Charleston SC is actually shocked they were named snobbiest city?

By Sabrina Samone, TMP

After living nearly ten years now in the low country of South Carolina, I’m use to the constant mentioning of Charleston being voted year after a year as the friendliest city. I’m always a little bewildered how this can be as I’m constantly nearly ran off the road by a road ragger going sixty miles per hour down a typical road with a 45mph speed limit, nearly daily. If you live here, hearing of Charleston’s national friendliest listings is something you can’t escape. It usually makes front page news every year and if you don’t read the paper don’t worry you’ll hear about it for the next few days on the local news. The Holy City, as it’s ironically nicknamed, is tickled pink to let the public know every single top ten listing they’ve made, which is weekly. I suppose its normal for a mid-size metro area just shy of a million to gloat on any recognition it receives but the most recent listing has them shocked?

Travel and Leisure Magazine recently named Charleston, SC the tenth snobbiest city according to the Post and Courier, which also polled its readers on what they think; 35% said yes it was most definitely snobby and 40% said maybe a little bit. The famous Mayor, or (king) of nearly four decades seemed a little ticked and in the article stated that, “The normal understanding and definition of that word does not fit Charleston. Charleston is the most gracious and least snobby city I’ve ever been in.” Said Mayor Joe Riley, who is a Democrat, so paint me hypocritical but I’ll never say anything negative about him here, lol. But this is also like the Queen of England saying that Queen Silvia of Sweden isn’t a snob, it just doesn’t go over quite as convincing.

Travel + Leisure's snobbiest cities

1. San Francisco

2. New York City

3. Boston

4. Minneapolis/St. Paul

5. (Tie) Santa Fe, N.M.  /  Seattle

7. Chicago

8. Providence, R.I.

9. Washington, D.C.

10. Charleston
Travel + Leisure magazine

This was also the same Mayor that denied the TBGL people a chance at having Charleston Gay Pride, downtown. Locally we don’t say we are going to Charleston, we just say going downtown, our smaller version of Manhattan. Fortunately the Mayor of North Charleston came to the rescue and invited the Pride celebrations in his city, our version of Queens, or at its worse, our Tonnelle Ave. of Jersey City, NJ (but the truely better city). After four years of having a local Pride March in North Charleston, it has grown and become quite lucrative. Since money speaks the red carpet was rolled out to the TBGL community who are more than grateful to walk the runways of “their Manhattan”, giving the gracious host of North Charleston their newly gold platted asses to kiss. Accused of being a snob? Oh no, never.

The comments on the news and in papers made for some humorous reading when I returned home this week, but the snobby listing has already been forgotten this week as news of New York Yankees star Alex Rodriquez (A-Rod), who is recovering from a recent hip surgery is set to wear a Charleston River Dogs uniform and play for our minor league team, at “The Joe”, The Joe Riley Park, yes named after Charleston’s long lasting and accomplished Mayor Joe Riley. It being Alex Rodriquez it’s a must I be there tonight, so my tickets are in hand, not that I'm a big baseball fan but OMG look at the man and especially since they serve wine, cheese and with an Italian Chef on site, but we’ll be having dinner before the game at Slightly North of Broad or “S.N.O.B” as it’s locally called.

                                                         A-Rod, playing with the River Dogs tonight
And don’t worry too much about the ego of Charleston, SC, we’re back on top already as the cover on today’s paper read; “Charleston is No. 1 city in U.S., No. 7 in the World”.  Well they (“ain’t”) lying, it is the best area anywhere, but does that make us snobs down here? You damn right it does and proud of it!!!

Travel and Leisure Magazine World’s Best Awards

Charleston Pride week starts Aug. 1 thru Aug. 4th, for more info click here for Charleston Pride Festival

 

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Transgender Women under attack!

By Sabrina Samone,TMP

June 21^st marked the beginning of summer 2013 and since that time, five attacks have already occurred on Trans-women in the D.C. area alone, according to Metroweekly.com. The first to gain much attention was the assault on Bree Wallace who was stabbed over 20 times. A shooting of a Trans-woman occurred a day after the stabbing, in which the victim died of multiple gunshot wounds. That same evening another Trans-woman was off Eastern Ave. in D.C. and approached by two men, when she began to flee, she was shot. The local police department has posted a surveillance video of the two “persons of interest” in the case. One man is shown clearly paying for gas as if he had just another night on the town and had not just attempted to kill a human being. Two days later a fourth transgender woman accepted a ride from an unknown male and was sexually assaulted. Within the hour another trans-woman was walking along “k” street  approached by two men who attempted to rob her, and then one of them shot her.

First of all I’d like to say, anyone who knows the D.C. area knows what the areas around K street are known for, regardless these women’s lives are no less than anyone else’s and I’d hope the greater transgender community will show the same compassion as if it had been them. I am not saying the victim in question was or is part of the sex industry only that many are aware what goes on in and around K Street. I’ve said it before here and I always will. We cannot ostracize any trans-woman that has been pushed into the world of the sex industry. With the way job discrimination is and as long as the lack of full equality remains for transgender people we cannot hold or dismiss anyone's life, that is Trans, as less than any other human being. Not all was given advantages to succeed, but due to the way we are viewed in society was handed quite the opposite.

Still, there is no proof of that sort of activity going on; regardless there are a total of five victims since June, 21. The most important question is, why is there so many attacks on transgender women of color? The answer to me is our culture; yes we are fully aware of bigotry amongst the different races, which is unfortunate, but the misogynistic behavior within the African-American community, especially the bigotry towards the LGBT community has gone unchecked far too long. The most visible ones in the greater alphabet is the lonely “T”, for all those with self doubts about their own sexuality to take their aggression to. One of the most blatant portrayals of this Afro-misogynistic behavior was demonstrated even on the nationally televised BET Awards, against B. Scott, an entertainer known for his androgynous dress, mannerism and style. It’s rumored that B. Scott was asked by those in power at the BET awards to not wear heels and tone down his dress. A performer who was asked to be on the show was censored by people who knew what they were getting to begin with. This is just a small sample of the black America I see as a trans-woman of color, which says with one hand “we are not totally equal”, yet those they deem undesirable within their own community are ostracized, beaten and as we’ve witnessed this weekend in D.C., killed in the other hand. When mainstream media (like Fox news), government or any highly profiled person demonstrates such a low tolerance for a person there are millions of young African American and other kids that receive the green light from their culture to express their hate on this group.

We grew up with it as young LGBT kids. We heard the town preacher condemn us to hell. We grew up hearing mainstream hip-hop use the words fa**** and bit*** far too many times. A black man is to grow up strong and powerful and not be a man that dates another man or dresses as a woman. Black women aren’t supposed to date another woman. True, every culture has its share of hate towards members of the LGBT community, but in the African-American culture it has often been over looked by decades by the macho world of hip-hop, the church and not enough sympathy for a fellow oppressed group of people. It is only now, in 2013, that we are just ‘beginning’ to turn the corner where many in the civil rights community see the struggles of LGBT people as a civil rights issue as well. It shouldn’t have taken so long.

We continue to press for every culture to see LGBT people as equal and especially Transgender people, who are also finding ourselves fighting a lot of the LGB for the same recognition for our rights. What must we do as Trans-women of color to protect ourselves? I’d honestly like to say start carrying a gun and start fighting back, once they know we aren’t sheep ready to roll over and die then maybe they’ll stop f****** with us, but the best answer would be to take more precautions, be more aware of your surroundings and know, regardless how young and invincible you feel, no matter how flawless you are, you are a target of hate. You may be the most “passable” girl or boy, but don’t let that put yourself in any unnecessary danger. I have a friend who as we say is a “working girl” or online escort; she pays for a driver and someone to stand outside of her hotel door when she has a client.  She never deals with anyone who sounds sketchy. She knows she’s in a dangerous profession and takes extreme precautions. Like an old friend once told me in life, it’s not always what you do but ‘how’ you do things that get you through life.

Whatever you do or don’t do is a personal choice, that I for one will never judge, belittle, degrade or demonize anyone who is transgender, for being transgender alone, makes you my sister or brother, because I know what the f… you go through and one day I’d like all my brothers and sisters, everywhere to grow old look around and not have to say “I stand where an army ‘once’ stood”, but that “I stand where an army ‘still’ stands”,  the army of trans-sister & brothers.


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HRC trying to make amends for past Transgender exclusions

   By Sabrina Samone, TMP

The HRC claims to be the largest LGBT civil rights organization, but have been criticized for several years for not being Trans inclusive. In 2008, HRC was the only LGBT civil rights group that supported a non-trans-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). This year, during a Marriage Equality Rally in Washington, DC, they caused an uproar within the Transgender Community, when a trans man holding a trans flag on the stage, was forced by an HRC staffer on three different occasions to leave the stage if he was to remain holding the Transgender Flag, stating that “marriage equality isn’t a transgender issue.” Marriage equality is very much a Trans issue though rarely discussed as such in the greater LGBT message.

Many Transgender writers/bloggers wasted no time calling the foul that HRC has made. In the popular article on Transgriot, “Why the Transgender Community Hates HRC”, Monica Roberts, details for us the long history dating back as far back as the days of Stonewall. The conservative elders of the gay movement in the early eighties were entrenched with anti-trans rhetoric.

Now the HRC is yet again stating that they are increasing their work on Trans issues. Unfortunately they are not making this more transparent and vocalizing this to the Trans organizations. HRC members have worked most recently on the promotion of including gender identity and the Transgender bill passed in Delaware. The HRC raised money specifically to work on the gender identity bill and hired six additional contract field organizers.

Whether this amount of attention by the HRC continues or is just a knee jerk reactions due to the press they recieved, remains to be seen. Is this enough fort the average Trans person to feel included by the HRC? They have a long way to go after recent activities and their past behavior to build trust among our community. More should be done to let the Trans Community know what the HRC has and is planning for the Trans Community, in the light.

Hopefully we will continue to see the T not being left behind by the major LGB organizations, but I’d have more faith in contributing my time and money to the leading Trans Organizations. At least we know we want be let down again.

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