Never Enough Shed Tears Department

There were, at last count, 87 vigils held yesterday during the Transgender Day Of Remembrance. Most of these were successful at some level. The Seattle vigil had 142 people, both trans and non-trans, as well as representatives from several national and local GLBT organizations. Thea volunteered to light the candles as each of this year's victims had their names read, the crowd intoning "We remember" with each name. It was extremely moving, and I cried more than once.

Next year, I hope to encourage more people, especially the non-transgendered and youth, to attend, so that we can make a more powerful statement about transgender prejudice and hopefully work towards ending such prejudice, so that future Day Of Remembrance events will only commemorate past years' deaths and no longer mourn new ones.

Never Enough Article Writing Department

I co-wrote, with Gwendolyn Anne Smith, an article regarding the Transgender Day Of Remembrance. You can find the article by visiting Temenos, a web site intended to provide a "sacred space" for the GLBT community. A direct link to the article can be found here.

Never Enough Hell-Raising Grannies Department

Doris Haddock's speech on How to Break the American Trance should be printed in every newspaper in the country. Of course, few newspapers will have the guts.

Never Enough Backbone Department

Too many pundits are taking the failure of the Democratic Party in last week's election as a green-light for Bush to continue his policies, especially regarding Iraq and the War On Terrorism. In fact, the few politicians--mostly Democrat--who stood up against the President and voted against war actually got re-elected by handsome margins. It is painfully clear, then, that there is no green-light, and that if more politicians had the courage to say no to war, Bush would be standing on shakier ground.

It's not too late to declare that Bush does not act on behalf of the majority of Americans. To that end, I strongly urge you to visit Not In Our Name, a site that includes a petition against Bush's war policy. If you have a backbone, you can stand against war.

Never Enough Memorials Department
The Transgender Day of Remembrance is only two weeks away, on November 20th. This day is set aside in memory of those who have died due to transphobia--the fear and/or hatred of others due to gender presentation. There has been a 25% increase in reports of transgender-related deaths; this may be due to improved reporting rather than an actual increase in deaths. Furthermore, the victims haven't always been transgendered--one was a partner of a transsexual, and another was simply carrying his wife's purse--and one case was more a matter of willful neglect rather than outright murder. The bottom line is, transphobia affects ALL people, regardless of gender identity, sexuality, race, nationality, or class. Therefore, I strongly recommend finding a DOR vigil near you. (There are dozens of cities in the US, and a few internationally, with vigils planned.) Stand up against senseless violence, and let the world know that transphobia is a tragedy that could affect anyone.