Wow I am blown away by the support that I've received since I posted my personal story about issues arising from the intersection of our broken healthcare system and our broken prison system. Thank you all.
     As a follow up to some of the comments people have made let me explain a few things: my concerns about jailing isn't so much about the arrest itself nor being held immediately upon arrest. I am concerned about any time I might serve if I am brought up on charges- for instance when I interrupted Obama's speech in protest which under the recently minted “trespass” law could carry 10 years. 10 years in a men's facility as a legal and medical woman would be hellish. I am a strictly peaceful protester who dissents to the way our country is being run for profit by mega corporations. Protest itself has been criminalized and it leaves me afraid as someone who exercises my constitutional rights that I will be imprisoned at some point.
     In terms of SRS (sexual reassignment surgery): the debate over the medical necessity of SRS is that it's “cosmetic” and thus unnecessary- that medically my organ works fine and thus there is no reason to perform the surgery. This is a weak at best argument- for instance do we tell people whose doctors say lap-band surgery is medically required that their stomachs work fine and thus refuse them? People complain that they shouldn't have to pay high insurance rates to cover peoples SRS- but SRS is relatively inexpensive compared to say cancer so that too seems flimsy. Now where things get really odd is that my healthcare team suggested that insurance (and I will have to check this with my insurance company) would cover just the removal surgery. Thus it is medically necessary to remove my genitals (which defeats their own earlier argument that the surgery is purly cosmetic) but not necessary medically to have genitals...? Lastly SRS is in fact medically necessary and here's why: DSM5 medically recognizes Gender Dysphoria (not identifying with your physical gender) as a mental disorder it does not however recognize being transgender as a being a mental disorder. Today I have a mental disorder however if I have SRS I will no longer have a mental disorder because I will no longer be at odds with my physical gender. SRS for me would cure a mental disorder.
     To those looking to help: I will be working on petitions to change the prison housing policy for the state of Massachusetts, and if there is anyone trying to do impact litigation for health insurance SRS coverage please contact me I believe my case would be compelling. If I am held in a gender inappropriate way please bombard MA correction and state government with calls, and protest if possible- certainly spread the word should that happen. As soon as the petitions exist I will post links to them. If you are interested in supporting the protesting I do check out massops.weebly.com. If I am held and cannot pay bail that's where a wepay might appear. Otherwise again I want to say thanks all of your comments and support has already helped. :)
     Lastly to those pointing out the many many other issues with our prison system: I wholeheartedly agree prison for profit which allows people to be held in deplorable conditions is a disgusting thing in its entirety. Prison rape is serious no matter the genders of the people involved and I certainly agree that the crime in prisons are abhorrent and should also be addressed. Have not yet been to prison tho I cannot speak with authority on these matters so when I published my story, or perhaps it should be called my story to date, I didn't include these things (bc happily they aren't part of my story yet- and hopefully ever). I published my story with the aim to open peoples eyes to what I'm going through and what the precedents are that allowing this might set. I also published my story because sharing it was a way for me to vent the pressure I'm under and hopefully do some good.
    be  well,
K

    A gun is pressed to your head and you are offered this Sophie’s choice A. you have your genitals removed, or B. you are tortured, face probable rape, and possible murder. There is no option C... how can anyone make that choice? Yet that is exactly the choice I face.
     I am a peaceful activist in America which means I face a near constant likelihood of arrest, in fact the police went on my local Fox nightly news to threaten me with arrest adding in the report that I had not broken any law. I have not been arrested nor charged with anything yet thankfully and I am not in any way a criminal but as an occupier I was processed as a “potential terrorist” by DHS making my odds of arrest and detention more likely. This is disturbing on its own but for me it has the added complication that I am transgender and pre-op.
     I am legally female. My drivers license has an “F' on it. I have piles of documentation from doctors and therapists saying I am female. I need SRS (sexual reassignment surgery) which is part of the treatment for the medical condition I have. SRS is not required to legally change my gender in Massachusetts, and I have already chemically transitioned. The scary part for me is that if I am arrested despite my physical appearance and legal gender I would be put in a men's facility. (the picture is of me) How do you think I’d do?
     SRS isn't covered by my insurance who claim it's “cosmetic” and “optional” I disagree fully of course with that assessment for me SRS is a completely necessary procedure that would put my mind, body, and legal gender all in the same category. SRS would also mean if I am arrested as threatened I would be in held in a women's jail. I cannot afford SRS on my own.
     Recently as part of the process towards getting SRS I spoke with my therapist who works with the transgender program at my health care provider's office (my healthcare provider is part of a well thought of transgender program). I was told that my insurance would probably cover the removal of my genitals. If I was to have my genitals removed and I am arrested I would probably be put in a woman’s facility but I would never have either type of genitals again... or I could keep my genitals and face any detention in a men's facility which would mean either I'd be in protective custody (solitary 23.5 hours/day lock down) or I'd be in general population and highly vulnerable to rape and murder. I live in constant fear of arrest due to my peaceful protesting and my medical condition that could easily lead to my torture- and it is torture- lock down for 23.5 hours and solitary confinement &/or rape and violence.
     How can the state of Massachusetts consider me legally female yet decide to place me in a men's jail? How can a Healthcare provider and Health insurance claim that having genitals isn't medically necessary? The implications of these two issues goes far beyond just me or even just transgender people. That the state of Ma will house people in a prison that doesn't match their legal gender and doesn't match what gender their doctors say they are it is a cause of concern for everyone. That a healthcare provider and insurance both believe that it is medically acceptable to remove someone's genitalia and leave them with no genitals while claiming that any reconstruction is not medically necessary should concern everyone. If you get hurt or have an infection/ illness that damages your genitalia are you going to face what I did? Will you too be told that your genitals will be removed without any reconstructive surgery?
     There is a simple solution- it's time to cover SRS in medically necessary cases as specified by medical professionals (and maybe we should stop arresting peaceful protesters for exercising their constitutionally protected rights). Massachusetts department of corrections should listen to doctors diagnosis of gender. It's time to make sure that everyone is protected by a healthcare and health insurance system that regards genitals as medically necessary. I'm tired of living in terror.

Cakeing blueprint:
     Cake theory and the application of cakeing for a moment. Cake is of course a great medium for bringing online protest to IRL because we know the cake is a lie. It's a instant way to troll the IRL media who don't understand. The point is to put a simple message (that is a lie) on a cake and deliver it to a liar. In our case we're Cakeing Carmen Ortiz, and our cake said “Justice for Aaron” which of course is a lie because there can never be justice.

Strengths: Cakeing is legal and can be done with a small group of people, fucks with the FBI
Weaknesses: seen as silly, waste of delicious moist cake.

    Cakeing how to: bake a cake with a message and deliver it to a public figure in need of rebuke. Remember it is legal (as long as you have not been told to leave the property & as long as there is not a no trespassing sign) to doorstep someone (go to their doorstep and ring their doorbell/or leave flyers and a cake). If you choose to cake someones home I suggest you also flyer the neighborhood with your message and reach out to their community to try to inform them why you are doing what you're doing. Definitely take pictures/film and post your cakeing adventure. Even after you have been told not to enter a property or if there's a no trespassing sign you can cake just off their property (don't block their driveway). Don't make threats- again that'll get you and your crew arrested.
     Remember your cake will get V&- and tested for everything by the FBI- I like to use #freecake to mock this- so be sure that you don't put anything in the cake that isn't... cake bc you'll get your whole team thrown in jail. xD the more we cake people the more time the FBI spends xraying cakes fucking lulz!
     Cakeing is a good way to public ally protest with small numbers and not land in jail. I suggest having a livestreamer w/ you because police get jumpy- our first encounter with police while caking was totally insane, but just document and know you're not breaking laws. Ultimately the fun of cakeing is it's basically a solid way to protest without getting arrested.

Media reaction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kBCgem7YQg
Police reaction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3uZcVFKXn4
-poli

With #IDP13 around the corner I want to discuss privacy and safety at protests.

     I'm not a hacker. I can't really help you too much with securing your identity online, but privacy is important in the physical world too especially during protests. We have an out of control police state that will actively try to identify peaceful protesters and will then classify them as terrorists. They will send that information out to all policing and surveillance agencies- this happened with occupy basically nation wide, and it likely happened to me personally at occupy Boston (before I blackbloced).

     Blackbloc is the same principle as Anonymous but applied to the physical world. You remove your identity from your actions which allows you to act and speak freely without fear of direct reprisal. We have the right not to give police and our government our IDs- we in fact have the same right to privacy in the real world that we do online. Police use all sorts of technology to identify protesters at events but it is your right- and a damn good idea- to foil them as best you can.

     We can protect ourselves and one another when we take action in public by blackblocing. Blackbloc is the simplest means of protection for all. Anyone can participate and it costs very little. Blackbloc isn't a group, an ideology, nor does it mean violence it is a tactic and nothing else. Blackbloc means dressing head to toe in black (including wearing a black bandana to obscure your face). Blackbloc hides your identity, and when a whole group is in blackbloc together they become difficult to distinguish from one another. It makes targeted tactics (such as the Oakland PD's targeted grabs- when they run into a crown and arrest a streamer or other high value target) difficult.

     When we blackbloc together we are a collective and we can protect ourselves and the people around us effectively while limiting the amount of personal reprisals that we face. In Chicago the NATO summit the Chicago PD have raided protesters homes before the event even started- this is the kind of reprisal that we seek to deter by engaging in BlackBloc and denying the police our identities. Doing BlackBloc together protects all of us because the more of us that there are the less likely any of us are to be identified.

     BlackBloc does not mean violence- this is a common misconception. BlackBloc can be used by anyone in any group including both nonviolent or violent groups. I advocate for nonviolent use of BlackBloc to protect those who are actively engaging in protest.

     I suggest that everyone uses BlackBloc when they engage in any sort of political activism- there are cameras everywhere and this is the police state. Protecting your identity and staying off of the Police radar is very key to your effectiveness in protesting for long term change. We should be prepared to continue our efforts for the long-term because change doesn't happen rapidly and if we are to be the agent of change we must be ready to play the long game.

Protect yourself and each other.
KT

Dear Friends,

     We are the media now. The establishment has corrupted the forth estate, so we will become the new check on power. Our messages will be stronger than anything the MSM broadcasts because we have the truth. We can make our words ubiquitous though a concerted effort by ground teams engaging in guerrilla postering. We cannot be content to just broadcast our messages on the internet we must give the world our message in a corporeal form. These teams will print and put our words out on the streets where all can see them. This is our world, these are our street and we will fill them with out words.

     Guerrilla postering can be done as individuals or as groups. I suggest that anyone participating should Blackbloc when they put up posters & signs without permission- this is a revolutionary act because we do not seek permission to speak. Depending on where you are this can be illegal (which is something you should look into before taking any action because you should be aware of possible consequences). By postering this way we can share an idea locally with the random masses inexpensively and without oversight (censorship) from anyone.

     Posters are our message, and also they are a way to invite everyday people to join us in effective ways. The posters should have URL and a QR codes on them that will link to ways for people to get involved in the issue the poster addresses, and the site should include the printable posters so that others can join us in spreading the message.

    Guerrilla Postering is how to broadcast a physical presence of revolution. When we poster we are declaring that the world is here for us- the people and not the established powers. We poster to show that we are free and we will be there to support others who thirst for freedom.

     Having our message physically in the world in important because many people are not reachable through the internet, but postering an area that these people live in or travel through is a way to reach out to spread our message to them. When we poster we expand our audience and we increase the strength of the message we broadcast while also sidestepping censorship and oversight because we design print and distribute the posters ourselves.

    Tactics for postering use only a few images and place them thickly in an area. That should help make them appear important and makes them hard to miss. It also will help to stick your message in peoples’ minds due to repetition. By putting up our images we also maintain a visible presence in the streets which is something of importance particularly now occupy is no longer in the streets. Move in small teams (two or three) one with posters another with tape or a staple gun so that you can quickly put up many posters without have to slow down and fumble with your equipment. (if you have a third they should scout. Take basic precautionary measures such as BlackBloc (link) even while following the law.


Stay safe and look out for each other

  The world changed rapidly after 9/11 and we are living out the consequences of giving up our civil liberties. Privacy is integral to freedom and breaching privacy is key to removing freedom. International Day of Privacy 2013 on Feb 23 is our way of exercising the rights we used to have.

     Directly post 9/11 The Patriot Act passed into law breaking many different aspects of citizens rights and amongst the rights lost was privacy while using electronics. The Patriot Act allows the government to run dragnet surveillance of all electronic communication under the guise of searching for terrorist threats without warrants. This was followed up by the NDAA which removed the right to due process, and allows the US military to run active missions on American soil.

     Here- as it is everywhere- we are surrounded by CCTV cameras constantly, and here the government has been caught using a system called Trapwire. Trapwire is a program that scans through all the vast collected CCTV camera data to find... well anything you ask it to. The result is you can easily be tracked, monitored, and you are almost always being recorded. Again the excuse for such a program is that it finds potential terrorists. Not content with the already pervasive network of cameras at their disposal our government has cleared the way (and in some places is already using) drones to police citizens.

     The advent of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Transit Safety Authority (TSA) is the advent of the police state. TSA is part of DHS and both are justified by the war on terror. The TSA is an expanding office which restricts the movements of citizens (they maintain secret “no fly lists” for example) and at this point you must be searched, radiated, and fondled to travel by plane. The TSA is currently spreading out to include rail systems and roadside checks as well. DHS is the tarp under which all of the domestic surveillance and control programs are run. They maintain the databases that are used to track everyone, and they have retrofitted our police into a military to enforce their control (look at the over policing and labeling of occupy as terrorists). DHS, through its “fusion centers” has gone so far as to issue decrees that classify everyone as a “potential terrorist” which makes them fair game to be monitored. DHS has also instigated a snitching system for civilians to turn each other in (“see something say something”, and infraguard).

     The grand total of post 9/11 DHS run America is this: We are a police state. We are under soft martial law. We are being monitored and tracked. Our government has canceled all of our rights- especially our right to privacy.

It's time to throw off the failed government of the United States of America. The present incarnation of our countries leadership is the ultra wealthy and has canceled the constitution and with it all civil liberty for the people. The Government has broken the constitution by becoming thousands and thousands of corporate government entities (IE your state, town, district, county, judicial system, and many smaller subdivisions are each separate corporations). Corporations exist by nature to make profit, and so by incorporating the country government we have turned into governance for profit. Corporations are not bound to the will of the people and do not need to represent the people they govern- instead they are bound to the will of their share holders. This is the rule of the elite designed to impoverish the masses and strip citizens of their rights.

Worse when looked at together the US Governments holdings (subdivided into the thousands of smaller corporate governments) it's clear that the US Government is massively profitable (not that those profits are being used for the good of the people) and scarily has a major stake in nearly every company on earth. This merger of corporate and government then means that the government cannot (and would not even if it could) regulate any of the companies it owns. Worse the government then makes laws (like Obama care) which prop up the industries they own. Why else would major corporations be able to pay little to no tax and avoid all charges when unmasked for having criminal dealings?

One cannot just tear down a government without a ready made system in place to replace it otherwise you wind up with an equal or worse tyrant. The first steps toward freedom then is to build the framework of what will replace the old failed corrupted government. The first thing we as a people must do is to take responsibility away from the government and into our own hands- if something needs doing we must do it ourselves without aid from the government. With that in mind I want to offer some ideas for the new system.

Our constitution has been broken. It's time for a new one. Remember the constitution is not what gives us our rights (we possess those rights inherently by being alive), but it is a agreement to belong to a system (a government) that exists to protect those natural rights.

We vow to protect the rights of all humans. We recognize that every human is entitled to these rights. These rights cannot be taken away from anyone through governance or by force.
    Every person has the right to wellbeing- the fundamental right to be safe and to have necessary, affordable healthcare. They have the right to water, food, and shelter.
    Every person has the right to Free Expression- any person may write, speak or think without fear of persecution.
     Every person has the right to free action- you may live your life as you see fit with no oversight, provided that you do not impede on the rights of anyone else.
    Every person has the right to knowledge- equal education must be provided freely for all. Everyone must have access to all forms of communication.
     Every Person has the right to due process should they be detained for any reason, and while detained their right to wellbeing must still be observed.

         This code should be the foundation of our society because it protects all of the freedoms of the individual. Any government built on those principles would exist to primarily to ensure that those basic rights are met. It would provide the infrastructure to ensure access to knowledge, health, and communication.
     I'm unconcerned with the exact structure of the replacement government. As long as it exists only to protect those freedoms then the structure is unimportant.
    I believe that instead of a handout based welfare system the government should have a works program that puts unemployed to work on infrastructure projects. (currently the bridges nationwide are disgraceful, our communications grid is aging and we lack high speed rail which would all be massive projects that could be undertaken generating jobs and would make travel and communications cheaper here to encourage business and boost quality of life).
    The country must print its own money backed by physical assets. It may not carry dept (though individual years may yield a deficit it may not be so great as to exceed left over past surplus. The deficit as it stands will be paid with the excess funds held by the current government (CAFR's show that the present government is flush with cash and holdings in all major corporations). Liquidating the assets that are tied to business (and instead taking on holdings in physical goods and our countries own currency) must be done to separate the government from the corporate interests to allow governance that is led by the will of the people and makes effective regulation possible.
    Governance must be done publicly. There can be no closed doors. Time must be given between the proposal of a bill and a vote on it to allow the bill to be examined properly. Open government can be the only government. Kickbacks cannot be tolerated and should be viewed as treason. Elected officials must be devoted to only the people and never any foreign power (including a special interest).
    There should not be formalized parties. Individuals must seek office under their own name alone, and cannot accept bribes. Any position in the government should be compensated directly based on the earnings of those who are being governed (IE if there is a position of representative that position should pay the median income of those represented)
    Rebuilding the government on the foundation of protection of rights and transparency is a matter of survival as a nation, and potentially as a species. Our country is being decimated plundered and set to collapse by the ultra wealthy who are the present government. Without reform they will successfully plunder the wealth made on the back of this nation. Without a revolution and a return to a republic government we face eradication. Historically what lives the working class have had can be attributed to the need of our labor but now our labor is increasingly obsolete due to computers, mechanization, and robotics. Those ultra wealthy have shown little to no regard for human life even when we were their source of labor now it will be worse.

     I want to try a new tactic. That's not to criticize the current or past protests out there which have been effective (and I think Jubilee dept striking is wonderful), but I have an idea that would be different newsworthy and would put the spotlight on those who would rather hide their criminal actions.

     It's time we start visiting our tax dollars in person at the residences of the banksters who have made a fortune on the bailouts. There are many banking executives who are the 1% and who took gross profits and bonuses that should be in jail. Given that their homes and livelihoods are being paid for by the taxpayers dollar we have every right to go and enter their space to document their criminal greed. The masses are used to seeing massive police mobilizations to protect cities from our free speech but how will they feel when they see the same excessive policing at a private residence protecting a crime-boss who robbed them? This will make infamous the people who rightly deserve to be known and despised.

     This is still important, and not just sour grapes over the bailout because these leaders have guided the banks to foreclose on homes even after receiving a bailout. They are currently being handed free money by our government under the guise of 0% interest loans. These people are still at the head of a system that is robbing you, so let's visit and document their opulence. Let's claim their land as public, and hold our protests on their doorsteps. Let's foreclose on them. I think it's equally valid to go to the Washington insiders who have paved the way for systemic wealth extraction.

     When we say the 1% it's an opaque idea. At this point we've branded the 99% vs the 1% in the minds of the public, but we haven't yet introduced the 1% to the masses. Our scenario is currently devoid a villain (or in this case a cabal of villains) with faces and stories. we get a chance to introduce america to the plunderers who are at the heart of the collapse and we get to explain their misdeeds on an individual level

     Tactic wise I think this is a solid opportunity for small groups of protesters to do something effective. Even a small crew could go and film the estates and document the obscene wealth of these greedy criminals, and of course if a larger group wanted to they could hold much larger actions. I think it'd be amazing to hold a speak out about foreclosures, dept, and poverty at the residences of these 1%ers. the more research into the 1%er you do before visiting the better.

I think it's time I shared my back story because I hope it can help make a difference. Amanda Todd's suicide due to bullying was tragic and resonated with me enough that I felt telling my story might be useful to people in similar situations.

I was bullied and although it was pre-cyberage it was pervasive and followed me everywhere. I am a MtF (male to female) transgender woman out and proud now, but back in middle school I was just different. I'm sure you can all remember middle school, and likewise I’m sure you can remember that “different” in middle school is not what you want to be.

I was the new kid in fifth grade and there were already clicks. I had transferred into a school that ran a k-8th program, and immediately I landed in a bad situation. I angered a popular kid because his mom and mine had the same job... and that was all it took. That student waged a personal war against me, but he had all the ammo and allies, so I was quickly ostracized. To make matters worse the job that both our mothers had was “parent liaison” a position for the school system. My mom was at a different school, but his mother worked at the school we attended. The bullying went unpunished because his mother worked at the school.

When I say I was bullied and ostracized I mean I had no friends, and that I was beaten up pushed around and was twice stabbed (with pens) by other students, and all the while my complaints about these abuses fell on deaf ears at school. I spent from 5th-7th grade at this school and the entire time I was in hell. I remember getting in trouble for “yelling” (in pain) when I was stabbed in the back with a pen. As mentioned I'm MtF transgender so I was feminine which meant that the kids called me a “sissy” and (of course) a “fag” (a bit funny because I am gay, but it's because I like other women not men as they assumed).

I remember distinctly when I broke inside. I was standing near the door to my fifth grade classroom between two classes. The teacher had stepped out and the usual pack of bullies had formed to torment me. I was shoved a bit, and was doing what I could to ignore it, but the kid whose mom worked at the school picked that day to punch me in the face. I remember the relieve I felt because finally FINALLY the adults would see I wasn't lying about getting beaten up, and harassed. Over the kids shoulder as he went to punch me I saw the teacher turn the corner and enter the classroom. I was saved. I broke down crying in relief... but despite watching me get punched in the face for no reason the teacher just told me to sit down and be quiet. He wouldn't listen, and didn't care. Of course looking back as an adult I can see that of course my teachers all knew what was happening, but at the time I still had the childlike hope that the adults at my school would step in if on they realized what was happening.

I broke that day. The message was clear, and I internalized it. I was garbage, and not worth anything. It was okay to hit me and I probably deserved it. I was a freak. This went on for years. I tried to enlist my mom's help (my dad is a businessman and was constantly traveling), but her response was to blame me saying “bad thing happen because I had a bad attitude.” with no safe quarter, no love, and no support in my loneliness I grew to hate myself. I started drinking in middle school, and harming myself- because I preferred the physical pain to the mental.

Things got worse. In seventh grade- halfway through the year- I was transferred to a different English class... and after that I have fragmented memories of the remainder of the year. I've pieced together some things much of it second hand & I have some suspicions about the rest. I do remember being given detention every week by a teacher who did not like me for things like “the person behind me laughed so I must have done something” I remember that was the year I wasn't allowed to go on the class trip, but I don't (and never have been able to) remember much more. I was told later by my family that I had “turned gray” and was “unresponsive” which probably should have prompted some sort of action (well after that year they did switch schools but still). The teacher of that particular English class died in prison for his Pedophilic activities, and I suspect (mainly from the memory loss and general wreckage of my personality- and my subsequent reactions to touch, intimacy, men, and other triggers) that I may be suppressing things.

Eighth grade in my new school was better, but as I started to recover from all that trauma I continued drinking and was even getting drunk in school. I was also abusing ADD medication and I was very very angry, and filled with self loathing. The new school was better- I had friends and the teachers liked me. I dated a nice girl , and I did well in class, but I was still melting on the inside still broken, and miserable. I attempted suicide that year, and was dramatically foiled by my classmates. I continued to hurt myself, and I started to do other destructive things like starve myself. I dumped my girlfriend so I could go ahead and kill myself.

I cannot express to you the unlikelihood of your reading this because throughout the rest of school straight through college I didn't want to live. I am alive against all odds, and I cannot really explain why, but I am. I should have died too many times to count. I drank everyday more and more to deaden the pain. I hurt myself more and more until around graduation from college I looked at my options and realized I could either be hospitalized like my friend, I could kill myself, or I could get help. Thankfully I finally got help.

This is were I'm supposed to stand up and say “it gets better!” and in some ways it does, in others it won't and sometimes it can be worse. Life is complicated and GLBT folks start off with a disadvantage because we are the minority and we live in a culture that is struggling with how to cope with our lifestyles. Middle and High School tend to be difficult for folks who are different and some of us lose our childhood, and/or teen years to trauma. Those issues won't change, but you will. You will become an adult and at some point you will realize that no one can bully you anymore. As an adult you are the one who determines your life so you are not and will not be powerless again (and it's much harder to feel hopeless when you feel like you have the power over your life).

Somethings can get worse. In my case I was disowned and thrown out by my family. I was fired for being transgender (and at the time there was no legal protection for transgender) with no recourse. I am homeless at the moment in part due to the firing and in part because transition is incredibly expensive (& in part because my motor-home died which has no connection to bullying). And due to a doctors incompetence I was sterilized... It is still difficult. At the end of the day it is better- because I am not a victim of anyone or anything anymore.

I'm writing this as someone who has seen the wars and who has been to the brink and back. It is worth living- you may not have hope now, but at some point you will find the people/person/thing/hobby that makes your life worthwhile. I'm also writing this to parents and teachers, Parents please be there for you kids if they are being bullied because if you're not it will reenforce the negative messages they are receiving, and teachers please don't stand by quietly for any reason and watch a kid get bullied to death and never ever condone bullying. In the end I’m not angry at the other kids I'm furious with the adults who turned a blind eye (and in doing so encouraged) to my torment.

Lastly I know there are reasons to live because I've found them. I've got a wonder partner, an amazing best friend, music, writing, a passion for making the world better, and my Anonymous family

Dear friends,

Obama-Romney care is universal health insurance not universal heathcare, and anyone who has been seriously long term ill can explain the difference. Our government is forcing everyone to get insured and calling it healthcare, yet they have done nothing to address the issues in the health system. Our system is being run for profit, and it's extremely profitable, by massive corporations. There are so many different corporations all making bank on our illness that the cost of care has skyrocketed to unpayable (especially in the new economy). Every time you receive care you are being bilked by insurance, a hospital or doctors office, a pharmaceutical company. Now when I say bilked I mean you are overpaying by many times over. Pharma and insurance are the major issue (though for profit hospitals are certainly a problem too). The question I have for you is why do we want to make the health of our citizens a profit enterprise?

When the motivation is profit instead of care then you are in trouble. Suddenly your doctor's first responsibility is to shareholders and not to you, and this is when you're care will be second rate. Wait though because you aren't even your doctors second priority- there's the Pharmaceutical companies to think of, so we have to get you their meds regardless of if you need them. So as an afterthought you might get treatment for whatever it was you walked in the door with... or not- unless can we do a shit-ton of tests? Great thanks! Oh here's the bill, and by the way your health insurance will only cover some and umm because they think treating you for illness is “unproven” they won't actually pay any. Soooooo yup you're fucked. You can walk in with a headache and walk out with a headache a stomachache from stress, radiation from testing, broke, and filled with drugs for “restless legs” or some other bullshit.

Each player takes a massive cut, hospitals have large overhead to begin with, but now they need to extract every cent to be profitable. Insurance companies exist to make huge pools of money for themselves, and the best way they can do it is to deny you as much as possible while charging you as much as possible. The pharmaceutical companies creat drugs to treat- and not cure you because they want you ill and taking their products forever. They have no financial interest in curing anything. Each member of this takes a huge amount of cash directly from you, and this is why the cost of our system is out of control. Both candidates have passed legislation to mandate that you get health insurance and feed this vampire system while doing nothing to address the real issues or to provide any actual healthcare.

There are things that should not be unregulated business enterprise- education and healthcare are two of the prime examples. I want universal healthcare because it is one of the basic human rights that any government should exist to protect. One of the ways to judge a society is on how it treats its sick, and our country has been failing, and will continue to fail. Healthcare is not a luxury item- you are sick and you need treatment, so the system is a basic necessity and should be run as such. Right now we are hostage to the system we must use because we get ill, and we must be insured under law so we are forced too have our money taken from us and given to the already wealthy corporations involved.

This system is in place to keep us sick powerless and broke. Demand better from your elected leaders. I'm not usually a Michael Moore fan, but watch Sicko if you want to see the issues of vampire healthcare and insurance for profit.
Be well