I remember when someone reminds me that yesterday was the first day of summer.

I guess the Greatful Dead song sums it up, “What a long strange trip it’s been.”

I’ve certainly had a far more interesting life and been places, done things, met people I never would have met because being born with transsexualism assured that I would leave the small towns of Northern New York for places  like California.

Curse or blessing, being born with transsexualism has made life existentially interesting.

Maybe I would have done the same things and have found myself in the same movements, many boomers did, but from Greenwich Village to the Haight/Berkeley and Hollywood it sure has been one hell of a ride.

Time post-SRS definitely makes a difference in the process of becoming.

Setting new goals beyond SRS is the most important advice I can offer.

I too was taken in by the postings regarding this fraud.  Perhaps I was reacting to chastisement by Trans Griot issues a couple of weeks prior for our having missed a murder of an African American sister.  Perhaps because I felt guilty of ignoring some of the literally once a week reports of brutal murders of transsexual or transgender people that occur so often.

Or perhaps it was the utter brutality

But I too fell for the story and put up a report of this faked  incident.

I pulled it less than 24 hours later after initially putting it up

The following is by Andrea James republished here with permission

Twenty hallmarks of fake trans personae

By Andrea James

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Excerpted from “Twenty hallmarks of fake trans personae”
http://www.tsroadmap.com/early/online-hoaxes.html

In June 2009, a “transkid” murder hoax perpetrated by“KuryousKyooty” aka “Rachel” aka “Roo” aka “Raychel Edeyn Wilson” was greatly exacerbated after being spread by a number of normally credible people who didn’t bother to confirm any basic facts independently:

* Laura Amato at Laura’s Playground
* Zoe Brain at A.E. Brain
* James/JayTee on YouTube
* Cindi Knox at Pam’s House Blend
* Tobi Hill-Meyer at Bilerico
* Anonymous poster at SoCal Voice
* Vanessa Edwards Foster at Trans Political

Repeating these rumors without any independent verification is the height of irresponsibility for citizen journalists. These kinds of hoaxes do incredible damage to the community at large and to the credibility of the people who post them without any independent verification. These hoaxes and unconfirmed reports cheapen the real
violence our community faces, and they make people less likely to take us seriously in the future.

I have been exposing fake “transkids” for about ten years, and this latest hoax had all the hallmarks of fakery. It is a classic case of something that has been happening on the internet for decades and has had an official name since 2000: Münchausen by Internet.

Some people seek attention by feigning illness or injury, happening either to themselves or to others. Unfortunately, what psychologists call “factitious disorders” and “malingering” are not uncommon among trans people. A lot of trans people take the sick role as a form of identity. Identifying as disordered or diseased is much
more common among people who embrace professional and populist disease models like “gender identity disorder” or “Harry Benjamin Syndrome.” It’s part of a culture of victimhood that unfortunately lends itself to fakery and hoaxes.

If you have a forum or blog, you have a responsibility to the community to avoid spreading misinformation and lies. To help avoid these problems in the future, I have compiled twenty key hallmarks of fake trans narratives/personae.

The key points in the section:

*Hoaxers seek to establish their credibility at the expense of your credibility.

*Hoaxers avoid any details that can be independently confirmed.

*Hoaxers will prey on your respect for their privacy.

*Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

*Trust, but verify.

*An ounce of prevention is always best.

Full article: Twenty hallmarks of fake trans personae http://www.tsroadmap.com/early/online-hoaxes.html

This is talk, not advice. See Terms of Use for details.

Posted by Andrea James on 06/21 at 02:55 PM

©1996-2007 Transsexual Road Map. All rights reserved.

http://www.tsroadmap.com/notes/index.php/site/comments/twenty_hallmarks_of_fake_trans_personae/

Feminist Leadership NOW Team to Usher in a New NOW

ALBANY, NY (06/21/2009)– This weekend members of the National Organization for Women (NOW) cast their votes for a new team of leaders to direct the largest grassroots feminist organization in the country over the next four years. NOW delegates elected Terry O’Neill, who served as the group’s membership vice president from 2001 to 2005, to succeed President Kim Gandy.

Gandy will retire from her office on July 20 due to the organization’s term limits; she has been a leader in NOW for 36 years, with 22 years of service at the national level, including the last eight as president.

“NOW is the organization that fights for the rights of all women no matter the circumstances of their birth, their race or sexual orientation, no matter if they live in poverty or are trying to escape violence,” said NOW President-Elect Terry O’Neill. “My experience with domestic violence, as an abused wife left me humiliated and embarrassed. I only began to talk about this publically five years ago as I realized that to keep quiet was to continue the abuse. I want to empower women and telling my story does just that. Women are fed up with persistent inequality and are ready for change. I am honored and eager to lead NOW in making that change.”

O’Neill cut her political teeth working to defeat David Duke’s gubernatorial campaign in Louisiana. She went on to serve NOW at the local, state and national levels. As an attorney, she served a clerkship at the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago before practicing law in New Orleans. She taught at the University of California Davis Law School and Tulane Law School. Currently, she is chief of staff to a Montgomery County (Md.) councilmember whose successes include a transgender equality law and Maryland’s first Family Justice Center for survivors of domestic violence. O’Neill’s national positions also include executive director of the National Council of Women’s Organizations.

The other members of O’Neill’s team are Bonnie Grabenhofer of IL, taking on the position of executive vice president; Erin Matson of MN, serving as action vice president; and Allendra Letsome of MD, incoming membership vice president.

The American People need a party that represents them and not the fucking corporations and the rich.  As it is the Corporations have two parties representing their interests.  The ultra far right wing Republicans and the merely right wing Democrats.

I have had company provided health insurance for only a tiny fraction of my life.  Many sisters are in this situation.  Many women as well as minorities find this to be the situation.

The American Health Care System is one of the Worst in the industrialized world on virtually every single stage from life expectancy to infant mortality.  We pay more for less than any other nation in the world.  All so the fucking rich can screw us and enslave us.

Further I do not want  mandated purchase of “free market” private insurance.  That is government sanctioned robbery by a crime syndicate made up of the corporations and their lackey government.  I am tired of Senators and Congress people who are minions for the rich and lie to the poor.

Furthewr this National Health Insurance should cover Birth Control, Abortion and SRS.

Senate Dems, GOPers agree: Not enough votes for health reform

It’s doubtful that President Barack Obama can garner enough votes to pass sweeping health care reform through Congress, a leading Senate Democrat says — this despite a new poll that shows nearly three-quarters of Americans would support some form of government-run health care program.

Continue reading at http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/06/senate-dems-gopers-agree-not-enough-votes-for-health-reform/