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Mary Griggs

~ The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

Mary Griggs

Monthly Archives: May 2013

2013 Golden Crown Literary Society Annual Conference

26 Sunday May 2013

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Mary Griggs, Publishing

The Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) is an educational organization whose mission is for the enjoyment, discussion, and enhancement of lesbian literature and creative non-fiction. Their goals are to support and strengthen quality lesbian writing by providing places for readers and writers to interact; to encourage and assist new writers and established authors to develop their craft; and to recognize and promote lesbian work.

GCLS_2013 logoThe 2013 Conference of the Golden Crown Literary Society will be held June 26 to 30 in Dallas, Texas.

I have been a member of the GCLS since 2005 and have attended all but one of the 9 conferences that they’ve held (New Orleans, Atlanta, Phoenix, Orlando (3), Minneapolis) and will hopefully be able to make the next ones, too. Those will be in Portland (2014) and back to New Orleans (2015).

At this year’s conference, I am scheduled for a variety of events:

  • For a coffee chat on Thursday (10:15-11:15) with fellow romance authors Georgia Beers (she is also the keynote speaker for the conference), Rachel Spangler, Chris Paynter and Lee Lynch. Most ably moderated by Lynn Ames.
  • For a reading from my upcoming release In the Midst of Tribulation that afternoon (2:45-3:45) with authors Lynne Ames, Baxter Clare Trautman, Dianne Dekalb-Rittenhouse, Karen Badger, Rachel Gold, R.G. Emanuelle, Marie Logan, Ann McMann and Isabella / Jett Abbott.
  • Moderating a panel on Friday (3:30-4:30) on the Publishing Process with Nann Dunne, Barbara L Clanton, Isabella, Rrose and Rachel Spangler.
  • That panel is immediately followed by the Author Autograph Session (4:30-6).

In addition to doing my authorly duty by hanging out at the Bella Books table, I also serve on the Board of the GCLS, so I will be found at the BOD Meeting on Thursday at 5pm and at the Membership Meeting on Saturday at 10:15am. I’m very much looking forward to the Keynote from Georgia Beers, Special Speaker Carsen Taite and dressing up for the Goldie Awards on Saturday night.

I hope to see some of you there!

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Blog Against Homophobia and Transphobia

17 Friday May 2013

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LGBT Equality, Mary Griggs, Rant, Transgender

(c) by Mary Griggs

idahoI want to blog about privilege today. By that I mean the unearned advantage, power or entitlement conferred by membership in the dominant group. For example, some of us receive age advantages, ethnic advantages, physical ability advantages, as well as advantages related to nationality and religion.

These benefits are often times invisible to us. From my own life, I was taught to recognize racism only as individual acts of discrimination and bias by members of my racial group and not to see the institutional racism of the system itself. For many years, I was ignorant of the sometimes subtle and generally unsought racial advantages that were conferred on me because of my skin color. To me, it was normal to never have to worry about being harassed because of my race when shopping or driving. I learned history where people who looked like me made the major contributions and advancements and those who didn’t were usually barbarians, savages and natives who needed my race’s interference in order to develop. I benefited when my race was used by my mortgage and credit card company to determine my credit worthiness – in 2011, Bank of America was fined $335 million for minority discrimination.

Unless we make a conscious effort to see the privilege, those in the dominant group can blithely ignore what our brothers and sisters who are different face everyday.

To raise awareness for International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, I want to focus on straight and cis privilege and why it is important for us to be aware of how taking advantage of this unearned power can harm our interactions with others.

Miroslav Volf, in his book, Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation asks, “Why should I embrace the other?” His answer is: “the others are part of my own true identity. I cannot live authentically without welcoming the others – the other gender, other person or other cultures – into the very structure of my being.”

Many straight people have never really thought too much about the other. They never consider the status, privilege and reputation that they enjoy simply by being in the sexual majority. They can turn on the television or open books and magazines to see role models for romance and relationships in their orientation. They are able to talk openly about their relationships and receive public recognition through engagement congratulations, being allowed to become lawfully wedded across the nation (with all the rights and responsibilities thereof) and even get support when their partner is ill or dies.

Not so with many gays, lesbians and bisexuals.

Beyond the fact that I live in one of the thirty-one states that has a constitutional amendment against marriage equality, did you know that I can also be fired for being a lesbian in more than half of the states of this great nation?

I spent time in Baton Rouge this legislative session to fight for protections for LGBT public employees here in Louisiana and we couldn’t even get House Bill 85 out of committee. Forum For Equality’s public employee survey indicated more than 60% of them had witnessed bigotry or discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity but we were told that protections for LGBT people would lead to discrimination against Christians.

That is of the aspects of heterosexual privilege that absolutely infuriates me. The assumption that homophobia is an acceptable offshoot of faith does a disservice to the many religions which preach love over hate and the many individuals who would never consider forcing their spiritual beliefs on others. One’s faith is not an excuse for bigotry nor should it allow one to oppress or discriminate against non-straight people. Additionally, the conviction that anyone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender cannot also have faith (ie cannot be a ‘real’ Christian, Jew, Muslim, etc) pushes many LGBT people and their allies away from organized religion entirely.

Moving beyond straight privilege there are the advantages conferred upon those whose sex assigned at birth reflects their gender identity and expression. For example, I was sexed female at birth, I experience my sex to be female, I identify as female and, while I tend toward the more butch side of the scale, the expression of my gender identity is generally within the accepted female gender role.

Now, we live in a patriarchy. Male privilege is everywhere. As a feminist, I believe gender is a social construct designed to oppress females as a class. Gendered thinking harms and restricts both women and men by creating a hierarchy based on how well one cleaves to or deviates from the ideal of femininity and masculinity. Only the abolition of gender will end the oppression of women.

Until such time as we can create a society free from gender, however, we need to acknowledge the very real existence of transphobia. My discussion of cis privilege does not any way minimize the negative impact of sexism. The discrimination faced by women is a terrible thing. So, too, are the health, housing, and employment disparities faced by trans people. Violence against women is at epidemic rates. So, too, are the rates of violence faced by trans folks. Rape, assault and murder should never be used as de facto social control but they are and both women and transgender people are terrorized by them.

I grew up with cis privilege. For my entire life, my female identity has been respected by my parents, my teachers, my doctors, my relatives, my classmates, my employers, and most people I interact with on a daily basis. My documentation matches the gender I present to the world, so I don’t have to fear being denied services at a hospital, bank, or emergency shelter because the staff has the power to judge whether the gender marker on my drivers’ license or passport matches my gender identity.

I was a tomboy growing up, with short hair and sporty attire and I experienced plenty of double glances when using public restrooms. At no time, however, have I felt endangered or physically intimidated by those who believed I was in the wrong facilities.

Unfortunately, it is a very real fear for many trans men and women who are subjected to verbal abuse or physical attack when they go to relieve themselves.

And the verbal abuse in not limited to restrooms. Far too many transgender individuals are harassed on the street (many times by police who profile them as sex workers) and on the job. 6,450 transgender and gender non-conforming people participated in the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey which found widespread employment discrimination and economic insecurity including:

  • Double the rate of unemployment: Survey respondents experienced unemployment at twice the rate of the general population.
  • Widespread mistreatment at work: Ninety percent (90%) of those surveyed reported experiencing harassment, mistreatment or discrimination on the job
  • 47% said they had experienced an adverse job outcome, such as being fired, not hired or denied a promotion because of being transgender or gender non-conforming.
  • 26% reported that they had lost a job due to being transgender or gender non-conforming.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Put yourself in the shoes of the Other today. Consider the reality they experience on a daily basis. Ask yourself if you really want to live your life or base your morality or gird your marriage with an identity that privileges some and maligns others on the basis of inner desires and feelings.

Now think about what you are willing to do to change things.

The truth is we all benefit when false power through socialized privilege is rooted out. Relinquishing the status of the majority can allow us to build a community together based on equality and justice for all.

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Mother’s Day Shooting in New Orleans

13 Monday May 2013

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2nd Amendment, Mary Griggs, Violence

(c) by Mary Griggs

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Today, Mother’s Day hit a new low in New Orleans. Nineteen people were shot following a second line parade in the Seventh Ward. As of this writing, there are three suspected shooters who opened fire on a crowd of about 500 celebrating Mother’s Day at Frenchmen and N. Villere Streets. At least two 10 year old children are among the wounded.

This brings my thoughts to gun safety and the failure of our nationally elected representatives to take proactive action to reduce gun violence.

Any conversation about assault weapons was made more difficult by the number of right wing blowhards arguing that Americans need access to an unregulated supply of assault weapons in order to fight the looming insurrectionist war with the government. Many of those who argued against background checks, high powered bullets and/or a ban on large capacity magazines pointed out that the recent mass shooters wouldn’t have been stopped by such efforts and, instead we should focus on mental health registries.

As true as that might be, high profile mass killings aren’t the only times we are losing our brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers to gun violence. There are far too many gun deaths in the United States that could have been avoided had we had stronger laws or held gun owners as responsible for their weapons as they are for their automobiles.

Closing background check loopholes and allowing the collection and sharing of gun purchase data could reduce the number of firearm homicides (11,078 per year as per the CDC) in the United States.

Cities with bans on some forms of gun ownership, when surrounded by neighboring states or counties without such restrictions, see little effect to the bans because many of the gangs that terrorize their neighborhoods use straw man purchases to gain their weaponry (a la Fast and Furious and the Mexican gangs).

It is time for a national effort.

Mother’s Day was originally envisioned as a day to celebrate peace. Julia Ward Howe wrote a passionate appeal to women and urged them to rise against war in her famous Mothers Day Proclamation, in 1870.

She wrote:

Arise, then, women of this day! Arise all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be of water or of tears! Say firmly: “We will not have questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us reeking of carnage for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and patience. We women of one country will be too tender to those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”

From the bosom of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own. It says “Disarm! Disarm!” The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.

Perhaps her words will prove quite prophetic after this day. But we will need to do more than just hear them. We must do something so no other mother’s child dies at the hand of a criminal with a gun.

Working together, across the country, we can make changes in our laws to support responsible gun ownership and reduce gun violence.

Arise!

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Sitting Through the Lies

04 Saturday May 2013

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ENDA, LGBT Equality, Mary Griggs

(c) by Mary Griggs
homophoes change lightbulb

Most of us, even masochists, surround ourselves with people who respect us and support us. Not all of them will be like-minded but they will, generally, not denigrate us to our faces.

That’s why it can be such a shock to hear the voices of our enemies, as they spout lies in their testimony against laws that would protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender non-conforming adults from bias and discrimination.

It is a slap in the face when they don’t bother to sugar coat their hate. If you want to hear them in their own words, pull up the footage of the House and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing in House Bill 85 (The Louisiana Fair Employment Act). Click here for the video archive for the May 1st hearing of House and Governmental Affairs. House Bill 85 was the last item on the agenda, so listen to the end.

The representatives from the Louisiana Family Forum and Jefferson Baptist Church, who had nothing to say about why or how our society is made better when a portion of the people are bullied or fired at work, talked a lot about how LGBT activists were seeking special rights that, if passed, would lead to laws discriminating against Christians. They spoke passionately to justify their morality and patriotism and to denigrate ours.

At heart, their argument was one of loss – if the LGBT community was no longer discriminated against, then someone else would have to be. To them it is a zero sum game – for every winner, there is a loser.

That is the main difference between our positions. We understand that equality is not a scarcity and that rights for the LGBT community does not mean less rights for them. For LGBT people to gain the power of having employment decisions based on their skills, qualifications and capacity to contribute, straight people will not lose any power whatsoever (other than the power to discriminate).

We are emphatically not fighting for special rights. The right to work is not a “special” right and that is why our nation already has laws protecting against many forms of discrimination including race, religion, gender, disability and national origin. Employment non-discrimination simply puts LGBT workers on the same footing as everyone else, so they don’t have to live in fear that they can be legally fired for reasons that have nothing to do with their job performance.

The other side seems unable to make their case without resorting to lies. As an example, the Louisiana Family Forum sent out an eblast claiming that passing the law would create a “target rich environment for lawsuits.” Experience has shown that there simply has not been a notable increase in litigation in states with laws which protect LGBT workers.

Inequality carries a price, not just to the people prevented from reaching their full potential but also a cost in lost production and wasted human capital. Economic growth is best promoted by making full use of the country’s considerable workforce, not just the straight, gender conforming ones.

But the biggest thing you learn from listening to our opponents?

That they do not have a single, credible reason to deny equal rights to LGBT people.

Someday soon, our elected officials will realize that, too.

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Live Tweeting at the House and Governmental Affairs Committee Hearing

02 Thursday May 2013

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ENDA, Mary Griggs

House and Governmental Affairs Committee Hearing

Here I am, live tweeting, as Elizabeth Jenkins, Morris Welch and Albert McMeen testify in support of House Bill 85 – The Louisiana Fair Employment Bill

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Committee Hearing on House Bill 85

01 Wednesday May 2013

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ENDA, LGBT Equality, Mary Griggs

Here are my remarks in full:

My name is Mary Griggs. I am a Human Resources professional with over 25 years of experience in retail, corporate and non-profit personnel management. I own my own organizational development consulting firm which has been in business since 2001.

 

I also serve on the Board of the Forum For Equality, a statewide LGBT rights organization. We work to achieve full equality for the LGBT community through education, outreach, and constructive participation in the political process.

 

I’m asking for your support of House Bill 85. The Louisiana Fair Employment Act would amend state protections and add safeguards from discrimination in public employment based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

 

We believe that qualified, hard-working employees should be recruited and retained based on their skills, qualifications, and capacity to contribute. Employment evaluations should not be based on sexual orientation or gender identity but on work performance.

 

At a time when Louisiana is facing budget shortfalls, we cannot afford bad business practices that cause inefficient use of taxpayer dollars. When government employers discriminate, they have a harder time recruiting the best workers; they suffer from reduced workplace productivity and increased turn over; and they often expose themselves to costly litigation. Discrimination simply does not make financial sense for governments or for taxpayers like me, who ultimately end up paying the costs associated with workplace discrimination in the public sector.

 

Tax dollars should never be used to finance discrimination. This is true for discrimination based on other characteristics that are completely irrelevant to job performance, including race, ethnicity, sex, national origin, religion, disability, and, yes, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.

 

Some of Louisiana’s largest employers, including Entergy, Shaw Group, and Superior Energy Services, ensure that their workers have protections against unfair treatment by having LGBT inclusive employment non-discrimination policies. Even with the recent reductions in force, the State of Louisiana is the largest single employer in the state. Given the size of the labor force working for the state government (estimated between 54,000 and 80,000), as state lawmakers, you have a responsibility to institute commonsense policies like House Bill 85.

 

We believe that all state employees should be treated fairly and equally by the laws of our state. There is precedent in Louisiana for these protections. In 1992, Gov. Edwin Edwards issued an executive order prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and in 2004 Gov. Kathleen Blanco issued a similar executive order. At neither time did our state become a “target-rich environment for lawsuits” as claimed by the Louisiana Family Forum.

 

HB 85 is necessary because Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people face serious discrimination in employment, including being fired from their job, being denied promotions and experiencing harassment. In our Louisiana Public Employee Survey, we found that 65% of state employees had seen or heard discriminatory or biased behavior toward an LGBT employee and 59% had heard a supervisor make a negative comment or express bias against LGBT people.

 

All hard-working people in our state should have the chance to earn a living and provide for themselves and their families. Nobody should have to live in fear that they can be legally fired for reasons that have nothing to do with their job performance.

Thank you.

The Forum For Equality Blog

capital bldg brWe went to the Capital today with a number of partners and allies to advocate for the Louisiana Fair Employment Act. House Bill 85 would amend state protections and add safeguards from discrimination in public employment based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

Forum For Equality, Louisiana Trans Advocates and Louisiana Progress all had representatives speak eloquently on the need for non-discrimination protections in public employment. AFL-CIO, AARP, EQLA and Louisiana ACLU were also there in support of the measure.

Representative Austin Badon, the bill’s sponsor, spoke about how all hard-working employees should have the chance to earn a living and provide for themselves and their families. That no one should live in fear that they can be fired for reasons that have nothing to do with their job performance nor should our state risk losing the best and brightest to other states that value diversity.

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