I'm not sure who needs to hear this, but I'm passionately supportive of trans rights. I've never had an anti-trans thought in my little brain. I'm keen to anplify the voices of members of this community, as you might have heard in heartfelt conversations with Ariana about her transition and Andi about being trans. There are also conversations with parents of trans kids, including Colin Mochrie and Debra McGrath and Sandra Plagakis.
I was disturbed this morning when reading about a group called "1MillionMarch4Children" who are protesting against the teaching of 2SLGBTQ+ issues in schools. I am very anti-anti-trans.
Imagine participating in a protest against the teaching of 2SLGBTQ+ issues in schools... https://t.co/4qCHlwjT2j
— Toronto Mike (@torontomike) September 20, 2023
I am also a little tone deaf at times, and one who tweets without much thought. It appears I have tweeted well over 113,000 times. There are tweets amongst those 113,000 that I regret, including one I sent this morning.
I'm a big fan of Niko Stratis, and I read her blog and follow her on Twitter. I was very interested to read her thoughts about today's protests. On September 5th I wrote Niko an email inviting her on Toronto Mike'd so I could further amplify her voice and continue to listen and learn. Like I said, I am a fan, and as a trans woman, I am keenly interested in what she has to say.
One of Niko's tweets today included the term "chomping at the bit". I recently had Steve Paikin and John Michael McGrath over for an episode of Toronto Mike'd, and used that exact expression. Steve was quick to correct me as it's "champing at the bit". I was so pleased that an intelligent journalist like Niko made the same mistake I did, I subtweeted it to my followers. In no way did I mean to detract from Niko's message, it was a spur of the moment tone deaf tweet that I regret. I told Niko this on Twitter... I regret the tweet and am sorry. I have since deleted it.
One person on Twitter wrote this about my tweet.
Pedantry is one of the ways people who benefit from the status quo shift focus to maintain their spot. It’s micro-aggression.
I'm not trying to maintain my spot. I despise even a hint of anti-trans stink in the air. I think I've proven this over 1329 episodes, but again, I own today's fuck-up.
After my exchange with Niko on Twitter, she replied to my email of September 5, declining my invitation to appear on Toronto Mike'd. She went out of her way to say it had nothing to do with my tone-deaf pedantry, but I wouldn't blame her if it did.
I'll continue to try and do better as an ally, and I'll continue to listen.
