Kia ora followers! We have put together a resource regarding safety for tomorrow's protest. Please read and boost this message so that we can protest safely and responsibly. (Thread) 🧵
We are aware that this weekend there will be a series of hateful transphobic rallies held in various locations around Aotearoa in support of spreading misinformation about trans people as well as inciting violence against us... 🧵1/?
We have been informed that following the deplatforming of Posie Parker, protesters who chose to continue their protest at Vision NZ's "Stand With Us" (an anti-transgender rally in Aotea Square at the same time) faced extreme hostility and several accounts of physical violence.
Great mahi to everyone who attended todays protest. Thanks to the phenomenal turn out and amazing energy, this deplatforming was a resounding success!
Please remember to protect the online privacy of our community by blurring/obscuring faces if you choose to post online. 🏳️⚧️❤️🏳️🌈
UPDATE! 8am this Saturday we will announce a meeting point for counter-protesters, near where the TERFs intend to rally, but separate.
It is possible the location may need to move if it becomes unusable for some reason.
Check for updates here before approaching our location
Meeting point for todays counter-protest is by the fountain in Albert Park, at 10:30am.
We will be sharing plans and a safety briefing for the day. We welcome you to join us
Speeches - in the green zone
Deplatforming noise demo - the red zone
both start 11:00am
This means that we must now focus our community efforts towards the major proponents of anti-transgender and fascist idealogy from WITHIN Aotearoa. Remember what we achieved today - we must hold this power within us and carry it forward, both as a collective, and as individuals.
We are currently waiting to verify accounts of violence and aggression aimed at our community, most notably against disabled protestors and those who were more vulnerable or unable to physically defend themselves.
The next bit is where you come in.
The de-platforming of Posie Parker here in Tāmaki Makaurau was a highly successful action based on the actions of many others in multiple locations internationally. The specific tactic employed has been proven to work when utilised correctly in particular contexts, and it did. 3/
Some may want to protest against these rallies. Whilst we cannot tell individuals what their personal or collective responses should be to these events, we at TLA will not be attending or protesting, as we do not believe it is wise or beneficial at this point in time... 2/
Kia ora and welcome to our very first followers! We see you and we need you so don't go anywhere! There is a lot going on behind the scenes right now, so hold tight and stay tuned for more updates - we're not going anywhere.
All those behind TLA are both eternally grateful, as well as humbled, to have witnessed this power carried by our community today. We must keep this momentum; the mahi is not over.
Whilst we successfully deplatformed a major international anti-transgender "activist" in Tāmaki Makaurau today, it has become clear that Vision NZ used this distraction as an opportunity to amplify their misinformation, hatred, and fascist view points to the wider public.
These direct threats of physical violence, whilst not new to our community, are now being stated far more openly than before. The various organisers of these hate rallies this weekend are clearly trying to bait our community and create a reaction. 6/
If you can verify these accounts, or have any personal accounts, photographic or video evidence of said violence, intimidation, physical aggression or anything in this regard, we ask you email this to us at: transliberated
@proton
.me
Videos have been shared by organisers directly threatening to "advance on" trans people who dare to show up, saying that we should be scared. Organisers have openly stated that they wish for "rugby players" and "MMA fighters" to take part in this. 5/
The best way to address this rise in anti-trans rhetoric and violent threats against us in the long term will not be ad-hoc - instead, it will be strategic, planned, and deliberate. 8/
Instead of endangering ourselves and walking into a poorly laid-out trap by a small group of fragile, insecure men, we plan to take other steps to continue progress towards trans liberation. 16/
🧵For Trans Day of Visibility, let us remember that visibility is not something that is possible for all trans people. For some it is not safe, and for many, it is not enough to be visible. (Thread)
Trans and Irāwhiti people have always and will always exist. We are beautiful. Our love and care for one another, and the self knowledge each of us seeks and finds every day, is a foundation of our collective strength and a testament to our resilience....
Going forward, we at TLA plan to share further resources regarding things you can do yourself as an activist to oppose and fight back against transphobia and fascism. 9/
Each individual's emotional response to this will be different but valid. If you are trans, irāwhiti, or gender diverse in any other shape or form, this imminent threat of violence will likely be extremely distressing. 7/
If you are interested in using the resources we will be sharing, keep updated with our socials as we will be planning to share over the following weeks. 17/
Details for the protest going down in Te-Whanganui-a-Tara, where KJK will be attempting to hold another transphobe rally the day following her event in Tāmaki Makaurau. Queer Endurance/Defiance updates can also be found on Facebook. We thank them for their mahi!
Haven't seen anyone else post about the Wellington protest yet, but - this is on this Sunday the 26th of March at 1:30 at the City to Sea bridge!
FB Event -
We are not here to tell you the correct way to do this, but what we can do is use our small platform to provide information regarding this that will help you keep yourself and those around you safe. 10/
Ata mārie to all our followers - please remember to continue retweeting, liking, and commenting on our tweets to boost our message! Keep inviting friends and spreading the word - we're doing well but the mahi is not over! We need as many to attend the protest as possible🏳️⚧️❤️
Contrarily, the events taking place this weekend and those attempting to organise them, whilst openly admitting to their intent of violence, are at best hastily pulled-together and poorly thought through. 12/
If you are sending photos/videos, please supply a description. If you are sending a link to something online, it would be extremely helpful if you could also send us a hard copy of any photographs or videos that it includes. This can be done by screenshotting or screenrecording.
Ata mārie e te whānau!
We will see you soon! Together we will make it apparent that fascist and right-wing hate speech is definitively opposed in Tāmaki Makaurau. Don't let them forget it!
Our team will be on standby and keeping people updated throughout the day.
We thank everyone who turned up for our counter-protest today against far-right anti-Māori Christian fundamentalist Julian Batchelor's Stop Co-Governance Tour march at Commercial Bay. Batchelor's racism, homophobia and transphobia will never be welcome in Tāmaki Makaurau!
Our Instagram account is active! You will find updates for the protest on Instagram under the handle
@_trans_liberated
. If you have Instagram, follow us to repost our content and spread the message! This is a call to action!
TLA came about as a result of various strangers including, new and well seasoned organisers, connecting and realising a desperate need for a call to action and a more coordinated community response. This is why we must now do better to prepare for such threats as these ones. 15/
We recognise the advent of these widespread anti-trans rallies in and of themselves may contribute to a diminishing sense of safety, regardless of these points. 14/
On Sept 20th Posie Parker intends to revisit Aotearoa and hold another anti-trans rally, likely inciting hatred and violence amongst the far-right against our community.
Please sign and share our petition to deny Posie Parker re-entry into Aotearoa.
Pride Whanganui is holding a protest against the scheduled transphobic hate rally there today. Remember, if you choose to go there's more safety in numbers. If there's no organised resistance in your area, bear in mind you may be extremely vulnerable and unsafe in doing so.
Liberation for Sex Workers in Aotearoa, and around the world!!!
Sex Workers Rights Are Trans Rights Are Human Rights!
19% of trans people surveyed in 2018 had engaged in sex work. (pp. 91-92)
Immense respect for our Pōneke and Ōtautahi whānau - and the rest of the country as well, who were watching and supporting our protests from afar. Trans solidarity this weekend has united our community - together, we can end transphobia in Aotearoa.
4,000+ for trans rights in civic square today - the largest trans rights demo in NZ history! Anti-trans group "Speak Up For Women" turned up, took one look and left.
If you would like to share celebratory images of signs, trans solidarity and Posie Parker getting successfully deplatformed you can use the hashtag
#NoPlatformForTransphobia
💖🏳️⚧️💖
For those who don't know, the video below shows VicPol in Melbourne yesterday aggressively pushing back protestors to protect openly identified nazis and KJK supporters behind them. These are the networks KJK is seeking to strengthen globally. This is what we're up against.
How VicPol treated trans rights protestors simply standing in a line against literal nazis, saluting a few meters behind them. Gee, I wish the cops had been this enthusiastic about forcing the Nazis to move on! (They did not)
Protecting our identities sustains our ability to fight another day.
When we say we keep us safe, online privacy practices are a crucial part of that. Information is power, let yours belong to you.
1/2
Due to an overwhelming amount of anti-Muslim and transphobic harassment in our responses, we have chosen to remove our tweet about Palestine - we see no reason to platform damaging racist and fascist rhetoric. 1/
@shaneellall
@finlay_txt
@QueerEndurance
Kia ora Shaneel
Considering our membership is not public, it's quite presumptuous to assume we don't have non-white members, or to assume anyone's ethnicity. It's also presumptuous to assume our team have not been the target of transphobic violence.
1/2
The wait is over 🎉From today the process for changing gender markers will be simplified, allowing trans, irāwhiti, MVPFAFF and intersex people to amend their identification documents with greater ease!
On 3 May at Parliament, extremist group Speak Up For Women are holding a transphobic event themed around 'showing up for women'.
We know that 'showing up for women' means trans women and cis women showing up for each other, hand in hand.
Join us at midday outside Parliament 💜
The fight against colonisation is inalienable from our own fight for liberation as trans people. Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.
Silence = death. Solidarity with Palestine 🇵🇸 5/5
@shaneellall
@finlay_txt
@QueerEndurance
One of our members was hate-crimed in January by people who were also attendees of the Vision NZ event on Queen Street in March.
This violence was happening before Posie visited, and it will continue to happen unless it is confronted and addressed.
On Saturday the 23rd we encourage you all to put your collective voices into anti-fascist action again. Join
@AntiFascistAkl
in their noise demo and rally against Julian Batchelor's anti-Māori hate speech.
Immense thanks to QED for their support. Folks, please read and share if you can, as QED have made some significant and nuanced observations.
In solidarity we're much stronger💪💪💪🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️
If anyone wanted to donate or tautoko our kaupapa, we've attached a bank account below. If any organisations also wanna donate drinks/sunscreen/chilly bins/snacks etc COME THROUGH!
TLA FUNDS
12-3629-0840676-01
Click the link to read our FAQ which we just released.
We aim to clear some things up, and have shared some safety info as well, which we ask people to read in preparation for the 20th (that part is closer to the bottom).
Kia kaha, kia manawanui🏳️⚧️
If you intend to be at the protest on Saturday, we ask you to stay updated on our socials, and strongly urge you to follow safety advice and information that we have shared.
We're considering options for getting some people from Pōneke up to support
@transliberated
's protest this Wednesday. If you're interested please let us know. We're conscious it's a weekday, & logistics may or may be workable. Depending on numbers options could include bus hire.
Rafiqah unfortunately couldn't speak at Albert Park yesterday, but her speech is important, and needs to be seen. We must protect not only trans people, but especially those of us with multiple intersections. Rafiqah, as a trans Muslim, deserves to have her voice heard. Thank you
Despite differences in praxis, we tautoko this fantastic resource and thread created by Quack.
If you intend to attend on Wednesday, please read it. 🏳️⚧️✊
Remember: Organisers of transphobic hate rallies scheduled today want conflict and content to propagandise with, don't give it to them. We strongly advise not engaging with Counterspin or any far right media, and advise caution with all media not known to support trans liberation
AUCKLAND - there will be a rally today at 2pm at the Auckland Domain in solidarity with Palestine and to call for a ceasefire.
Mask up and then show up if you can. Solidarity with Palestine 🇵🇸
As politically radical transexuals and abolitionists, we believe that the effort to pit minorities against one another only works against us and our collective movement towards decolonisation and liberation. 3/
It takes a huge fucking nerve to say trans people willing to put their bodies on the line for all of our rights and safety should be left to face anti-trans radicals alone.
Including if it's a trans person, a trans celebrity, or trans "elder" saying it.
KJK does not stand for women. KJK stands for fascist patriarchy. Another brilliant video from Shaun which spells out KJK's enthusiastic ties to fascism and anti-woman politics
The anti co-governance tour is coming to Kingsland, Tāmaki tomorrow, Wednesday at 7pm. To attend you have to register and the venue will be emailed to you closer to the time. We’ll be handing out pamphlets outside (unless they let us in 😇)
Register here:
Using attitudes held by victims of a horrific colonial occupation effort to justify the genocide they face is extremely disappointing. This is not an ideology we support and refuse to platform. 4/
Our team have been taking time to rest and recuperate after time spent organising.
We encourage ALL attendees to do the same.
Take care of yourselves. Take care of each other.
Oh look, it only takes threats of literal genocide for the cops to pay attention.
Stay safe out there kids, as always, I run a safe house and am here if you need it.
Aroha and Kia Kaha
Yesterday we released an abbreviated statement regarding our plans for 20th September. Unwittingly, we misrepresented a member of our community, with whom we consulted with on our choices, but ultimately with whom we have had a disagreement in praxis, and the path forward. 1/
Another amazing speech, this time from Rainbow Path Aotearoa NZ. Beautifully written and another example of how important it is to recognize intersectionality. We will always extend our support to those seeking asylum here.