community-based, non-corporate, participatory media
community-based, non-corporate, participatory media
Statement on Thefts and Sexual Assaults in Pittsburgh, PA
by ---
Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2006 at 6:12 AM
This statement is the product of Pittsburgh Organizing Group, The BigIdea bookstore collective, and survivors of Khalia Latte’s sexual assaults. Its purpose is to inform people who come into contact with Khalia to try to make communities as safe as possible. If you have questions, seek confirmation of the statement’s authenticity, or have additional information we should be aware of we can be reached at POG@mutualaid.org or books@thebigideapgh.org.
Throughout 2006, money and books were stolen from the Big Idea, Pittsburgh’s radical bookstore. In August, money was stolen from Pittsburgh Organizing Group. POG discovered that one individual, Khalia Latte (formerly known as Anthony Foster), acting alone, was responsible for these thefts. Through the course of investigation and discussion about the thefts, information came to light about Khalia’s sexual assaults.
Khalia is a long-time resident of Pittsburgh, an anarchist trans person of color, who has been active in a variety of communities in Pittsburgh. She has a long history of violations, and we can offer no guarantees regarding her future actions. Safety is our highest concern and we encourage people in Pittsburgh and other cities to forward this account as widely as possible. Our intent is to increase awareness so that as many people as possible can make informed decisions upon interacting with Khalia. We wish to be transparent about what has transpired and say to our allies that these are real issues which are not being sufficiently addressed.
Summary of Thefts at The Big Idea Bookstore
Over the last year, a series of thefts by Khalia Latte (Anthony Foster), a former volunteer with The Big Idea Bookstore, have jeopardized the survival of the bookstore. Both merchandise and money were stolen from the store over a series of months. When these thefts came to our attention, we suspected Khalia based on circumstantial evidence; however we did not have sufficient grounds at that time to go public with our suspicions. We estimate that $800 was stolen from the store. After Khalia’s confession to the theft from the POG Legal Defense Fund, a POG collective member suggested that she disclose any other thefts. At this point, she admitted stealing from The Big Idea. Below is the email she sent to a collective member on September 6th:
Hi ---,
I am sending you this email as a confession concerning the missing money from the Big Idea. I am the one responsible for these crimes, and am sorry it took me so long to come forward and admit to it. Better late than never I suppose. While I know that you and a few others already know of my involvement I still wanted to come out and say it. The idea of coming clean on all fronts was given to me by someone else who's group I am in a process of restorative justice with, as an opportunity to try to make things right (loosely speaking) with everyone all at the same time, and start from zero all at once rather than in sections. I thought this was good advice and decided to take it.
I wish to pay the money back as soon as I am able. I am still looking for jobs at the present moment, so would not be able to pay the store back immediately, but will inform the collective the moment I have a gig. Paying the money back is the least I can do. I must say that choosing to send this email to you was just a matter of comfort for me, as I have known you longer than anyone else in the collective, and you are a very level headed and grounded person, not because I believe that you will some how go easy on me, because of our time in acquaintance. Well I guess there is nothing else to say for now, and I assume that you will forward this to the rest of the collective list. I will be awaiting any demands that they will have of me. Though I must advise that it is far easier to get in touch with me via phone than email, as I don't have regular email access as of late.
-Khalia
Because The Big Idea is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run operation which re-invests all profit back into the store, the missing money was a major blow to our operations. We are still, however, committed to making this cooperative, consensus-based, non-hierarchical business thrive in Pittsburgh. It was only due to the generosity of our friends within the Pittsburgh community – and in particular Free Ride – that we were able to keep the store open in the aftermath of these incidents. In response to the thefts, we have made changes in financial policies and procedures. Since that time, there have been no additional thefts to our knowledge.
The Theft of POG Money
Pittsburgh Organizing Group’s money was kept in a POG bank account under the supervision of Brian, a trusted member of the group. Upon leaving the country for a few weeks, Brian stored the ATM card in his room along with the pin number in a separate, well-hidden location. It was later discovered Khalia took advantage of the fact Brian’s house is used for Food Not Bombs to access and ransack his room to find the card and pin.
After returning from his trip, Brian attempted to use the account to donate money to mutual-aid for their generous computer support, to an individual falsely arrested for breaking the door of a military recruitment center at an anti-war event, and to pay the bill for counter-recruitment t-shirts. All of the transactions bounced for insufficient funds; the account had been emptied.
Approximately $1200 was withdrawn in four transactions, starting hours after Brain returned to Pittsburgh. Once the theft was discovered, Brian immediately contacted the bank in order to ascertain what the options were for recovery of the money. The bank indicated that Brian could get all the money back if he filed a statement that the money had been fraudulently withdrawn and agreed to cooperate with the bank/police in a criminal investigation.
Within 24 hours of Brian’s realization, another POG member was approached anonymously by Khalia, who claimed to have knowledge about what happened to the money. The POG member encouraged Khalia to write up a statement and send it to the rest of the group. In this statement, Khalia claimed to have been approached late one night while out for a walk. She said a man who had been following her forced her into a car with two other men. At that time the men allegedly gave her the ATM card and the pin number and instructed her to take the money out of the account. She claimed that these men threatened her with arrest for participating in local protests and threatened violence toward her partner and family if she didn’t cooperate. She also claimed that POG was under significant government surveillance, had been infiltrated, and that the purpose of stealing the money was to mess with POG.
POG met to share information and reach consensus on how to proceed. Difficult discussions took place and consensus grew around the idea that the story was entirely fabricated, that we believed the perpetrator was Khalia Latte (because of her inclusion of personal identifying details), and that we wished to formulate a restorative justice program to handle community violations, such as financial “crimes,” outside of the state’s “justice” system. When confronted by POG members, Khalia admitted the story was fabricated and reluctantly agreed to participate in a restorative justice program (to be formulated at a later date). Under questioning, Khalia gave indications that she was responsible for the Big Idea thefts, too.
Khalia’s gross violation of community trust was extremely difficult to deal with. Pre-existing conflict within POG was exacerbated by the stress, communication breakdown and lack of a concrete process plan to deal with possible state repression. POG members feel that Khalia’s attempt to introduce the element of state involvement was in fact more of a problem than the actual theft. Cointel-pro type activities are a historical and current reality. Implausible and seemingly crazy activities have always been part of the state’s attempts to disrupt organizing, they have resorted to far more absurd plots in the past. This was clearly a lesson to our group, and to other radical organizations, that we must discuss and prepare for what to do in cases where state repression is an allegation or reality.
POG approached the BigIdea about handling Khalia’s thefts as a larger community issue. In the course of these discussions, allegations of sexual assaults by Khalia began to surface. POG halted further work on a restorative justice plan and began trying to compile information on Khalia’s actions. In total, four specific incidents of sexual assault or inappropriate sexual behavior over the past four years were brought to light. Additional incidents of Khalia’s theft from other individuals in the activist community were also exposed.
In light of the emerging information, POG sought to bring together all the individuals and groups who had been impacted by Khalia to develop a joint response. As a non-hierarchical, consensus-based group working for progressive social change, POG is committed to working on issues of sexism and sexual assault. We work to create a positive community that is safe for all. We intend to hold responsible those who abuse the community’s trust and will not tolerate the presence or participation of known sexual predators or assailants at our actions or events.
Survivors’ Statements
The following are accounts from survivors of the sexual assaults and harassment perpetrated by Khalia. It is important to address that Khalia uses her sexuality, knowledge of radical politics and presence at different actions and in different groups to gain the trust of those in radical communities. Sexual assault cannot be tolerated. As part of the work to building new systems of mutual-aid we must find ways to share, heal and protect each other.
Statement #1
In spring of 2003 I was attending a party being thrown for me at a friend’s house—it was my 18th birthday. I was drinking, as were many of the guests. Eventually, I and several other people were extremely drunk and started making out at random. It was all in good, innocent, teenage fun. One of the people participating was Khalia (then Anthony), who I had know for about a year or two at that point from various social action groups, mostly queer oriented. The details are a little blurry, but at a certain point Khalia pulled me into an empty room and pulled me down with her on a mattress. At first I didn’t think much about it. I was drunk and on the verge of passing out. This went on for a few minutes, when she started taking my clothes off and I began to protest that I was too drunk to participate in any sexual activity. I wasn’t very forceful in my protesting and sort of started to drift off. Again, the details are blurry. What I remember is Khalia getting on top of me, continuing to take my clothes off, taking her penis out and rubbing it on me. I think I repeated that I was too drunk to be doing that and trying to turn away from her. I’m not sure how long this went on for, but after a while, another person opened the door and came into the room. I quickly grabbed my clothes and ran out.
Afterwards, I shared this story with a few people. There was next to no response from anyone I told. It’s easier to ignore these sorts of difficult occurrences than to acknowledge and work with them I guess.
This was about three and a half years ago. Since then I have made an effort to avoid Khalia. I have never confronted her about it, although she has tried to talk to me a few times and often stares me down when we encounter each other in public. I am extremely intimidated and freaked out by Khalia. I do not want an apology. If Khalia truly regrets her actions, she will show this by staying as far away from me as possible and not moping around me and giving me fliers to dyke marches.
Good luck and thank you for hearing me out. I really appreciate that this community is finally taking actions against this and letting Khalia and, hopefully, other people who may perpetrate similar crimes that it will not be tolerated.
Statement #2
It was December 31, 2002, also known as New Years Eve Day. I left work in the afternoon and went to the South Side Beehive to play pinball. There I ran into Anthony, a young man I knew from feminist events on Pitt campus, mostly Take Back the Night (yes, a sexual assault artist with a sense of irony, go figure). We played pinball together, and after a while I was ready to go back to my Uptown abode to get ready for New Years Eve. Back at my place, several people were hanging out and smoking reefer. I was trying to put together a "hot" outfit for the holiday, and Anthony followed me from my closet to my room to the mirror, telling me I was "thick" in a complimentary way. He kissed me, and I wasn't that into it, so we went back to the group. A little while later, he got my roommate alone and tried to kiss her, but she did not cooperate either. Anthony got sleepy pretty early on (maybe he was more affected by the smoking than the rest of the group?) and was basically asleep in our living room by 9 or 10pm-ish. that's my best guess, it was long before midnight. I told him that we were going to go to a party, and he was welcome to come with us, but if he needed to sleep he was welcome to go to sleep in my bed. He said that he wanted to sleep, even though it meant he wouldn't know when it was midnight on New Years. I took him up to my room, and he laid down in my bed. My roommates and I went out to a party.
I came home around 2am, moderately drunken, and went to sleep in my bed next to Anthony. He didn't appear to wake up when I came in, and I went to sleep. At some later point, I woke up to realize that Anthony was using my hand to fondle himself -basically, he was using my hand to give himself a hand job while I was asleep/drunk. When I realized that's what was happening, I got angry and told him to leave. A few weeks later, I ran into him at the Beehive again, where he stared at me for a while, then came up to me and asked me "what's your name again?" and "can we spend a little more time together sometime?" At first, I was too freaked out to express anything other than "no," but when he kept staring at me and staring, I finally went to him and told him that #1 it is not okay to do ANYTHING sexually with someone when they're asleep or drunk, even if they let you sleep in their bed and even if you felt you shared a moment earlier in the evening, and # 2 I trusted him because we met at Take Back the Night and that is so fucked up. He appeared confused and walked away. A few weeks later I saw him at the Beehive again, and he asked me if I would want to have a group meeting with the community where we could discuss what happened and he could publicly apologize to me. I said no, that I didn't want to discuss the whole thing in public, but I appreciated and respected that he was trying to make matters better. And I did respect that, until last winter (2005) when I was visiting Pittsburgh and somehow that story came up, and when I said that I was asleep and someone used my hand to jerk himself off, the guy I was talking to said "really, that sounds familiar, are you talking about Khalia Latte?" because he had heard that same story from someone else.
Khalia (formerly Anthony) also tried to keep me out of the radical cheerleaders in Pittsburgh by telling a mutual acquaintance that he wouldn't be comfortable with me there. And he's come to activist events in Philadelphia and stared at me with that same creepy across-the-room stare.
Other Survivors
Other instances of inappropriate sexual behavior and assault have also come to light. One case involved aggressive, repeated, and inappropriate sexual advances towards a 15 year old girl. Another case involved repeated sexual advances and sexual harassment toward another woman. Khalia's behavior culminated in an incident in which she physically pulled the woman into a bathroom and proceeded to pull her own penis out at the woman. The woman was able to successfully extricate herself from the situation.
Accountability
Those of us who gathered together to discuss this situation have come up with a number of steps that Khalia could take to be more accountable for her behaviors. We encourage her to undertake some or all of the following actions.
1. Seek counseling regarding sexual assault, uncontrollable theft, anger management, violence, and other possible psychological concerns.
2. Apologize to the victims of theft, survivors of sexual assault, and people who have lost trust in her.
3. Publicly take responsibility for her actions. Write something that confirms our statement.
4. Explain what she did with the money.
5. Pay back money to the organizations and individuals from whom she stole (and not with money that is stolen in turn).
6. Not enter The Big Idea or events organized/sponsored by POG or The Big Idea.
7. Publicly accept responsibility for other incidents of theft or sexual assault.
8. Write a letter explaining her action and sending it to other groups she works with in Pittsburgh and in other cities.
9. Not engaging in sexual activities without expressed (non-coerced) verbal consent.
10. Until she has a better idea of "consent," make an effort not to be alone with people to whom she is sexually attracted or to try to get them alone with her.
11. Disclose completely and truthfully what she did when she is asked about it.
12. Apologize to the community for everything she did.
13. She must respect the fact that doing everything we require of her will not automatically repair her relationships with groups and individuals in the community.
14. Keep us up to date with her contact information.
15. Make a list of what constitutes "consent" and what it does not entail.
Resources For Survivors Of Assault And Their Allies
Khalia Latte has repeatedly assaulted members of our community. This section outlines resources for those who have been assaulted, by Khalia or by others and for the community at large.
When it comes to assault, there is not consensus in Pittsburgh’s radical community on how to best address the needs of survivors, perpetrators and the community as a whole. In other cities, including Seattle, Philadelphia and Portland, groups have formed to explore various community-based methods of supporting survivors, preventing future assault and developing options for accountability. Pittsburgh does not have a similar group currently, but we hope the information below will give survivors of assault and those grappling with these issues options for personal healing, community education and local organizing.
We realize that there are many different strategies for healing from assault. These can include psychological/therapeutic/peer support, legal action, medical care, bodywork, direct action and community-based responses. For many individuals, a combination of these methods is necessary. Each person’s path to healing is different and we support the steps one must take to regain a sense of safety in his or her community, in his or her relationships and in his or her own body. There is no one right way to heal, nor is there is any timeline by which you should have “gotten over it.”
For many of us, the revelations of assault by Khalia have triggered our own abuse and assault histories or caused us to remember our own sense of anger and powerlessness when those we love had been hurt. We realize that this is not the first time a fellow radical activist has committed assault. While these past few weeks have been very difficult, we are moving forward the best way we know how. We will continue to listen to survivors and learn from previous mistakes. We hope to continue taking steps to insure that we keep each other safe, facilitate the healing of those who have been hurt and develop communities free from abuse and assault.
Resources Available to PGH Assault/Harassment Survivors:
- Pittsburgh Action Against Rape (PAAR) http://www.paar.net friends@paar.net 24 hour hotline: 1.866.END.RAPE Main Office: 412.431.5665
- PERSAD Center (LGBTQ counseling & other services) http://www.persadcenter.org (412) 441-9786
- Teen Hotline-Contact Pittsburgh 412-361-TEEN
- Womansplace (Counseling and emergency help for women & children who are victims of domestic violence) (412) 678-4616
Information About Radical Community Responses To Sexual Assault:
o Support Zine, available at the Big Idea or through Microcosm
o Philly’s Pissed and Philly Stands Up http://www.phillyspissed.net
For Information About Assault, Trauma Or Abuse:
- Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape http://www.pcar.org
- Teen PCAR http://www.teenpcar.org
- National Sexual Violence Resource Center http://www.nsvrc.org
- National Center for Victims of Crime http://www.ncvc.org
- National Child Traumatic Stress Network http://www.nctsnet.org
- National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children http://www.tlcinst.org
- Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse http://www.malesurvivor.org
- Voices in Action (Incest/Multi-Lingual) http://www.voices-action.org
- Traumatic Stress Institute http://www.tsicaap.com
- National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder http://www.ncptsd.org
Khalia
by ---
Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2006 at 6:12 AM
Another picture
by More recent
Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2006 at 7:52 AM
Allegations of Theft & Abuse
by E-dub
Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2006 at 11:10 AM
It really breaks my heart to hear these stories. I think the restorative justice points outlined in the article make a lot of sense. Although I've been somewhat removed from this circle of people, I hope Khalia will feel free to come forward and approach other people in the community (who indicate they are comfortable with such interaction), including myself, to discuss these events, and to facilitate a process of healing for everyone involved. We all need to have a supportive environment.
Restorative justice?
by Dr. Anarchist
Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2006 at 11:21 AM
Those words aren't mentioned once in this statement.
Restorative Justice
by gladys
Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2006 at 11:42 AM
POG met to share information and reach consensus on how to proceed. Difficult discussions took place and consensus grew around the idea that the story was entirely fabricated, that we believed the perpetrator was Khalia Latte (because of her inclusion of personal identifying details), and that we wished to formulate a <b>restorative justice</b> program to handle community violations.
No surprise.
by anon community member
Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2006 at 12:12 PM
Who would have thought? Word on the street has been to steer clear of Khalia for over two years now. She has been informed that she is not welcome at many people's houses and places of business who saw through the marginalized-black-transgender excuse for the creep within. From the lies of Anthony to the thefts and assaults of Khalia, this has been a bad apple in the community for a very long time. Finally the anarchist blinders are off, but far too late.
Thanks...
by Leah Lakshmi
Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2006 at 1:25 PM
Thanks for writing a well-thought out account of your process. It's really good to see the clear suggestions and focus on accountability within this. The tools and steps outlined here are things other communities looking for ways to deal with abusers inside our organizations and work towards safety could find helpful.
blinders
by Comrade Blinder
Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2006 at 1:53 PM
everyones blinders were apparently on
many of these assaults happened years ago...
friends of khalia
by pgh anarchist
Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2006 at 5:40 PM
Many of us who were close to Khalia knew she was creepy. We tried to deal with her harassing behavior when we could, but never thought she would stoop to assault.
RE: gladys
by Dr. Anarchist
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 12:41 AM
No, POG met and came to consensus about a restorative justice around the theft from POG. Once the sexual assaults came to light, it went far beyond POG. At the next meeting, POG came to consensus to set up a meeting with others in the community and THAT group issued this statement. This statement doesn't say anything about restorative justice beyond the fact that POG initially was going to go through such a process to deal with thet theft. And it clearly says that POG "halted" the process once the assaults came to light in favor of having it with the community. Nothing in this statement implies that Khalia will ever be trusted in the community again.
God knows she shouldn't be.
anon hipster/bike community member
by community member
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 4:41 AM
even that racist, sexist, homophobic rich boy who posted above was right about Khalia, but seems to feel that way about non-rich, non-hetero, non-whites in general.
Oh, please.
by Newport News
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 5:01 AM
"racist, sexist, homophobic rich boy" Please spare us all your ridiculous PC posturing, kid. You must be extraordinarily gifted to be able to extrapolate someone's prejudices and even economic circumstances from one fucking anonymous post. How are your bald-faced presumptions any less biased than those of the original poster?
You're welcome
by community member
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 5:48 AM
>How are your bald-faced presumptions any less biased than >those of the original poster?
Because I personally know all the parties involved. Is that OK with you?
Point taken
by E-dub
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 6:15 AM
re: restorative justice
poor choice of words on my part, as one does not "start from zero," nor can one fully make amends to an individual who has been sexually assaulted. But one can try to do everything possible to change one's future behavior and be more accountable, and I'm sure people will take note of attempts to rectify unacceptable behavior.
Where did I say thanks?
by Virginia Beach
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 7:45 AM
Because I personally know all the parties involved. Is that OK with you? So you...personally know "anon community member?" It just seems like such a person would be hard to "know," since they are...anonymous and all.
Ungrateful tourist
by community member
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 8:05 AM
As a community member, I've heard the above remark made by that indivdual for several years, I'm only basing it on statements they've made in the past which are almost verbatim. Even if I hadn't, their tone betrays where they're coming from. Why are you so concerned about some reactionary post from an anonymous person anyway?
Sure you have
by Investigator
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 8:22 AM
If you can pinpoint the identity of an anonymous post on IMC based on a few typed out words you should be a private investigator. Or a psychic. That or the IMC really does monitor IP logs.
CP article
by accepting blame
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 8:55 AM
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/archive.cfm?type=News%20Feature&action=getComplete&ref=6851
Khalia really accepts blame in the above article. Seems to just push off the entire series of events on her outsider status, again. As with everything. Wake up! Its all been an excuse for unjustifiable behavior towards an (sometimes overly) accepting social group.
If current talk of the town is true that she is now engaged in petty street crime her time will quickly come.
rumors
by pgh anarchist
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 9:14 AM
While hipsters on the roboto board might find it alright to spread rumors about supposed "petty crimes" this person might be engaged in, there is no place for it here. We should know better than to give the cops more than they already have.
-J. Ignorant.
Robert Foley
by Puerto Vallarta
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 9:57 AM
All of this inter-leftist stereotyping is enough to make a Republican horny.
roboto=frat house
by mv
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 10:07 AM
Holy shit. If you think the petty bs on this thread about guessing anonymous posters was stupid, as I did you ain't seen nothing yet. The comments surrounding this attempt at restorative justice speak volumes about the Mr. Roboto project. I had no idea how reactionary the fashionista, spiny-hipsters at Wilkinsburg's finest gentrification outpost really were. Sure, they tolerate nazis and are highly critical on their silly little message board of those of us who don't, to the point of sending one of their chosen ones to 'keep an eye' on anti-fascists, who can't stand the crappy derivative "music" "played" there so they don't hurt any nazis feelings.
Punks for the most part, seem to be the yuppie bikers of radicalism, and the hateful, puerile nonsense on the Mr. Roboto message board really drive this point home. The attitudes expressed towards assault, opression, and those who seek to combat it would make any right-wing talk radio host proud.
Speaking
by Volumes
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 10:23 AM
No worries on those Roboto folks. Its not like that crew of people has actually done anything. None of them operate outside of the mainstream or have realistic polical views, none of them run businesses, own houses, work for non-profits, serve on boards or anything of the like. None of them contribute to this community - they just stand around bashing it. They all cower and hide predators within the group for years and stand outside the military recruiting center with the same 10 friends every other week claiming its an emerging revolution.
Oh wait. I had POG and the general posters of the Roboto board confused. Get a grip and enter the real world.
Start comparing POG and the Republican powerbase and then you may have some real similarities. Concentrated power in the hands of the elite few. Actively hiding predators through claims of "I didn't know, I have no idea how everyone else in fucking Pittsburgh did." Point out folks with idealistic differences as the enemy, or friends of the enemy. You folks are too much, and still sit around wondering why no one gives a shit about anything that you've screamed about in the past few years.
homes and businesses?
by pgh anarchist
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 10:37 AM
I don't have to own a home or business to be respected in my community. Unlike them, my community aren't middle class white kids who moved into the city to live a "metropolitan" life in what used to be black communities until they decided hip "gallery crawls" were more important than poor people being able to afford their rent.
And this isn't inter-leftist bashing. Anarchists are anti-capitalists, liberals aren't. We are not on the same side.
Community
by Respect
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 10:48 AM
Walking around like your shit don't stink and harboring criminals in your group for years hasn't earned you any respect.
Gain some historical perspective on how all of these hipsters are moving back into the communities that their grandparents once lived. Wilkinsburg, East Liberty, Garfield, the Northside etc were not always blighted black communities. At some point in their history all were working class white districts. Look at some school yearbooks from your parents generation. Viewing gentrification in a historical context of the given neighborhoods that started yesterday is foolish and completely disrespectful to the working class families that originally built the neighborhoods that are somehow being gentrified according to you.
You've been accepted
by Duquesne Club
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 10:49 AM
We've processed your application, and since it says here that you "have realistic polical (sic) views, you run a business, you own a house,you work for non-profits, and you serve on boards", we'd be happy to have you. You can afford a membership, right?
All right already
by Thomas "House of" Paine
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 10:56 AM
"middle class white kids who moved into the city"
1) You do realize that you are also describing POG members, right? Please at least admit that.
2) Re: Roboto-bashing. Way to alienate a large population who would otherwise be willing to help you. This should be as effective toward that end as the many successful tagging-your-neighbor's-houses campaigns.
3) But I digress. This is devolving into incredible levels of silliness. What are we trying to do here? I'm no more likely to be convinced by angry, faceless anonymous internet posters than I am to convince anyone AS one. Why don't we hash this out in real life at some point, folks?
I am entirely willing to listen to and seriously consider any side.
white kids
by pgh anarchist
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 11:15 AM
To one of the posters above.. I hardly think that hipsters going to art galleries has anything to do with working-class Italian immigrants. In fact, the kids I am talking about would have renounced those immigrants because, unlike them, they actually stood up to their enemies and didnt whine about having to vote for Bill Peduto.
I'm not looking for support from the group of hipsters kids refer to as "Roboto Kids". They never have given me or my friends support, and they use every chance they can to denounce us and Anarchism when they really have no idea what they are talking about. Why would I want to appease a group of people that are against what I stand for?
Help Me?
by roboto basher
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 11:15 AM
Help me what? Help me talk shit about sexual assault victims? Help me make excuses for nazis? Help me pick out a punk outfit? Help me create an insular, alienating version of the "That 70's show" basement, with spikes and tight pants? Help me bash anarchists? Help me deny the existence of gentrification?
White
by Kids
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 11:43 AM
Those white kids don't share anything with the communities their moving into, other than the last names of the people who built them and such. You're so full of shit.
Which POG elite are you? The one from Indiana County via Seattle or Mt Lebanon? Upper St Clair maybe? Why don't you go back to where you came from - I'm staying right here. This is where I came from.
Remember: The Roboto kids are not the folks who continued to support Khalia's assaults and thefts through turning a blind eye. You are. Look within.
This is
by Ridiculous
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 11:53 AM
I'm not suggesting that you "appease" anyone. Seriously. If there's one thing that I respect about the anarchist community of Pittsburgh, it is the seeming inalterability of their beliefs.
I am, however, suggesting that you are better to not off-handedly slander an entire community with widely diverse opinions when your numbers are already dwindling. To have an effective movement, you must have a convincing movement. Slamming people who hold opinions that diverge from yours is slamming 99% of the population. A more effective method might be discussion.
who else
by josh ferris
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 1:09 PM
Do we know who else Anthony has assaulted over the years? It is hard to believe it is limited to Pog and its cadre.
are you stupid?
by reading is good
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 1:22 PM
none of the survivors have to do with pog
read the statement above
It's not a community, it's a club w/o liquor
by head count
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 3:40 PM
Community? Movement? That roboto place is a night club. It seems silly when it's called a community. That's where my disconnect occurs. That so-called community certainly harbors its share of sexual predators and thieves, and if you read their message boards, they aren't shy about it.
It probably bears mentioning that Khalia has had very little direct involvement with POG, in the past two years, other than living nearby. That hardly qualifies as harboring. Has the trans/dyke community, whom Khalia has been much more involved with in the past few years, harbored her? The Big Idea?
I dunno if it's worse to leave your parents house and pay rent, or if it's worse to live in a house dr. daddy buys, but that's not as important to me as it is to the people who keep bringing it up.
roboto fratboy reactionaries
by xxtoocoolforyinzxx
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 3:48 PM
here is a good example of some of the reactionary frat boy stuff from some roboto punks that upsets people
http://board.nevertellmetheodds.org/t.php?id=43614&r=168
Community, indeed
by Emile Henry
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006 at 4:00 PM
The racist, macho shit is typical from such fashionistas, apparently hipster resent so-called "political correctness". The 1/2 of the thread devoted to anti-semitism reminds me of an article about some Hasidic folks in Williamsburg, Brooklyn who actually drafted a prayer asking G-d to defend them from 'the plague of the artists' true to form, the beautiful people, who apparently deny other things than gentrification, responded by calling the locals, "over-breeding, welfare-cheats" and the like.
this story is totaly false
by Jamar
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 12:40 AM
Over the last year, a series of thefts by Khalia Latte (Anthony Foster), a former volunteer with The Big Idea Bookstore, have jeopardized the survival of the bookstore. Both merchandise and money were stolen from the store over a series of months. When these thefts came to our attention, we suspected Khalia based on circumstantial evidence; however we did not have sufficient grounds at that time to go public with our suspicions. We estimate that $800 was stolen from the store.
the whole point of this story is to scapegoat Khalia as so many transgenders are not willing to defend them selvesfor fear of group reprisal. as for the sexual assault issue
Statement #1 (the day after this party the person in question was not making these charges. and was happy about the party and the evening.
bullshit
by pgh anarchist
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 4:12 AM
Everyone who has been wronged by Khalia is scapegoating her because she's trans? You're so fucking full of shit. Khalia stole money from radical bookstores and collectives. The story is not bullshit. Khalia sexually harassed and assaulted countless women, not just the two who wrote a report. Don't even try and say it didnt happen.
The Drama Continues
by Matt Stidle
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 5:36 AM
"The 1/2 of the thread devoted to anti-semitism"
as the person responsible for starting the so-called "anti-semitic" element of the discussion in question, let me just direct you to the fucking context. here is my original post:
"when i was growing up i swear to god i heard rumors that there were gangs of hassidic kids who would carry around bats and beat up non-orthodox people."
that statement is not biased, it is true. i did hear that as a child. in case you are incapable of grasping subtlety, let me spell it out for you: i am obviously not spreading some rumor here -- i am poking fun at a particularly ungrounded one.
i'm not sure how you can read anti-semitism into the recounting of a ridiculous childhood myth, particularly when you have no idea what my religious or ethnic background is. if it is my comment you were referring to, emily henry, i would appreciate it if you would publicly apologize.
perhaps there are reactionaries on the "roboto board" (which, if you haven't noticed, has been renamed specifically to distance itself from the venue of that name). i don't think that anyone would deny that. but it takes a special kind of reactionary to lump all people associated with the board into neat stereotypes. kudos!
Clarification
by J.Hedges
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 6:29 AM
I realize I may as well be yelling at a wall, but I just want to make one small clarification amid the torrents of, well, 'bullshit' being thrown around regarding both the Mr. Roboto Project and the messageboard referenced several times above.
The messageboard in question IS NOT and HAS NEVER been representative of the Mr. Roboto Project. While linked from the Mr. Roboto Project website for several years, the decision to do so was not made by any active board of director members of the space, and was never officially approved by said board members. As of July 2006, the messageboard was removed from the Mr. Roboto Project URL and website, and now exists entirely independent of said space.
Beyond this, just as you all seem to have the ability to allow anyone to post whatever defamatory statements they desire behind the cozy anonymity of pseudonyms, so too is anyone allowed the ability to create an account on the messageboard. To reiterate the statements of others above, it is terribly unfair to pigeonhole an entire online community that consists of folks from all walks of life and backgrounds. Sure, there is questionable content on that board. There is questionable content here. There is questionable content everywhere. To blindly make associations between that content and the people who put a lot of time, energy, and love into a place like the Mr. Roboto Project speaks volumes to the ignorance of such assumptions. One person saying something is not an entire community of people saying something. One person anonymously saying something is not an entire community of people saying something. It might be useful to keep such thoughts in perspective when you choose to publish your disparaging remarks on the internet.
Just to pipe in
by community member
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 6:32 AM
Nothing is perfect and everything is a process. Especially in terms of sexual assault we often don't know about it until years after. The survivors are really brave to come forward after some time. Thank you.
This process will continue for a long time and the best we can do is try to make people in our communities feel like they can come forward with any uncomfortable situations.
As for the fairly useless talk about "hipsters" and whatnot... please do not associate the organization of Roboto with the nevertellmetheodds message board. There is a clear move to separate the two since a large majority of people who post there are not members or have never even been to the venue. Roboto has helped create and sustain (financially, spacially and otherwise support) Free Ride, The Big Idea, and even IMC as well as other groups in town. It's time to stick together and not use internet message boards as a way to negatively catagorize people into an organization. Thank you.
Hipsters-Ironically Beyond Reproach
by Emile Henry
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 6:35 AM
Matt, sorry I didn't take time to seperately list the comments. No one specifically mentioned your childhood mythology and the context of your remarks were never questioned, but does it justify the hateful remarks from others?
Next time, criticize the anti-Semites in your so-called "community" instead of getting your tight pants in a bunch because they were pointed out.
Just to add a few thoughts.
by Matt
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 7:02 AM
Hi everyone,
My name is Matt Singerman. I am a former member of the Mr. Roboto Project, and currently co-manage nevertellmetheodds.org with Mr. Hedges. I would just like to make a couple of quick comments on this thread.
First off, as Jeremy pointed out, the messageboard and Roboto are two separate entities. Please make sure to clarify in your postings which one you are speaking about. I am sure you would like to have the same courtesy extended to you.
Second, and far more importantly, are the baseless claims of anti-Semitism and the allowance of so-called Nazis to exist in either the messageboard or the physical space. While there have been a few instances of people making genuine anti-Semitic comments on the messageboard, the people making them have generally been censured as they have come up, and the persons who have shown genuine bias have been banned from accessing the messageboard at all. The attempts to try and label the comments made on the above-posted thread as anti-Semetic, however, are completely without merit. There is a significant difference between telling a humorous story from childhood and making slurs against Jews. Additionally, there have been instances of bands who have made racist, sexist, homophobic and anti-Semetic comments at Roboto. They have all been banned from repeating their performances. Roboto has made every effort over the years to try and provide as comfortable environment for people to express themselves without fear of reprisal, but obviously nothing can be perfect so long as there are those in the world who are intent on hurting others.
On a more personal note, I find these charges of anti-Semetism to be offensive. As a Jew and the grandchild of Holocaust survivors, I would never - NEVER - allow genuinely anti-Semetic comments to exist on this messageboard, and the allusions that it is somehow tolerated because of the views of the people who run it is sickening.
Thanks for reading this, and have a nice day.
Anarchtivist - Always Holier than Thou
by Dirk Diggler
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 7:09 AM
Always, always, always. The great Anarchist roars forth that "No one but the Marginalized shall liveth here in the land which I was sent forth from the suburbs to save! Shame on all ye who cometh forward with education or the arts, with a desire to strive for better, for we shall shame you into submission! Mind if I crash here, you have a nice place?"
Aaaaand it goes on...
by Matt Stidle
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 7:23 AM
"Next time, criticize the anti-Semites in your so-called 'community' instead of getting your tight pants in a bunch because they were pointed out."
oh! i get it...hipsters stereotypically wear tight pants and you are arbitrarily defining me as a hipster. i guess you win.
keep on that high road and stay classy, emile.
In my defense
by Emile Henry
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 7:38 AM
But, gentlemen of the bourgeoisie, you have reckoned a little too much without your host. You arrested hundreds of men and women, you violated scores of homes, but still outside the prison walls there were men unknown to you who watched from the shadows as you hunted the anarchists, and waited only for the moment that would be favourable for them in their turn to hunt the hunters.
Reynal's words were a challenge thrown before the anarchists. The gauntlet was taken up. The bomb in the Cafe Terminus is the answer to all your violations of freedom, to your arrests, to your searches, to your laws against the Press, to your mass transportations, to your guillotinings. But why, you ask, attack those peaceful cafe guests, who sat listening to music and who, no doubt, were neither judges nor deputies nor bureaucrats? Why? It is very simple. The bourgeoisie did not distinguish among the anarchists. Vaillant, a man on his own, threw a bomb; nine-tenths of the comrades did not even know him. But that meant nothing; the persecution was a mass one, and anyone with the slightest anarchist links was hunted down. And since you hold a whole party responsible for the actions of a single man, and strike indiscriminately, we also strike indiscriminately.
Perhaps we should attack only the deputies who make laws against us, the judges who apply those laws, the police who arrest us? I do not agree. These men are only instruments. They do not act in their own name. Their functions were instituted by the bourgeoisie for its own defence. They are no more guilty than the rest of you. Those good bourgeois who hold no office but who reap their dividends and live idly on the profits of the workers' toil, they also must take their share in the reprisals. And not only they, but all those who are satisfied with the existing order, who applaud the acts of government and so become its accomplices, those clerks earning three or five hundred francs a month who hate the people even more violently than the rich, that stupid and pretentious mass of folk who always choose the strongest side - in other words, the daily clientele of Terminus and the other great cafes!
That is why I struck at random and did not choose my victims! The bourgeoisie must be brought to understand that those who have suffered are tired at last of their sufferings; they are showing their teeth and they will strike all the more brutally if you are brutal with them. They have no respect for human life, because the bourgeoisie themselves have shown they have no care for it. It is not for the assassins who were responsible for the bloody week and for Fourmies to regard others as assassins.
We will not spare the women and children of the bourgeois, for the women and children of those we love have not been spared. Must we not count among the innocent victims those children who die slowly of anaemia in the slums because bread is scarce in their houses; those women who grow pale in your workshops, working to earn forty sous a day and fortunate when poverty does not force them into prostitution; those old men whom you have made production machines all their lives and whom you cast on to the waste heap or into the workhouse when their strength has worn away?
At least have the courage of your crimes, gentlemen of the bourgeoisie, and grant that our reprisals are completely legitimate.
Of course, I am under no illusions. I know my deeds will not yet be understood by the masses who are unprepared for them. Even among the workers, for whom I have fought, there will be many, misled by your newspapers, who will regard me as their enemy. But that does not matter. I am not concerned with anyone's judgement. Nor am I ignorant of the fact that there are individuals claiming to be anarchists who hasten to disclaim any solidarity with the propagandists of the deed. They seek to establish a subtle distinction between the theoreticians and the terrorists. Too cowardly to risk their own lives, they deny those who act. But the influence they pretend to wield over the revolutionary movement is nil. Today the field is open to action, without weakness or retreat.
Alexander Herzen, the Russian revolutionary, once said: 'Of two things one must be chosen: to condemn and march forward, or to pardon and turn back half way.' We intend neither to pardon nor to turn back, and we shall always march forward until the revolution, which is the goal of our efforts, finally arrives to crown our work with the creation of a free world.
In that pitiless war which we have declared on the bourgeoisie, we ask for no pity. We give death, and we know how to endure it. So it is with indifference that I await your verdict. I know that my head is not the last you will cut off; yet others will fall, for the starving are beginning to know the way to your great cafes and restaurants, to the Terminus and Foyot. You will add other names to the bloody list of our dead.
You have hanged in Chicago, decapitated in Germany, garotted in Jerez, shot in Barcelona, guillotined in Montbrison and Paris, but what you will never destroy is anarchy. Its roots are too deep. It is born in the heart of a society that is rotting and falling apart. It is a violent reaction against the established order. It represents all the egalitarian and libertarian aspirations that strike out against authority. It is everywhere, which makes it impossible to contain. It will end by killing you.
RE: Jamar
by Dr. Anarchist
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 7:41 AM
You're joking right? Or you're just some troll making shit up? Khalia fucking admitted to the thefts, in this statement, in person, and in the fucking City Paper. And although she didn't directly admit to the assaults in the City Paper article, she implied it and didn't deny it.
As for you're implication that one of the survivors is lying, that is the most fucked up things I've read on this forum yet.
Shove
by It
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 7:50 AM
Just shove your "bourgeoisie" label up your anarchist ass. Thats your best argument? Some quote about the bourgeoisie? Get over yourself. Some of us could school you up and down over political history. We get it. You're just too far behind your mask to realize.
EMILE
by savage henry
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 8:03 AM
I would suggest that you return the book that you got that quote from back to your high school library and get back to class.
School me?
by Emile Henry
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 8:12 AM
Hipsters are smart and tough.
Political history? That's so cute.
I hope the Brillobox caves in.
Okay, But
by Let's Actually Address the Quoted Text
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 8:22 AM
So basically you're an apologist for the murder of innocents. Which cafe are you going to burn down in Pittsburgh, Emile?
school's in
by savage henry
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 8:30 AM
Anarchists have blinders on to any arguments that go against the dogma.
Dissenting viewpoints? You're such a bougie.
I hope the hoffman rented apt. caves in, again.
Innocence?
by John Milton
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 8:57 AM
"With all this talk of innocence, you'd think there weren't a child in Hell".
hahahah
by ihateanarchistsandpunksequally
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 9:35 AM
that haiku was beautiful
Memories
by Joe Melba
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 9:38 AM
This thread reminds me why I stopped attending POG meetings.
To Singerman
by oppressed and oppressor
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 9:40 AM
I looked at the Roboto board (as it is popularly termed), and found numerous references to racial and ethnic stereotypes, in addition to a shitload of sexist talk, which thankfully other members of this community have attempted to address recently.
Did you find the string about "PIZZA HOLOCAUST" acceptable, or the comments about watching out for BLACK KIDZ?
Perhaps there would not be so many angry young black males (and females), to which the Roboto board alludes, if more people actually did something to ASK members of the community in Garfield, for example, what was needed, rather than bringing down the neighborhood with "punk and hipster gallery chic"
And perhaps people like Khalia wouldn't have as much of a persecution complex if they weren't actually persecuted.
Bringing Down
by The House
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 10:03 AM
Bringing down the neighborhood? Right. You're a fucking idiot. Living in ramshackle apartments, tagging up the neighboorhood is what ruins it - you can't even take your trash out! Ever walk past the anarchist haunt, "Anarchy Fuck Yeah!" on the chairs tossed about out back with a few weeks of trash? Its really contributing to making the neighborhood welcoming and all. Be a good neighbor first, then start preaching to those around you about cleaning up the place. Give it a break. You can barely wipe your own ass.
You anarchists really need to find another neighborhood to move into and save. This one is perfectly fine without you. Quit living off the scraps of the bouguise that you so detest and follow a better primivitivist life. Back to Indiana County I say.
Blah
by Blah
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 10:18 AM
<i>Perhaps there would not be so many angry young black males (and females), to which the Roboto board alludes, if more people actually did something to ASK members of the community in Garfield, for example, what was needed, rather than bringing down the neighborhood with "punk and hipster gallery chic"</i><p><p>
Guyzzz, this person is right. I asked everyone in Garfield what they needed, and they told me overwhelmingly that their #1 need is more people in black masks riding tall bikes.
The funny thing is that I actually HAVE spoken to numerous members of the Garfield community, specifically regarding their impressions of what is happening on Penn Ave currently...Guess what? The vast majority either doesn't care or is in favor of the fact that 1) there are actually things open in their neighborhood and 2) there is less open criminal activity.
Of course inclusion of community members in Penn Ave activities is pathetic. Let's discuss and improve on that rather than bashing positive efforts, xanarchyx.
marginalizing language
by oppressed and oppressor
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 11:21 AM
guys - can refer just to "dudes" or "men"
but some people feel the term excludes women.
Mister
by Manners
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 11:37 AM
opressed/opressor: I presume that you prescribe, more or less, to the concept of cultural relativism. Consider this: I was not born into a well-educated or politically conscious echelon of society. I have attended urban public schools my entire life. By the grace of God and my own will, I have significantly superseded my background in terms of tolerance, education, and critical thinking.
Relative to my circumstances, I hope that you will agree it's incredible that I even know about Indymedia to begin with -- it is not a thing that kids who grow up in the Beltzhoover/Knoxville megaplex tend to know about or could generally be moved to even vaguely care about.
In light of all of this, relative to all of the roadblocks I have overcome thus far in my understanding of gender, race, etc...That you would choose to nitpick my choice of words is maddening to say the least. Do you alienate all less enlightened people similarly?
What is everybody talking about?
by Dr. Anarchist
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 11:56 AM
How did a post about theft and sexual assault get to a debate about hipsters vs anarchists and gentification? And btw, I've talked to people in garfield too, and many say that it's suspect that money only goes to white people who want to set up art galleries (because artists are better than normal people as Penn Arts Project says in their video) but not to black folks to start community oriented projects.
And in case I wasn't clear before, fuck you Jamar.
RE: Mister Manners
by Dr. Anarchist
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 12:19 PM
Why does one have to be "well-educated" to be aware of sexism or language that is excluding to women? And why is it somehow inappropriate to point it out to someone who has never been exposed to awareness? You're not talking about cultural relativism, you're just talking stupid and trying to make excuses.
Mister Jones
by and Me
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 12:39 PM
"Why does one have to be 'well-educated' to be aware of sexism or language that is excluding to women?"
Do you think that the bulk of people who are sexist and/or routinely use language that excludes women are aware of the implications of what they are doing, or the fact that they are doing it at all? Yes, in that sense, I would say that you need to be pretty "well-educated" to understand the finer points of feminism and gender politics. I am not using the term "well-educated" in the conventional, academic sense.
"And why is it somehow inappropriate to point it out to someone who has never been exposed to awareness?"
There is nothing wrong with pointing it out, so long as it is constructive. I have gladly taken criticism more times than I can count, and have adopted positive changes in my language and actions as a result. This was plainly nitpicking for the sake of nitpicking.
"You're not talking about cultural relativism, you're just talking stupid and trying to make excuses."
And yet again you degrade the discussion essentially to the level of name-calling. This is no longer an argument worth having (something I'm sure you, as an antagonist, hear regularly).
Guess why I'm calling you names?
by Dr. Anarchist
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 3:06 PM
Because you're an asshole. You can't expect you're one well-written, carefully worded post on this thread to be separated from you being a dick for the rest of it. I'll reiterate: You're a dick, that's me calling you a name, and I'm doing it because you're a dick.
To Blah
by oppressed and oppressor
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 3:48 PM
Blah wrote:
>The funny thing is that I actually HAVE spoken to numerous >members of the Garfield community, specifically regarding >their impressions of what is happening on Penn Ave >currently...Guess what? The vast majority either doesn't >care or is in favor of the fact that 1) there are actually >things open in their neighborhood and 2) there is less >open criminal activity.
it would be great if people there had stuff they actually needed, like a recreation center (not just the basketball courts the church lets members use), grocery store, pharmacy, school crossing guards, and merchants who didn't treat them like criminals for being black. Also, you said it is better with the galleries and the Pedutoization of the area because there is less "open" criminal activity. Does that mean it is better because even though the same shit goes on, at least it doesn't touch the white community as much?
paternalism will defeat you
by john jay
Friday, Oct. 13, 2006 at 4:39 AM
It is plain to see that there are many layers of issues going on here for many of the people involved in this, with this person, in this scene.
accusations of hipster, middle class, white, straight, hetero-normative, are all flying like sticky pancake batter.
mostly missing the frying pan of reality...which is this,
paternalism is as much the elephant in the room as anything else, yes racism, yes, homophopia, yes predatory (male to female) sexual behavior, but ultimately paternalism and the desire to have diversity at all costs, and also not to call people on their shit based upon fear of being labelled racist, heteronormative, oppressive.
all movements, and demonstrations, and the resistance is so incredibly paternalistc, voyeuristic, in this country, lets all pretend that we are poor, move into poor neighborhoods, dumpster, tatoo, pierce, and try to deny the realities of our class upbringings.
i know, many of you did not grow up middle class, but a lot of you did, and that is not intended to be an insult, merely a reality check...my apologies, i don't want to invisiblize those of you to whom this appears not to apply,
but in the desire to kick over an oppresive system we often find ourselves mirroring our oppression. we want a new world, but more often than not the ranks of the barricades are filled with those who had too much time on their hands as kids, were overeducated and underworked, and as a result really, really believe that they can overthrow a system which for most people is a privilege in and of itself, to have the time to resist. to have the time to hang out, paint banners, write pamphlets, dissect ideologies...if you are following what i am saying, you are privileged, educated, part of the rebellious elite.
we are not making more change right now because the very people calling for change, at the forefront of these movements for change in this country have as much stake in the system as the people they're fighting against. this may seem harsh, unfair, but look in the mirror...yeah, we're fighting a 'class war', for the 'poor', 'people of color', the 'oppressed', and so seldomly do we find actual representatives of a 'proletariat' in our midst that when all of a sudden a trans-person of color shows up in our midst it's like a blessing from heaven...it's so cool, it's so fucked up to assume that by someone's skin color or sexual/cultural identity, that they are inherently revolutionary, just like it's ridiculous to believe that our rhetoric, our patches and pamplets and veneer makes us anything other than what we are...
people who would like a different world, pissed off at the inheritance that mommy and daddy wanted to give to us, but that we reject until the grand jury comes knocking or our backs are really up against the wall, in those moments the truth shines in, and we see why we are where we are at in our resistance at this time...and how the rebellious elite needs to step aside and stop trying to dominate and direct movements for social change, stop talking for other people, stop being so fearful of being outed as spoiled brats.
Hipster
by Doofus
Friday, Oct. 13, 2006 at 5:11 AM
"It would be great if people there had stuff they actually needed, like a recreation center (not just the basketball courts the church lets members use), grocery store, pharmacy, school crossing guards, and merchants who didn't treat them like criminals for being black."
I agree. There's no doubt that these things would greatly improve the lives of the people in the area. I am among a large number of people who are working specifically toward attaining these goals. Can these things not co-exist with galleries, etc? Where do you suggest we put our galleries? (Should we cloister ourselves in white neighborhoods? Seems like you'd have a problem with that too.)
"Also, you said it is better with the galleries and the Pedutoization of the area because there is less 'open' criminal activity. Does that mean it is better because even though the same shit goes on, at least it doesn't touch the white community as much?"
No, that means that there is less likelihood of community members -- black or white -- who have no interest being an accessory to crime getting caught up in it. Do you doubt that visibility of crime is important? Would you rather that people felt comfortable dealing in the open? You ought to ask a few grandparents in Garfield how they feel about it: less timid about walking down their own streets for the first time in years, less worried about their grandchildren growing up to believe that crime is a viable way of life.
galleries
by pgh anarchist
Friday, Oct. 13, 2006 at 5:17 AM
And eventually happily moving to morningside because they can't afford the rising cost of living due to the influx of middle-class white kids going on hip cool "Gallery crawls."
Blah
by Blah
Friday, Oct. 13, 2006 at 5:20 AM
"Because you're an asshole. You can't expect you're one well-written, carefully worded post on this thread to be separated from you being a dick for the rest of it. I'll reiterate: You're a dick, that's me calling you a name, and I'm doing it because you're a dick."
Your logic and level of discourse is unassailable as usual, Doctor. Let's stop this intense debate on a high point...I fear the further juvenile tongue-lashing I might receive otherwise.
Visibilty
by Emile Henry
Friday, Oct. 13, 2006 at 5:32 AM
Moving the entry-level capitalists from Penn Avenue to Broad Street, a block and a half away hardly represents progress. It is easier for the police to defend their drug interests if the trade takes place on a main street. Federal Street in North Side is a prime example. The "law" allowed the drug trade to flourish across the street from the station, as a way of protecting their investments.
When your vanity, hobbyist galleries which you keep to display the art of your friends and yourselves finally close, you will still have to pay back the BGC and they get to keep that space and profit from your labor. That's the sad thing about gentrification, the hipster pioneers are victims the same as the residents they displace.
Blah
by Blah, Part II
Friday, Oct. 13, 2006 at 5:41 AM
"And eventually happily moving to morningside because they can't afford the rising cost of living due to the influx of middle-class white kids going on hip cool 'Gallery crawls.'"
Okay. I'm not saying this to be a jerk, I'm asking a real question that I hope will be respected as such and treated with a real answer: When I was born, my parents didn't have very much money at all. As such, they did not choose to live in Mount Lebanon or Squirrel Hill because those places were completely beyond their means. (In that sense, they didn't really have a "choice" at all.) They settled in the aforementioned Beltzhoover/Knoxville area out of economic necessity.
You could make a case that they were "pushed out" of Squirrel Hill -- GENTRIFIED, I dare say, out of even considering the sort of places that many of you grew up -- or you could say that they made a choice based on the reality of their circumstances.
Now, a quarter of a century later, the neighborhood in which I grew up is much more violent place than it was when they moved in. Their house has been robbed, my mother's purse has been taken, people are shot down the block. My parents feel pressure to move out, understandably. I would't call it "gentrification," but in a sense they are being pushed out in the interest of their own safety. Is that any more fair?
The composition of neighborhoods changes. People move. This is a reality of existence. I can understand that you would take issue with the fact that it is almost always the wealthy doing the choosing and the poor being displaced, but what alternative do you suggest?
What does the anarchist community suggest as the solution to all of this? I'm genuinely curious, and I am more than willing to be convinced. Please, please let's avoid this turning back into a mud-slinging battle.
not the time
by not the place
Friday, Oct. 13, 2006 at 6:42 AM
indymedia isn't conducive to real debate or discussion
try face to face interactions or a place where people aren't anonymous
Deceptively simple solultion
by Dr. Anarchist
Friday, Oct. 13, 2006 at 12:53 PM
Rather than neighborhoods being improved by rich people going to them, they need to be improved by community-based community projects. There is very little real difference between drugs being dealt in secret and drugs being dealt in the open (besides a some older folks alleged perceptions, and they are just plain wrong if they actually believe that). So it's not a matter of making the dealers afraid to be seen, it's a matter of getting them to stop altogether, because drugs are a community problem (I don't want to hear shit from individualists going on about drugs as a personal choice; the drugs we're talking about hurt communities and families making it a community issue, end of story). It's about giving kids constructive and fun options for their free time (for example, I know a woman of color who wanted to start a free ride in Garfield, but of course the BGC wouldn't help her). Most kids aren't going to be interested in bougie art galleries (many of which can't even bother to name themselves, they just go by street number) that are complete wastes of space with "art" thinly spaced on plain white walls (and btw, I saw one gallery that had that fucking racist-ass anti-Santorum poster: http://www.partisanproject.org/images/posttypography.jpg).
back to the original discussion
by cc
Saturday, Oct. 14, 2006 at 6:05 PM
I agree this is not a conducive environment for reasonable discussion... that being said, I wanted to bring the discussion back to the original matter at hand.
What I think is lacking in many statements is an overall feeling of sadness, that I as a person who has spent much time around Khalia in the past year, feel now as a result of this situation.
Khalia is obviously mentally disturbed and needs help. I believe she knows her actions are wrong, but for some reason she feels no remorse (a few people I have talked with have described her as a sociopath), and can justify in political language the reasons behind her actions. One of the questions I find asking myself is, how can she get appropriate help? By reading the City Paper article, you will understand that the organizations effected by her actions (POG and Big Idea) are not seeking the criminal justice system as a means of dealing with the situation.
That being said, I ask:
Where can a person like her get help? Will they understand her transgendered issues, or see them as part of her mental problems? What kind of treatment, if any, can she get as a low-income person with no health insurance and little family resources? Another question I have, Why has it taken so long for these stories of sexual assault to come out? Why are we unable to create a community of trust where people will feel ok stepping forward with their stories of sexual abuse/assault?
Basically I just feel sad, because I don't see Khalia getting the help she needs. I am also disgusted and angered by her actions towards community projects, her friends, and the radical & queer communities in general. My feelings are a mixture of extreme anger and sadness.
sociopaths
by xyz
Sunday, Oct. 15, 2006 at 10:07 PM
Unfortunately, if Khalia is a sociopath, there is no effective mental health treatment for adult sociopaths. Once identified sociopaths are often kept under supervised care, but they are not often identified.
Help for Khalia
by Dr. Anarchist
Monday, Oct. 16, 2006 at 1:09 AM
In my humble opinion, Khalia could theoretically be helped, but all of the probelms that cc mentioned are huge obstacles. The person required to help Khalia, ie, someone who is progressive enough to deal with Khalia as someone who is transgendered without treating that as part of the problem, who won't just throw drugs that might make things worse at the problem, who is not only skilled at helping people who are "clepto" (I don't like using that word, esp in this context, but Khalia has described a compulsion to steal) but who also is also skilled at helping people who have committed sexual assault, and who is skilled at helping people who have long histories of this, may exist, but prolly not in Pittsburgh and prolly not at a low enough cost even if the community at large tried to fund this.
J
by J
Monday, Oct. 16, 2006 at 12:11 PM
Does Khalia Latte has a myspace account?
this story is totaly false
by Jamar
Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2006 at 11:41 PM
you will not get away with this. you will not get away with this. you will not get away with this.
this story is just a smoke screan for the real thief (inside job) we are pretty sure who you are. Khalia is just an east mark for you to pin the theft on. look at the who's who in the book store for the real thief.
moron
by pgh anarchist
Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2006 at 2:02 PM
Hooray for nutjobs.
What's really good?
by anarcho-thug
Sunday, Oct. 22, 2006 at 9:34 AM
I was a good friend of Khalia's for years, and no, anarchists did not knowingly harbor a criminal, that accusation sounds like some george bush nonsense. We didn't know that she sexually assaulted people because for some reason she never seemed to bring it up (i wonder why). We found out about the POG money missing and the Big Idea thefts and threw her the fuck out of our house, took all of the money she had, and made her give 60 books to the big idea. No one save the survivors of the assault is as angry about this situation as I am, trust me. Khalia just better keep her ass inside, don't let me see her on the street after she betrayed us.
And for all of you talking shit about anarchists, you know where we are, if you have a problem come see us. We don't care about some fucking hipster scene politics, and we don't give a fuck what you think about our politics, the working class people we interact with everyday love us, trust me. Our neighbors always hold us down because we look out for them, so keep your fuckin mouths shut about us bringing down the neighborhood.
Basically, we're the ones working with communities of color (like the ones we came from) in very tangible ways, we are very dedicated to community organizing. We don't have time for alienating art galeries. Have any of you ever even SEEN a black person before (inside of a venue you frequent, not on the street). It's ridiculous that we have to sit on the internet and listen to a bunch of privileged young white people talk about how anarchists don't make positive contributions when almost everyday we have poor and working class people of color telling us the opposite.
We're dead serious about community organizing and radicalism. We've gone through countless obstacles to feed our communities since we were kids. We don't back down from anyone, be it police that outnumber us or nazis twice our size.
Basically, if you have a problem, come see us. We can battle or we can throw hands, i don't give a fuck.
XTHUGLIFEX
a ghost from the past.
by GRAF
Sunday, Oct. 22, 2006 at 12:39 PM
Humanity is currently being transformed into a more effective work force as well as a more dangerous antagonist, a duality within the cogs of capitalism. We, the working masses in the 21st century are both creating the grounds for new possibilities and new crisis which forces capital to respond by either violence or restructuring society’s production process, assholishly changing the rules of the game. In our defense, we are the creative element in society, the only creative element in society, which forces capitalism to restructure and reorganize the production process, the social factory and we are now recognizing a new threat. The hipster. This new threat, a fluid threat, which flows and gently glides across social barriers, has viciously internalized the ideological framework of capitalism and has established itself in all global societies.
Marx once spoke of the petty bourgeoisie or middle class, a class long since destroyed. During Marx's time he had the physical embodiment of these three classes: the working-class, the bourgeoisie, and the petty-bourgeoisie. But even he (Marx) described the third's demise. Today, the outdated pre-1968 leftists humorously cling to the three class analysis in hopes of making their vanguard legitimate, we say never again! Kronstadt, Spain, and every bleeding heart liberal (apologists) dominated meeting is to much, with the guts of the last capitalist hang the liberals high!
In the spirit of 1917, 1936-39, 1968,1970’s(Italy),1992,1994,2001, 2005(Toledo Class War) we will organize to not only expose the new threat but actively purge this liberal, cultural, social class. Culturally the hipster most be resisted. The hipster is a cultural hybrid between post-industrial left-wing radicalism left over from 68 that expressed itself through the student/factory movements in France, United States, Mexico, and Italy and the 1980’s backlash that integrated our demands back into the cogs of capitalism, effectively neutralizing our militancy and community relevance. This is the hipster’s breeding ground, a culturally raped subculture that cries out avant-garde, who quote Nietzsche over their steaming cups of coffee, only to so effectively pacify a new generation living, working, and being bored in the this 21st century social factory. At this moment the only thing the hipster culture can offer us is a better sense of style and out going personality.
www.grafbeyondgraf.blogspot.com
I see.
by Stalin Jr.
Monday, Oct. 23, 2006 at 12:27 PM
"we will organize to not only expose the new threat but actively purge this liberal, cultural, social class."
What sort of purging do you have in mind, fascist? How will you differentiate the hipsters from the anarchists when you sweep through them with your great activist bayonnet?
Lil' Stalin
by E. Henry
Monday, Oct. 23, 2006 at 2:49 PM
You could check the link that was posted with the remark that scared you and see if there's any contact info. That way, you could ask the author instead of your suspiciously defensive question.
Hipocrits
by Some Person
Monday, Oct. 23, 2006 at 5:08 PM
I'm sick of it! A year ago I was assaulted by a member of the so-called Pittsburgh anarchist 'community.' Because I was, relative to this individual, an outsider, not much attention was paid to the situation, I had little access to any community support, and everyone seemed to accept this person back into thier lives with open arms even though they knew what happened. I found it really difficult and alienating, and it is even still hard for me to visit PGH because of it. So, what happens to me gets ignored because the person who did it is 'popular' but Khalia gets slammed? To me it does look like a slight bit biased. The problem seems to me that the anarchist community in Pittsburgh needs to realise that its extremely accepting nature may sometimes mean that it ends up tolerating sociopaths, thieves, rapists, wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend-beaters inadvertantly. There needs to be, perhaps, some sort of way of dealing with these delemmas, and these things need to go for EVERYONE, not just the poor black transexual, but also for the good-lookin white dude from a yuppie background who is simply leaching off of the support that the punk scene offers. I'm just saying, it's hard to believe in something like an anarchist community when the community fails you when it should be there to support you. Good job catching this Khalia chick, I guess. I wish someone had been there to do the same for me. Oh well. Next time let's not pick and choose whose fucked up behaviour we choose to or not to tolerate. Rape is rape, abuse is abuse, theft is theft (but hey, we don't care about money or property...right?) There are some things which are intolerable from anyone, no matter who much we like the person, or what our politics says. Sometimes being tolerant can mean letting something dangerous and abusive into our midsts. I've seen it happen several times, and it happened to me. So now I'm the outsider, and what he did to me is forgotten, and I still live with the scars, and I can't go back home for feeling alienated from a community I though shunned such things as rape and abuse. I guess it's hard, when you're friends with the person and care about them. But if you can't live up to your own politics-your feminism, anarchism, whatever-at the end of the day you're just a big, ole hypocrit!
Doubtful
by E-Dub
Monday, Oct. 23, 2006 at 5:32 PM
This post above sounds like a right-wing hack job to me.
Duh!
by Some rapist
Monday, Oct. 23, 2006 at 7:50 PM
"There needs to be, perhaps, some sort of way of dealing with these delemmas, and these things need to go for EVERYONE..."
Hmmm...If only there where people that we could give special authority to deal with problems like these.
Oh wait, there are! They're called cops.
We are always right
by Some figerpointer
Monday, Oct. 23, 2006 at 7:58 PM
"This post above sounds like a right-wing hack job to me."
It is. Don't you know that anarchists and progressives are perfect and incapable of any wrong? What a fuckin moron.
Not suprising
by Annoymous (cuz i can't trust you people)
Monday, Oct. 23, 2006 at 8:08 PM
The response from this board on the Kahlia issues doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Someone who posted in this very thread (who I will not name because I won't stupe to his/her level) once ruined me publicly by making my criminal history public. People who put themselves on pedestals and then try to justify their misdeeds or the misdeeds of someone in their circles are the worst kind of scum on earth. It doesn't matter if you take the title of Republican, Democrat, Christian, Atheist, elitist, Socialist, or Anarchist, people need to wake up and just realize that scum is scum; a title doesn't cover that up.
Not suprising, or is it
by pgh anarchist
Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006 at 12:47 AM
"_______ once ruined me publicly by making my criminal history public"
didn't you do that to your self by getting a criminal record?
it sounds like you are transfering your hurtful feelings to others
//
by \\
Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006 at 5:16 AM
"This post above sounds like a right-wing hack job to me."
Is this how you deal with all charges of rape?
pgh anarchist wtf
by pgh anarchist
Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006 at 2:18 PM
yeah, that poster under the name "pgh anarchist" two above isn't me.
-pgh anarchist
johnny ignorant
p.s. i think its hilarious that white liberals/hipsters always diss on "kids in the hood" acting crazy and punching them in the ear with eggs. if you dont like it, get out of the hood. a lot of us anarchist kids are just kids from the hood too. prolly the ones punching your dumbass in the ear with eggs. i gotta go look at pictures from our buffet gallery crawl, shit mayor!
Allegations of assault
by E-Dub
Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006 at 2:39 PM
At this point, If the community you reference (the "punk scene"?) refuses to handle the problem, I suggest you file criminal charges and name the person in your criminal complaint, instead of making unsubstantiated, vague, and anonymous allegations. If your point is that there is a double standard, I can't speak to the parties involved in the Khalia situation, but they are not part of the scene you reference if you are talking about the "punk scene" versus the "anarchist scene" you mention later. Plus, your reference to Khalia as a "chick" and mocking of anarchist beliefs lends itself to support my belief that this was a right-wing hack job. I didn't state it with certainty, but it sure seems that way.
Blah Blah
by Some other person
Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006 at 3:19 PM
Thanks for belittling the fucked up experience of another person, you jackass. Maybe you should be physically and sexually assaulted, and then you would understand and not be so glib. My point still rests that there is a double standard, and that it is hypocritical to ignore behaviour in some, and not others. Sorry my use of phrases was incorrect. Jeez, I meant the anarchist community, or punk community, or hipster community, or elitest-subculture-of-the-month community. This is just one more example of how insular and hypocritical all this subcultural bullshit can be. And, yes, largely the punk and anarchist 'scene' in Pgh overlaps quite a lot, I think you have to agree about that, don't pretend to be an idiot. And as for my anonymous claim: I am not outing the person who assaulted me because, frankly, I don't think that Indymedia is the place for such things. Since when is Indymedia a forum to publicly denounce people such as Khalia. Sorry you didn't like me calling her a chick. I really don't see how attacking me for that has anything to do with the topic I was addressing. It seems so easy to ignore the message that someone is trying to send by picking apart every tiny word he or she uses. This, to me, is once again an example of how the anarchist, punk, whatever community in Pittsburgh fails to address the needs and delemmas of those in its midsts and accept any type of responsibility for building the type of community it would like to see. Next time, why not comment on what I am actually saying, not how I say it.
P.S.
by Some other person, again
Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006 at 4:04 PM
Oh, yeah. I'm not a right wing wack job. I don't think I was mocking anarchist beliefs. That was not my intention. If your ideals are so fragile you have to resort to calling someone who endured a whole hell of a lot of pain and grief a whack job, then you have serious issues. I am vague because I am protecting myself. You think I fabricated something this serious?! This is exactly what is wrong! Everytime someone criticises something, they are not a right wing whack job, especially when they are talking about an intimate experience of something like rape. Sorry that I'm too vague for your liking, but I've said enough. Thanks for being a true bastard. Why should I have to file a criminal report? Shouldn't the community protect me? Isn't that the idea?! Sorry I called Khalia a chick. It wasn't meant to offend. Come on! You are just too hyper sensitive if the work 'chick'and my clumsy use of some catch phrases really disturbs you that much.
Sorry I even posted in the first place, I knew I shouldn't. I'm not posting again, or checking this post again. I should have kept my private life private. I'll know next time to keep my mouth shut. It's just too painful. Go on, call me a right wing whack job, if it makes you feel more secure.
Some other person at long last.
by C
Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006 at 4:52 PM
Dear Some other person:
Go you.
Good luck trying to put forth some honest criticism, though. Get even an inch from that party line and its good-night-and-please-don't-come-to-our-next-meeting,-fuck you-very-much.
For the record, I think this is the most honest conversation I've seen here (innuendos about people's origins aside). Though I am generally a pretty consistent with criticism, I applaud POG for feeling it necessary to post their process on dealing with one of their own. It makes some of their rhetoric more palatable.
++
by }}
Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006 at 5:31 PM
Khalia is not one of POGs own and had not attended an event in over a year. Prior to that she did attended some events but not meetings. Her political involvement over the last year was with the BigIdea and organizing with the local dyke community.
She was friends with anarchists and non-anarchists, both of whom are obviously posting in this thread. It would be fair to consider her a member of certain anarchist and punk social circles. They are figuring out how to deal with her.
It's disingenious to continue to lump together parts of the anarchist and punk subcultures with a political group you have beef with.
pgh anarchist , AKA johnny whitebread has somethin to say..
by what a joke!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 at 12:07 AM
a lot of us anarchist kids are just kids from the hood too.
don't Pi** on my shoe and tell me it's raining. you fit the bill for just some middle class kid that droped out cuz you dodn't want to toe the line or you couldn't cut it. don't come cry to me bout your daze in da hood. you trifilin fool.
white bread, you don't know what tough is
the Hood ,HA!
by slash
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 at 12:15 AM
pgh anarchist, street name "skid mark"
talks a good game but was raised in the upper middle-burbs
with a scoker mom and a dad that wears knit sweaters and talks like Mr.Rodgers. -thats the real
Roboto Drones
by Go back to far North Hills
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 at 6:27 AM
The Roboto hipsters have out done themselves on this thread. The Brady Bunchers from Hampton hating on the kid who was raised by his mom, in a much less bougie, pastoral setting.
The new assault story seems like so much fiction, too, and from reading the 'not roboto board' it echoes painful jokes made by the same spiny hipsters.
It's pretty fucked up when people try to address problems in their communities and little rich boys see a chance to be "funny".
Hey Dirt Rag
by mag
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 at 7:03 AM
spend your time trying to keep the lady you got
don't want no repeat of what happened before
On Ear-Punching
by Matt Stidle
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 at 11:00 AM
"p.s. i think its hilarious that white liberals/hipsters always diss on 'kids in the hood' acting crazy and punching them in the ear with eggs. if you dont like it, get out of the hood. a lot of us anarchist kids are just kids from the hood too. prolly the ones punching your dumbass in the ear with eggs. i gotta go look at pictures from our buffet gallery crawl, shit mayor!"
as the person who i guess is getting specifically "called out" in this post, let me first applaud how brave and "real" you are to post your opinion anonymously on an internet forum.
second, i'd like you to stop posturing for your messageboard friends and look at some facts: you don't know me. you don't know the first thing about me. you have no idea what my life has been like, you have no idea what my background is. why do you feel, then, that you can say the first thing about me or anything that happens to me -- especially in public?
YOU'RE from the hood? you want me to get OUT of the hood? you must have me mistaken. i lived my first 18 years across the river in mount oliver and my mother grew up a block from where i got punched -- as long as we're playing the "who's city is this?" game, you check out my birth certificate and the roster of philip murray elementary circa 1987.
i don't know what your idea of a hipster is, but i don't think i match your boogeyman definition. a year hasn't gone by in my life that i haven't worked closely with progressive social organizations, usually one-on-one with kids growing up in neighborhoods similar to mine. i am not this removed, petit-bourgeois character described above. i understand the inclination that drove those kids to punch me -- we played the same game when we broke windows and threw rocks in mount o when i was growing up!...
...but that doesn't make it all good. we got called out on our bullshit when we were kids because you can't operate like that in the real world without getting in trouble. and if your definition of anarchism includes it being cool to arbitrarily assault peaceful people, you can count me and every other thinking person on earth the fuck out.
now can we have a productive conversation or just more senseless yelling?
-=-
by +-+
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 at 11:54 AM
if you want a productive conversation your not in the right place. everyone posting in this thread should just settle the old beefs they've got the next time they see the people they're talking to.
anyone reading this thread should probably just ignore the comments. They're more a product of personal hate than anything else.
Agreed.
by Matt Stidle
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 at 12:09 PM
along those lines: anyone who has specific problems with me is free to get my info from someone and call me up or drop me an email. i would much rather that we have an honest dialogue than a public battle of unsubstantiated claims. i would suggest that anyone who wants to respond to what i wrote above do it in that manner.
Yes you are...
by Ear Punching?
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 at 12:18 PM
Isn't ear punching a method for putting in those silly giant earings that are an important part of the non-conformist uniform?
Matt, you went to Vassar, have a prep-school WASPy partner, you wear tiny clothes, the BGC and Sprout Funds hardly qualify as progressive community organizations, and have the ironic self-importance that makes you take these remarks personally. Your take on the egg incident was pretty commendable, so it's unlikely that you were being personally called out. Unlike many of the other comments on the not-roboto board.
As hipsters go, you are likeable, and nowhere near as prentensious as you look.
No, YOU are!
by M. David Stidle III, Esquire
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 at 1:06 PM
fair enough. i can't deny that my clothing would be more suitable for a person several inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter than me. a yes, i went to vassar. i worked very hard to get there and i spent many days filling out grant apps and federal aid forms to make it work. i was conflicted about it for a long time and you can believe i got a lot of shit from my friends back at home...but i've come to terms with it and i hope that its silly eliteness hasn't rubbed off as a part of who i am.
also, i have definitely never worked with the BGG or the sprout fund -- if anything, i've been critical of both of these things. the work i was referring to was in neighborhood schools, with neighborhood organizations organized by the people who live in them, and unions.
the one thing that really bothers me: there is no need to drag my "partner" into it, whose background is significantly more varied and less "WASPy" than you know. she made it into and through the "prep-school" that you refer to entirely on scholarships and dedication, and i think that she would be understandably hurt to see her past so boldly reduced by an anonymous person.
and for the record, as i think is pretty clear to see: my taking remarks personally is probably more the result of a well-documented history of very genuine, way overblown defensiveness rather than any type of irony. i have been taking things way too seriously since i was in preschool! i guess it's my nature.
now please let's move on, unless everyone wants more long boring diatribes from me! i would really urge further discussion to take place via a more personal forum.
Esquire
by old guy
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 at 3:06 PM
Matt, you and the girlfriend (partner is for tennis players and businessmen) seem to be decent folk ( I know her a little better), although I haven't seen you since last football season.
People here attack you when they get the impression that you are defending the roboto fashionistas, when it seems clear that you are just justifying your own remarks, none of which strike me as being too bigoted.
Kahlia is innocent!
by logical
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 at 3:59 PM
Don't you guys see the facts here? Kahlia is black and transgendered. Therefore it can't be her fault. Can't we just blame some nameless faceless enemy like The Police or Society or White Corporate America for this problem and just move on?
Let's Stay on Point
by Khalia
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 at 6:33 PM
I am glad that people are trying to come to an understanding of how exactly things got to where they are now, but the all too common tendency to self cannibalize always seems to emerge when people try to be self-critical of the community, and it's over lapping sub-cultures.
Let's Stay On Point, please!
This contraversy is about my thefts from two staple organizations in the Pittsburgh Radical community, and to my eternal shame my repeated sexual assault, discomforting lude comments, and breach of safety to the womyn of the local community.
I'm here finally, sorry it took me so long to get here, but now you can all ask me the questions that you've been wanting too, instead of speculating.
I also want to say that Mardy Levine (CP journalist) is a fucking idiot who writes like a National Inquirer journalist, and no I don't care if that is libel. He rephrased statements I made, substituted words I spoke for his own, and wrote the whole article to sound dismissive rather than someone who wants to be brought to social justice, and wants to become a better human being.
I want you all to know that I don't take this situation lightly, and that I am carefully reading all of your comments and trying to find ways to give you all closure. Except of course for the ones that are more interested in sub-cultural baiting than developing a stronger and more sustainable community.
Unlike someone commented above, I am not shrugging responsibility for my repeated sexual assault. I accept complete responsibility for what I did. As for the rumors of street crime I do not know what people are talking about, literally. I have no contact with anyone from previous social circles, and this is the first time I have heard such things mentioned. I must say that I am not very concerned with them though. The "punk/anarchist" communities handle serious situations with the same social etiquette as school yard gossip. I also must argue with the statement that I am using my transness/blackness as some kind of guard from being brought to community justice. The compilation of my identity has nothing to do with, nor can it be used as an excuse for what I did to those womyn, nor should anyone try to use it as an excuse. And will the person who is posting "Khalia is innocent" please stop it. It isn't funny. I am not innocent, and this situation is not something to joke about.
I'll end this post here, and give you all a chance to respond. With meaningful questions that is. Not bantering.
--))
by ((--
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 at 8:32 PM
this is not a productive venue for addressing Khalia's actions. it will address none of her behaviors and attempting to do so would not be in line with survivors wishes on how to proceed with things. many feel she has a persecution complex and so gets off on that stuff. please don't play into that.
Real question
by some dude
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 at 9:01 PM
I have a real question. Why did you steal all that money? Do you have a drug addiction or something?
don't engage
by -------------------------
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 at 9:11 PM
seriously, do not give khalia the satisfaction of feeling like she is doing something positive here. she doesn't deserve that. people shouldn't be talking to her or giving her space to give explanations for things in this public forum. fuck her. there are ways for her to deal with the survivors and she knows what they are. this is just some bs way for her to feel better about herself.
bullshit
by put up or shut up
Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006 at 12:09 AM
bullshit
by pgh anarchist Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006 at 8:12 AM
Everyone who has been wronged by Khalia is scapegoating her because she's trans? You're so fucking full of shit. Khalia stole money from radical bookstores and collectives. The story is not bullshit. Khalia sexually harassed and assaulted countless women, not just the two who wrote a report. Don't even try and say it didnt happen.
well then prove it! any of it! just prove one damn thing that you have yammered on about for weeks now!
you can't - so put a cork in it and give us a rest.
the POG seems kind of heartless in this matter
by Tanya
Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006 at 12:26 AM
If the POG was half of what they claim to be then they would have seen Khalia was hurting for money and could have reached out to help her. but in stead they isolated her and drove her to desperation and finaly to the theft (an act of last resort)
Khalia was only doing what it takes to survive as any living thing in theis world would do. how can you think to punish her for that? why was the pog so heartless in the way they treat her
Stepping Back
by Khalia
Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006 at 6:16 AM
I am going to take the advice of an above poster, and not use this as a forum for addressing my crimes to the community. I was not aware that this was not in line with the survivors wishes.
As for my having a persecution "FETISH" that is completely off target, why is it so hard to believe that someone who has done wrong wants to make up for it, and become a better person. What kind of masochistic person wants everyone to hate them, but obviously a masochist which I am not.
Saying such stupid things is a spit in the face of anyone who has ever done time, and uses the experience to turn their lives around. This is exactly the kind of black and white thinking that society loves using rather than acknowledging that life has nuances. That "Once a convict, always a convict" mentality only helps people feel better about their own crimes, by allowing them to externalize the ills of the world rather than accepting the fact that they participate in them in a number of ways no matter how small they may be.
---
by ---
Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006 at 7:08 AM
what's not in line with the survivors wishes would be you siting on the internet defending yourself, having conversations about what you did where you try to rationalize certain behaviors, and where you complain about how out of line certain views peoples views of you are. all that was asked of you in that statement is that you publicly admit what you did, which does not involve the kind of discussions you're currently engaging in.
you have serious issues to work on and you're well aware of the ways to do so. while it must be frustrating to hear things said about you that you feel aren't true that's kind of the price you have accept for what happened.
people interacting with you here is not cool because it is letting you participate and have a voice in the communities people have asked you to step back from.
coming soon
by Mr. Peduto Project
Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006 at 7:55 AM
A joint venture between dirt rag, Bill Peduto, and Wilkinsburg's finest Nazi sanctuary
POG WON!
by pgh anarchist
Sunday, Oct. 29, 2006 at 10:03 PM
we are not making more change right now. we cought the thief and that is what's important. we will survive
now the guilty have to live with the shame. as it should be
RE: Tanya and the fake pgh anarchist
by Dr. Anarchist
Monday, Oct. 30, 2006 at 5:39 PM
First, to the fake pgh anarchist, fuck off, leave my boy's name alone.
Second, to Tanya. Who are you? What do you know about how POG handled this beyond what is written above? And this has almost nothing to do with the theft, it has to do with the assaults. Is sexual assault something Khalia needs to do to survive? POG handled this as well as is possible. I'm baffled by the criticizism (sp) on this comment section.
Kahlia is innocent!
by logical
Monday, Oct. 30, 2006 at 5:55 PM
"If the POG was half of what they claim to be then they would have seen Khalia was hurting for money and could have reached out to help her. but in stead they isolated her and drove her to desperation and finaly to the theft (an act of last resort)
Khalia was only doing what it takes to survive as any living thing in theis world would do. how can you think to punish her for that? why was the pog so heartless in the way they treat her"
See, I told you we could blame this on someone else! Damn you POG!!
another dirty deed in POG
by the guardian of truth
Thursday, Nov. 02, 2006 at 11:14 PM
pog has gone to the extream to keep from presenting any proof
are we to take them at their word. (I think not)this is far from the first case of scape goating we have seen from this group reguarding their inability to keep their records in order.the whole idea if Khalia breaking into the room and finding a secure credit card "and a hidden Pin# is far fetched at best" you guys need to come up with a better story
now the guilty have to live with the shame. as it should be
by pgh anarchist
Monday, Nov. 27, 2006 at 1:11 AM
Ive got your boy right here!
if you don't like my screen name then log off "boy"
peduto + shit mayor
by HAHAHAHA
Thursday, Dec. 07, 2006 at 9:33 AM
I TOTALLY FOUND THIS SITE BY DOING A GOOGLE SEARCH FOR:
PEDUTO "SHIT MAYOR"
HOW AWESOME???
word
by anarcho-thug
Monday, Dec. 18, 2006 at 3:41 PM
bump this thread! khalia's on this mufucka wildin, this is hard! keep shit-talking each other, it's dope how after the first day this thread really didn't have shit to do with khalia anymore. fuck the hipsters, i'm racist against y'all.
word
by anarcho-thug
Monday, Dec. 18, 2006 at 3:42 PM
bump this thread! khalia's on this mufucka wildin, this is hard! keep shit-talking each other, it's dope how after the first day this thread really didn't have shit to do with khalia anymore. fuck the hipsters, i'm racist against y'all.
oh yeah post some flicks, some old school khalia joints...
Bump
by anarcho-thug
Sunday, Dec. 31, 2006 at 6:11 PM
I graduated from the sixth grade in 1997. Anyway, there's mad irrelevant ass doo-doo mouthin on this muthafucka. Yall talk mad shit but don't post flicks, post some fuckin flicks or shut up, that first khalia pic is dope, bump that shit, she looks smooth like a mutha fucka.
oh yeah if you want beef eat my ass out. now what.
Bump
by anarcho-thug
Sunday, Dec. 31, 2006 at 6:11 PM
I graduated from the sixth grade in 1996. Anyway, there's mad irrelevant ass doo-doo mouthin on this muthafucka. Yall talk mad shit but don't post flicks, post some fuckin flicks or shut up, that first khalia pic is dope, bump that shit, she looks smooth like a mutha fucka.
oh yeah if you want beef eat my ass out. now what.
i
by i
Friday, Jan. 05, 2007 at 1:06 PM
*L*
Took you two posts to figure out when you actually DID graduate from 6th grade. Too funny....
So 1996 huh, so that'd put you in what, 9th grade now?
well
by anarcho-thug
Saturday, Jan. 06, 2007 at 2:26 PM
Actually, this august I'm going to start attending mind your own fuckin business.
Where are the flicks?
a new friend
by NA
Monday, May. 04, 2009 at 5:54 PM
re: Taylor/Kahlia/Anthony-
Is sexually addicted. And an uncontrollable alcoholic. Still pursuing sexual activities with anyone willing, as far as I know. She has been forthright with her crimes, in fact, giving out this webboard's address and information. I believe she may be pursuing counseling as well.
I do not know that she has a persecution complex, but feel that it is a strong possibility. I also know from personal experience that she will continue to make sexually suggestive and inappropriate comments/gestures in group settings-to and about individuals who are not interested in physical intimacy with her. She seems to be unable to tell the difference between a friend and a lover or potential lover, and seems to crave reassurance of a sexual nature constantly. We often see this psychological condition in adult survivors of sexual abuse/molestation.
She also seems to be extremely unsure of her own sexual orientation and often portrays her trans identity in conflicting ways.
She has a lot of potential, is very intelligent, and could be an ally to progressive movements. However, she must pursue concrete action on deep psychological issues and past attacks against others. Admitting one's behavior does not justify continuing in it. Saying one has no control of their own needs/wants/and mindset, let alone actions is just passing the buck.
She currently claims she does not remember the abusive actions she committed (the sexual assaults) and this concerns me more than anything else I've read or she has revealed. If she can not remember what triggered the actions, how can she make a constructive effort to keep them from happening again?
Don't Give Up On Her
by an alternate personality
Saturday, May. 09, 2009 at 10:46 PM
Khalia herself is the survivor of childhood rape, molestation, and sexual trauma. Which is what made this issue so difficult to frame accurately. She is on both ends of the spectrum, survivor, and perpetrator.
She seeks sexual reasurance because she does not know how to genuinely connect and relate to people. She can only see herself in relation to percieved desirability by others, and sexual worth. This is common to many survivors of sexual trauma. What ever happened to her as a child radically knocked her off course, and forever distorted her ability to percieve herself in any kind of evolving way.
In her mind she only exists if people see her sexually, as that is the only value or measure of self worth that she understands. This is what happens when individuals are sexually abused at such a young formative age, before other values systems of esteem, and self worth are instilled.
She has also completed the cycle of violence, by acting out internalized sexual trauma, and/or aggression when in states of lowered inhibition when the conscious mind is impaired and unable to keep guarded behaviors in check.
She was like a sociopath in the sense that she could not see herself, but rather could only gain warped glimpses of how she may exist to the world as translated or filtered through the perception of others.
People like her, do not make themselves, they are the byproduct of larger social mechanisms, and we must take that into consideration. This is not an excuse for her behavior which is morally reprehensible, but merely an attempt to make her into a three dimensional person, and not some overly generalized one dimensional monster, as people have a tendency to do.
On the issue of her sexuality, and identity.
She is not sexually confused, but rather her sexuality may be confusing to the onlooker. Her sexuality is what it has always been, queer, fluid, but predominantly lesbian in direction. And her trans experience can and does coincide with a number of cross transitional experiences hence why it may appear to be conflicting. She is a MtF transwoman, who is butch identified. This does not happen often and is often misunderstood, but she feels closer, and relates better with people on the FtM and trans-masculine spectrum, and feels she has more in common with them than compulsively feminine transwomen who are either put off by her butch identity, affinity for masculinity and "boyish" things, or her lesbian identification. Her short lived portrayal of herself as a trans-boy was merely an attempt to avoid anti-transwoman sentiment, contempt by other transwomen who didn't think she was a "real" transexual because she is not feminine, and tranny/shemale chasers in a scene that still can't tell the difference between transwomen and drag queens, and has little exposure and understanding of trans identity.
The journey of recovery will probably last many years, and involve a lot of digging, and surfacing but she can be fixed. It is my belief that anything someone can become, they can unbecome. She wasn't born like this, she became like this, and she can unlearn it, and become a better person. She is a lot better than she was, she hasn't stolen in almost three years, and she is open and forthcoming with her past. The remaining problem is that she must find a way to value herself based on other merits, and not simply whether or not people are attracted to her. If she can achieve this then you will see a complete disappearance of the compulsive flirting, compulsive sexualness, and occasional streaming of uncontextualized sexual remarks.
Stick by her and be supportive, and I believe you will see a rapidly accelerating change. She has existed in relative isolation since the events have occured until recently, and will more than likely take longer to change the more time she spends alone. The last thing she needs is for people to walk out on her again over something that already happened. (You know who you are)
Please, I'm begging you don't abandon her, and she will change, she has already started.
In addition passing out and vomitting on yourself on Liberty ave. does not make you an alcoholic, it makes you an inexperienced drinker and a light weight.
Don't Give Up Hope
by An Alternate Personality
Saturday, May. 09, 2009 at 11:21 PM
Khalia herself is the survivor of childhood rape, molestation, and sexual trauma. Which is what made this issue so difficult to frame accurately. She is on both ends of the spectrum, survivor, and perpetrator.
She seeks sexual reasurance because she does not know how to genuinely connect and relate to people. She can only see herself in relation to percieved desirability by others, and sexual worth. This is common to many survivors of sexual trauma. What ever happened to her as a child radically knocked her off course, and forever distorted her ability to percieve herself in any kind of evolving way.
In her mind she only exists if people see her sexually, as that is the only value or measure of self worth that she understands. This is what happens when individuals are sexually abused at such a young formative age, before other value systems of esteem, and self worth are instilled.
She has also completed the cycle of violence, by acting out internalized sexual trauma, and/or aggression when in states of lowered inhibition when the conscious mind is impaired and unable to keep guarded behaviors in check.
She was like a sociopath in the sense that she could not see herself, but rather could only gain warped glimpses of how she may exist to the world as translated or filtered through the perception of others.
People like her, do not make themselves, they are the byproduct of larger social mechanisms, and we must take that into consideration. This is not an excuse for her behavior which is morally reprehensible, but merely an attempt to make her into a three dimensional person, and not some overly generalized one dimensional monster, as people have a tendency to do.
On the issue of her sexuality, and identity.
She is not sexually confused, but rather her sexuality may be confusing to the onlooker. Her sexuality is what it has always been, queer, fluid, but predominantly lesbian in direction. And her trans experience can and does coincide with a number of cross transitional experiences hence why it may appear to be conflicting. She is a MtF transwoman, who is butch identified. This does not happen often and is often misunderstood, but she feels closer, and relates better with people on the FtM and trans-masculine spectrum, and feels she has more in common with them than compulsively feminine transwomen who are either put off by her butch identity, affinity for masculinity and "boyish" things, or her lesbian identification. Her short lived portrayal of herself as a trans-boy was merely an attempt to avoid anti-transwoman sentiment, contempt by other transwomen who didn't think she was a "real" transexual because she is not feminine, and tranny/shemale chasers in a scene that still can't tell the difference between transwomen and drag queens, and has little exposure and understanding of trans identity.
The journey of recovery will probably last many years, and involve a lot of digging, and surfacing but she can be fixed. It is my belief that anything someone can become, they can unbecome. She wasn't born like this, she became like this, and she can unlearn it, and become a better person. She is a lot better than she was, she hasn't stolen in almost three years, and she is open and forthcoming with her past. The remaining problem is that she must find a way to value herself based on other merits, and not simply whether or not people are attracted to her. If she can achieve this then you will see a complete disappearance of the compulsive flirting, compulsive sexualness, and occasional streaming of uncontextualized sexual remarks.
Stick by her and be supportive, and I believe you will see a rapidly accelerating change. She has existed in relative isolation since the events have occured until recently, and will more than likely take longer to change the more time she spends alone. The last thing she needs is for people to walk out on her again over something that already happened. (You know who you are)
Please, I'm begging you don't abandon her, and she will change, she has already started.
In addition passing out and vomitting on yourself on Liberty ave. does not make you an alcoholic, it makes you an inexperienced drinker and a light weight.
what a steaming pile of psychobabble
by in the know
Saturday, May. 09, 2009 at 11:39 PM
What a steaming pantload of apologetics. The "writer" fancies itself an "intellectual", no doubt, too stupid to realize that intellectuals don't actually exist.
What Are You Talking About
by An Alternate Personality
Sunday, May. 10, 2009 at 12:18 AM
What are you talking about? Nothing about that post was apologetic, just humanizing. And who said anything about intellectual anyway. Your hangup not mine.
"humanizing"
by in the know
Monday, May. 11, 2009 at 1:16 AM
What's with the "humanizing" shit? Isn't that a psychobabble way of saying that you're a limp wristed enabler? You're the kind of dumbass who'd buy an alcoholic another bottle.
The freak is exactly that - a freak, and a dangerous one at that. Keep the freak away from everyone else, and you apologetic weenies stay the hell away from us too.
Moving Forward
by Circle of Friends
Friday, May. 15, 2009 at 11:33 PM
On Wednesday evening a number of us had a meeting with Khalia to discuss some of the past events that had taken place before we came to know her. At this point we have been friends with her for a little over two months, and have come to see her as part of our group.
Although Khalia had already informally made us aware of her past we still felt it prudent to have a sit down and discuss in greater detail the extent of the incidents of which we had all had a chance to review and process individually. The purpose of this meeting was to attempt to get a better understanding of both Khalia’s state of mind during these incidents, and the circumstances that lead up to those points, as well as to assess the progress she has made in her self-rehabilitation, and to make certain that she will not be a threat in the future.
After nearly two hours of a roundtable of in depth questions, we felt that she was genuinely sorry for the offenses that she had committed both against the individuals and organizations that she hurt during the span of those years, understands in great detail the events that lead up to that point and can recognize the signs for future prevention, and expressed interest in making amends for them. It also became aware to us some time before this meeting even occurred upon reading the “communities” response to the events that her rehabilitation was not really a major concern of most of the people in the scene (which is what it really is, or at least at that time was). People seemed more interested in posting online to flame, rather than pose constructive measures that could be taken to both facilitate the recovery of a “community”, as well as an individual (offenders are people too, and are most often times survivors of abuse themselves. That’s why it’s called cycle of violence). We understand that feelings were running high and that actually seeing or talking to Khalia may have seemed damn near impossible, but one must put those feelings aside and try to handle the situation for the better of society as a whole, not just some niche group.
That is why “communities” like this don’t work, because you can’t walk your talk. You give all this lip service to creating a different kind of world, but when push comes to shove you fall back on socialized ways of dealing with problems. So you didn’t call the police whoopdy fucking doo. Most sexual assaults and rapes don’t get reported anyway, and no criminal repercussions result so no real difference there. In fact Khalia has said on a number of occasions that she wishes that she would have been sent to jail over the offenses, as she felt that at least something concrete would have taken place. I mean yeah, there was a list of ways to make amends for her crimes, but lets be honest no one really cared whether she completed them or not. There was absolutely no interest in whether she got better or not. Your hypocrites, and worst of all you take a dysfunctional approach to dealing with internal problems in the way that you use society as a whole as a garbage can for the dumping of your undesirables. Like a garden of Eden of sorts that when individuals mess up they get cast out. A sustainable alternative society based on different principals and values cannot function as such, because if you were ever to succeed there would be no larger society to use as a dumping ground for your problem individuals. You would be the society.
Keep your own house in order. She was your problem, and as soon as she became too much to deal with you simply passed the buck.
You had absolutely no idea what would happen once she was outside the walls of your “community”. She could have become angry and resentful, becoming increasingly more violent and dangerous. She could have retaliated. She could have continued on her same path of theft and assault escalating as she went, you didn’t know nor did you care so long as she was outside of your scene. You simply let her loose on society as a whole and that idea seemed to make sense to you in your warped “communities” perception.
Luckily she’s actually been using the time to work on herself, and break the cycle that you potentially could have allowed her to continue on. (And you wonder why no one takes anarchists seriously)
We feel quite comfortable with her presence, and as a member of our circle of friends, and do not feel that she will relapse into past manners of behavior with support, guidance, and light supervision. She is our friend now, and we will stand behind her, support her, and help her get her life back together, because she is one of us.
Come Get Some!
by a new friend
Friday, May. 15, 2009 at 11:47 PM
in the know wrote:
What's with the "humanizing" shit? Isn't that a psychobabble way of saying that you're a limp wristed enabler? You're the kind of dumbass who'd buy an alcoholic another bottle.
The freak is exactly that - a freak, and a dangerous one at that. Keep the freak away from everyone else, and you apologetic weenies stay the hell away from us too.
Yeah cause being rhetoric toting hardliners has done so well for us so far! Walk your fucking talk.
Where are all these "freaks" as you call them going to go if we don't actually try to help them and change them as people. You say to keep them the hell away from you, but society is only churning out more and more people like this at an increasing rate, so unless you plan on walking around with your eyes closed I suggest you get realistic about dealing with the problem.
And and big points for calling people limp wrists and freaks. You and your homophobic, othering banterers can stay the fuck away from us too!
Better yet why don't you come and pay us a visit since you think your so tough! Name the time and place.
You Backlash Artist
by new friend 2
Saturday, May. 16, 2009 at 11:24 AM
And by the way “in the know”
Babble is what ignorant people call things when they are resentful that they are uneducated as to the subject matter of conversation, or vernacular being used in said conversation. So you just admitted your own ignorance.
Retraction
by New Ally
Saturday, May. 16, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Earlier I made statements that Khalia was an alcoholic, sexually addicted, sexually opportunistic engaging in sex acts with anyone willing, and that she potentially cannot tell the difference between a friend and a lover, or potential lover. Craves constant sexual reasurance, is conflictedon matters of her sexuality, and is unsure of her trans status.
I just want to say that after speaking with her in private she provided a lot of clarity into some of the concerns of mine. For instance she is currently in therapy, and has given me greater in depth details pertaining to the thefts and sexual assaults.
As I stated above she had made me aware of her past, but I did not know to what extent the crimes or the severity. After reading them I became very upset, and posted out of anger making some unsubstantiated claims that were rectified by our having talked.
She has admitted to being compulsively sexual, and engaging in sexual acts with anyone willing (willing being the key word, as she has not been physically aggressive or intrusive) and feeling the compulsion to use sex and attraction as a means of self validation, and we have begun to devise ways in which to deal with that, and to unlearn those behaviors and tendencies. In fact she went into great detail her reasons for feeling the need to try to gain my attraction to her when we first met, and deconstructed it piece by piece, and since doing so has not repeated such behaviors to me or anyone else for that matter. We both agree that logic & analysis can be used to both resist, and unlearn compulsive behaviors if caught in time before ill conceived action takes place.
On the matter of sexual assault, and boundary crossing she has proven that she has been undergoing concrete action to get to the root of deeply seeded psychological issues.
While I feel assured at this point that she will not repeat these behaviors again we still discussed a potential period of sobriety and celibacy while she works on the rest of her issues. She said that she is willing to entertain the idea, and made it known that she had already undergone a period of sobriety and celibacy for the majority of time between Sept. 2006-the present, and has only begun drinking and socializing intimately again within the past couple months, but would be willing to return to sobriety and celibacy if myself and our friends found it to be beneficial. As of right now we feel comfortable simply monitoring, and cutting back on the frequency of her drinking. Substance abuse is the most common trait among individuals in crisis, and once Khalia knew that we were not interested in abandoning her, and were there to be her friend- her drinking drastically reduced, and became less frequent.
On the matter of her identity I admit that her portrayal of herself can be conflicting and confusing at times, but is just who she/zie is. Her gender more or less predominantly fluctuates between boi, grrrl, butch, futch identities*, but is usually a compilation of them all. I hoped I didn't offend her, or make people think that it is acceptable to challenge or deny peoples identity simply cause you happen to be mad at them**, because it was not my level headed intention. I was merely venting.
She is also lesbian identified, though acknowledges that her attraction can become fluid at times, she is not confused about her sexuality even if it has a tendency to confuse individuals around her (she likes to say, “I am not sexually confused just because you are confused about my sexuality, stop projecting”).
*identities not labels, these self identifications are very real and meaningful to those who claim them there is nothing trivial about them
** Like the way the City Paper revoked her identity as a lesbian, differing from the original story when transferring the story to their online archives.
"Name the time and place"
by laughing man
Sunday, May. 17, 2009 at 3:12 AM
Marvel at the limp wristed tough badass on a thread concerning a freak who was violent.
I suppose the badass freak needs some sympathy too?
The place: on your knees, asswipe. The time: any time you choose.
Sticks and stones will break my bones, but lame witty retorts will never hurt me.
by Badass Bottom
Sunday, May. 17, 2009 at 6:00 PM
Wow irony, the height of all American moral ambiguity. How many pseudo-moralizing Hollywood movies did you have to watch to learn how to throw a one liner like that together? Though I do not see a hint of irony seeing as there are perfectly acceptable instances of the use of violence, fighting for what one believes in for instance. The issue is not violence, but rather types of violence. She was sexually violent, this is just good old fashioned throw down violent. So what do you say, you up for it? Or you just gonna keep throwing me “zingers “ from your armchair?
But I guess this is how you get your rocks off, posting incendiary remarks in relative anonymity-seeing as you obviously can’t get anyone else to do it for you, hence your offer. But you couldn’t handle all this laughing man.
But if your looking for a little rough trade I suggest you check the bathrooms down at the bus station cause you won’t find it here.
Freaks Unite
by Bottom Boi
Sunday, May. 17, 2009 at 6:12 PM
Also you kind of throw words like freak around a lot, but highschool is over, and words like that don't really carry any weight anymore. In fact some of us embrace that title, for the sane man in an insane world is himself a freak.
Freak just means minority as far as I'm concerned, and I'm already one of those so consider me unphased.
In fact some of us embrace that title
by yawning man
Sunday, May. 17, 2009 at 11:23 PM
Awwwww, you poor widdle bedwetter. You're a minority! Why, my heart instantly bleeds for you. Need some welfare? Food stamps? When the Big One comes will you be hardest hit?
Poor widdle minorrrrrittttteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees! Will someone please change the whining fucks diaper?
Same old predictable incendiary rhetoric
by Unphased Boi
Monday, May. 18, 2009 at 12:12 AM
Hmm. I don't remember mentioning whining, I guess you just have to put words in my mouth seeing as you really don't have a point here. Also I didn't mention exactly what kind of minority I was. Race, class, subcultural, political, gender, religious etc... So once again you've just shown how much of a moron you really are. You just assumed that I meant racial minority which means that you can be none other than a backlashy white right-winger.
Awh. I'm sorry that your political ideology has fallen out of favor, and now everyone on your side of the political spectrum is flailing and lashing out like petulant little children. Grabbing at anything they can to still try to appear relevant. Like posting on an obscure thread such as this.
such originality
by not a mental cripple
Monday, May. 18, 2009 at 3:32 PM
Were you going for a home run with all that mindless sloganeering, Brainiac?
![[masthead]](/images/masthead_140.png)
