Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Update – the Albatross

Next week will mark one year since I was wrongly involuntarily civilly committed, had the locks changed to my home of 18+ years, and was officially homeless for 196 days.

Just prior to those events, negligent medication management had left me toxic with something akin to serotonin syndrome.

Just prior to that, I was notified of a defamation lawsuit, seemingly over the #ProtectTransKids projects, naming me and my blog among 7 total defendants.

My Dad died.

I got a new psych doctor. I hired two law firms and have been in talks with a third. I worked very hard to stand up for myself.

Just prior to those events, negligent medication management had left me toxic with something akin to serotonin syndrome.

Just prior to that, I was notified of a defamation lawsuit, seemingly over the #ProtectTransKids projects, naming me and my blog among 7 total defendants.

I have been back home for 22 weeks. I continue to manage my mental health. I’m slowly reviving our nonprofit projects.

Media coverage of state law changing around defamation cases (anti-SLAPP) has me pondering that third law firm. They can file a motion to dismiss. But I won’t do it unless the three private individuals also targeted have representation. I can’t just save myself.

Plus, defamation law is very, very expensive. There’s no way I can afford it – even though the new law says I should get a rebate. So unless some queer affirming defamation lawyer wants to protect us, we will live with this albatross around our necks in perpetuity. We all manage it differently.

Make no bones, it’s an albatross. The plaintiff is back to mocking and disparaging me on social media. Posting my photo with comments about being a ‘trans terrorist’ in this climate is admittedly uncomfortable. A lot of the other content is just mean. My favorite is “mentally ill mutant” – my 12 year old nephew agreed with me that all mutants and superheroes are mentally ill because of PTSD. So that was helpful. He’s a good kid.

The albatross around the neck is a metaphor for a burden that is difficult to escape. For me, the burden is not solely the legal case or the personal attacks. It’s reminding myself that the guilt and shame rest with broken systems.

Systems fail us – healthcare, government, courts, even families. None of it is fair or easy to endure.

Systems fail people with less privilege far worse every day.

I can say that at each horrible intersection of the past year – I saw the system breaking with even more force and less care over other necks.

I’m punching and kicking up, not down. But the albatross doesn’t help. If I’m forced to obtain a defamation lawyer because someone else kickstarts the case, I don’t honestly know what I’ll do.

I’ll be blogging soon about this b/c it needs many, many words to explain. WESA should have a story up soon explaining the anti-SLAAP legislation. It is supposed to protect us, but it is not structured to actually do that.

The only way forward is for neighbors to help. Donate to political campaigns, to animal groups, to mutual aid projects, to your public schools and libraries. Your $5 and $10 invested into your local community can fill a local need pretty quickly. If you are a defamation lawyer, your pro bono hour or two to submit a motion to dismiss will ill a local need.

Admittedly, I still need financial help to ensure I am well represented in my defiance of these systemic oppressions. No reason to lie about that. It just anybody’s guess how much that will be. I’m still aiming to raise an additional 5K.

Perhaps my survival and a wee bit of thrival over the past 365 days warrant a reinvestment in what promises to be a long series of court actions? Can you chip in $5 or $10 right now?

(This is a song by Taylor Swift, not to be taken literally. That’s the point.)

Thank you to everyone who continues to support me and my legal defiance of broken systems. Suing UPMC and Allegheny County is not an easy endeavor. Defending the Fourteenth Amendment and the Americans with Disabilities Act in federal court is, frankly, hard. But necessary.

I also have Family Court matters and an emergent defamation legal action to somehow fund.

Three legal cases. Three. Never would I ever imagine this.

Because I cannot work for pay, I have to ask for your help to fund the court cases and offset the difficult impact on my living expenses. I cannot replenish my wealth (or lack thereof.) I have paid two lawyers and a mediator and supported myself for 196 days (with help from friends.) This is not for the faint of finances. But of course it is us who bear it, right?

I hope the unpaid work I do warrants a few dollars. More importantly, I hope simply being a human being in need warrants sympathy and compassion. That’s what carries me through. The many kindnesses.

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Enjoy these cat photos.