the face of adversity.

I am a sissy, I am proud, and I draw strength from the femininity within me.

Ma Vie En Rose Forever.

7 Tips: Responding to Transphobia Online

Mark Snyder, Communications Manager

1. Do not comment when you are angry or heated.
Take some time to cool down and collect your thoughts. Typing out your comments in a word processor ahead of time helps you slow down, and comes with spell check!

2. Do not engage in “flame wars” or arguments.
Instead of engaging directly or replying to comments of people who are saying mean things, it’s best to post a new comment so that it is not hidden and so that you do not engage in a heated dialogue which would give the person more of a platform. Keep your comments informative, heartfelt, and succinct. Always refer back to the topic at hand in the news article or story.

3. Respond to general themes in the thread.
If there is a general transphobic theme happening in the thread of comments, you may want to find a neutralizing statement that would dispel the myth or misconception. Do not directly engage or reply with any commenter. Instead, post a new comment. It does not help to be seen as argumentative or defensive.

Example: Many commentators are saying it isn’t right to let a boy enter a girls room.Fresh blog comment: It is important to note that transgender boys are boys, and transgender girls are girls. No student should be excluded from programs and facilities, and every student should be treated fairly.

4. Be compassionate.
Let people know that you understand transgender issues can be difficult for some people, and that it is okay to come along with you on a journey of understanding.

Example Post: I know this issue is new for some people, and that is okay.  As a transgender person/As a friend /As a mom/ – I know that transgender people should have the same fair chance to participate in XXXX as anyone else. Discrimination and exclusion are painful for everyone.

Keep reading at transgenderlawcenter.org>

Why even a head of lettuce won’t vote Republican…

Drag Queen Hedda Lettuce

Republican leaders are talking a lot about reaching out to a broader demographic lately. The problem is that reaching out is not enough. Wealthy, straight, white men have been reaching out and tokenizing minority groups since the beginning of time. It doesn’t work anymore.

It’s ignorant to assume that if a minority sees people like them represented in an advertisement, or is invited to your party, they will be easily duped into voting for you. And many Republicans understand this, which is why they are taking the precaution to rig elections with Voter ID laws, redistricting plans, and buying up the electronic voting machines.

I contend that along with the mainstream realization that the poor, people of color, women, LGBTQ, and all the rest of us are now the clear majority in this country, will come an expectation that folks be engaged with not just just spoken to. But the Republican party doesn’t want to engage people of color or any other oppressed group, because to truly engage with someone requires an ability to listen and be willing to change your mind, or in this case policies.

“I will talk to a head of lettuce if I can get them to vote Republican,” said RNC CO-Chair Sharon Day, at a gathering in North Carolina this week.

Mark’s 6 Essential WordPress Plugins

WordPress is the best platform for building affordable websites for personal use or organizations, and has risen to be the industry standard. It can be a challenge to wade through the thousands of plugins out there to vamp up your site. Here are 5 plugins I think are just swell.

1. All-in-One Calendar by Timely

I’ve used this product, both the free and premium versions, for years. It’s absolutely fabulous. The tech support they offer is great too.

We’re All Beginners: Audio Interview with Director Mike Mills

Originally posted on COLAGE

“I love my gay dad…so much!” – Mike Mills

Recently I had the honor of meeting and interviewing Mike Mills and Ewan McGregor of the new film Beginners. Some COLAGE staff and volunteers saw a sneak peek of the film, and we think you’re going to love it!