Yesterday's Gender Freedom March

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Here's a nice article about the rally and march, featuring this really nice picture of yours truly. I heard a guesstimate of a thousand people being there. For sure there were at least 500, I would think. Here is the text of the speech I gave:

Hi. my name is Maeve Griffith. I am a transgender woman. But, that’s not the main thing that I think about when I want to say who I am. I am a retired fire captain for the City of Spokane. I’m also an air force veteran, grandparent, parent and spouse. Like many of you here today, I never thought that I would have to publicly defend this little fact that I am transgender.

My trans siblings this is very hard time for us. We are now the poster children for everything that our current fascist president and his enablers hate, and we are paying the price. But in some ways, things have never been better for us and I will tell you why.

Look around you. Look who is standing with us. Look who else is under attack by the same corrupt, lawless administration. We have never had so many allies. Veterans, teachers, seniors, children, scientist, doctors, nurses, firefighters, immigrants, people of color, police officers, soldiers, workers, farmers, business owners - we are all standing together as these dark forces seek to harm us, dismantle democracy, rob us and destroy our nation. LGBTQIA people have never had as many allies as we do now. Donald Trump and his demented band of dummies have done the impossible - they have united the most diverse group of patriots ever assembled against a common threat - them.

Maybe it’s time we look at why they hate us. To me it’s pretty simple. These pathetic people worship a felon, a traitor, an adjudicated rapist. And as OUT members of the LGBT community we are the opposite of liars, we are people who tell the truth about ourselves, even when that truth has cost us so very much. They don’t understand that, they don’t “get” honor or honesty, and our honesty makes them feel even more ashamed of their cowardice and their dishonesty. They worship the prince of lies, whose administration, every day does one dishonorable thing after another. And we are the opposite of that.

I don’t know about you but it makes me happy to be hated by people like that. It means I am doing something right. It is a sign that I am acting honorably.

Now's the time for all of us to act and to act honorably. Let’s make sure that we trans folk stand up for all the people I mentioned who now stand with us. March in their demonstrations. Offer them support. Who knows what world-changing forces will come out of our alliances together. Most importantly, only when you stand up for others will you will feel the strength that you truly possess in yourself.
Elon Musk has been blaming trans people for setting Teslas on fire. As if they need any help. But Elon isn’t the only oligarch ally of Trump. What about the other cowardly billionaires, billionaires who could have been heroes but now have joined the traitors?

You can use your power against them right now peacefully and effectively. Divest. Don’t give Jeff Bezos any more of your money. Stop your Amazon Prime membership. I did. And if I can do it, you can do it too. I used to get at least three shipments a week from Amazon. Ask my wife! Now, I go to local merchants if I can. And whether I buy online or at a local store, I do a little research into what they have done in response to the Trump administration’s attack on anti discrimination policies. When you shop at local stores, as a trans person, those local merchants get to see a trans person spending money in their stores, joking around with their employees and just being a normal nice person. There is nothing better you can do to advance gender freedom and acceptance of us than to just go about your daily life as a normal person engaged with your neighbors. I know as a trans person, it’s easier to get things in the mail, to stay hidden, to not risk, but we have to. And you can look around you right now and see the people who will be at your side at the first sign of trouble. WE ARE NOT ALONE!

I am seeing things I never thought I would see happen to my nation - it being destroyed not from war but from the inside as we watch our country abandon democracy and join with our enemies against the Free World. We hear our elected leaders and one political party encourage us to turn our backs on our Constitution, on empathy and on justice. It is easy to feel hopeless. I find hope in revisiting the touchstones in my life, reminders of how things were and how they should be. One of the ways I do this is by looking at the oaths I have taken in my life, in the air force, as a union member, my baptismal vows. All these give me strength and a guiding star and remind me of what was and what could be again. Find and revisit the touchstones in your life.

Lastly, take care of yourselves. It’s OK to be sad, to be angry at what these people are doing to us and to our nation. But If possible, do it in private. Don’t let these pathetic people see you angry, sad or hurt. Like a Star Trek episode (The Day of the Dove - Season 3, Episode 7) this is an evil entity that feeds off of your negative feelings. The fascists celebrate“liberal tears” even when those tears are shed for them, for what they have become. Don’t feed the imbeciles. It’s not good for you or for them. Let’s have fun. Fighting fascists should be fun. Get a good night’s sleep. Watch what you eat and what you drink. Pray. Meditate. Work out. Hang out with friends. Enjoy the arts. Create art. There is a reason why you are on this planet right now. You have a mission. Gray areas have faded to black and white. Things are crystal clear. We will not be denied our rights. And America will not be denied a democratic future. We will accomplish this peacefully but ruthlessly and without hesitation.

Never forget, that, without a doubt, all of us gathered here today are the “good guys.” That’s what the history books will say. I am thankful that I get to be a part of it. Let’s join together and march on.