Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Panagioti Tsolkas, reason activist environmental community is fractured: position on transgenderism (not kidding)

You can read Mr. Panagioti Tsolkas' entire treatise here in the Anarchist News. Here is an excerpt where he describes how essential it is to have a correct position on transgenderism. Why this is important in saving the planet from destruction isn't explained. From Mr. Tsolkas' treatise:
     When Deep Green Resistance (DGR) came on the scene, it was not uncommon to hear EF!ers expressing high hopes that they would bring new energy and strategic thinking … and boy was that a let down!
The people at the top of DGR consistently disrespect potential allies in transgender, anarchist and animal rights circles, then preach ad naseum against “horizontal hostility” (meaning the denigration of other activists’ efforts) whenever they were challenged.
     In 2013, the EF! Journal Collective adopted a position explicitly taking issue with the persistent anti-transgender attitude of [Lierre] Keith and [Derrick] Jensen, and the policies they enforce for DGR, using their influence as renowned authors. [emphasis added] DGR’s position against trans people stems from adherence to a theoretical trend of second wave feminism. This view thinks that if gender is a social construct designed to repress women, any expression of gender is therefore an affront to women. While EF! has long held a critique of patriarchy, seeing it as having cleared a path for industrialism, it takes more than the absence or presence of a penis to maintain patriarchy. The controlling and dominating behavior exemplified by DGR’s authority figures is a far greater concern than the fabricated threat of transgender people against a particular sect of feminism.
     Thankfully the debate surrounding DGR has presented another opportunity for today’s anarchist and ecological resistance movements to clarify and strengthen its position of solidarity with trans people. Making strides towards the queering of activist counter culture has become a priority for many EF! organizers. 
The treatise by Mr. Tsolkas was footnoted. Here is the first footnote:
1 The perspectives presented come from a first-hand perspective. The author has no credentials in academia. On the contrary, he doesn’t have a High School diploma.