Frakkin' A, Cincinnati Enquirer!

Seriously, as if the last round wasn't bad enough with the Chadea Thrasher case -- accused and now convicted and sentenced of sexually touching a patient at University of Cincinnati. Ms. Thrasher is trans, a fact that the Enquirer has delighted in reporting over and over and over again for no apparent reason. Despite the fact that what Thrasher did was very, very wrong, the Enquirer's ongoing inability to cover LGBTQ issues with any level of propriety and dignity is galling.

For example, from the story on the conviction on today's Cincinnati.com:

Two weeks ago when Thrasher was convicted of sexually touching a patient at University Hospital – where Thrasher was a working as a phlebotomist – he was wearing a woman’s wig with long hair, necklace, heels and carrying a purse.

Today, the female impersonator – who lives as a woman and uses the name Chadea Thrasher – was wearing the black-and-white stripes of an inmate. That’s the same outfit Thrasher will have to wear for the next 18 months after Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Ruehlman sent Thrasher to prison for that amount of time.

"Female impersonator?" Oh, is that the term we're using now. As of my posting (noon), there was only one brilliant comment: "Doesn't UC Hospital do background checks of the people that they hire? I am sure they would not have hired a female impersonator, if they had known that in advance!!! Good grief!!!" Be sure to check back and find out just how intelligent anonymous commentators can be on a newspaper site.

Very, Very Wrong Enquirer Story

This is thanks to Stuff Queer People Need to Know's fierce and regular checking of local queer news. From the Enquirer comes a story entitled thus: Cross-dresser on trial for hospital incident. Seriously, folks. Jere Keys emailed both me and Jamie and said, "Can we get GLAAD on this one" for the sheer amount of wrongness and poor reporting in this single story. I would say, yea, definitely. The story in toto:

When University Hospital nurses walked into the patient’s intensive care room Feb. 17, they saw the wounded man was visibly shaken – and wearing lip gloss.

He became even more shaken when he learned the female phlebotomist who had just kissed and groped his exposed penis was really a man.

That phlebotomist, Chad Thrasher, also known as Chadea Thrasher, is on trial, charged with sexually touching the patient.

Thrasher, 24, lives as a female and appeared in court wearing women’s clothes, jewelry and hairstyle.

But it was Thrasher’s alleged conduct in the alleged victim’s hospital room – as he was recovering from the four surgeries he needed after being shot during a crime – that could send Thrasher to prison for up to 18 months.

Thrasher had drawn the man’s blood before but this incident was different. The man wasn’t scheduled to have his blood drawn. Thrasher had developed an attraction to the man and began talking to and acting toward the patient in an inappropriate way, Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor David Hickenlooper told jurors Thursday.

Thrasher started talking about to the man about body parts, about exotic dancing in clubs and that Thrasher had a stalker, Hickenlooper said.

Then, Thrasher said the man’s lips looked chapped, so, Hickenlooper said, Thrasher forcibly put lip gloss on the weak patient before forcibly kissing him, grabbed the man’s penis and asked how long it had been since he “had been with a woman.”

“This is not the usual interaction between a health care provider and a patient,” Hickenlooper said.

Nurses, summoned by the panicked patient who faked a medical emergency to get Thrasher to leave, called police.

Thrasher initially denied the incident but later told police any physical interaction with the man was consensual.

Thrasher’s attorney, Ed Keller, suggested in his opening that the allegations aren’t what they appear to be but he didn’t expound on that. He also referred to his client as both “he” and “she.”

The trial, before Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Ruehlman, is expected to go into next week.

Aside from the clear lack of understanding when it comes to gender appropriateness in reporting, I wanted to add my thoughts to this story:

In no way, shape, or form was this incident appropriate for a healthcare worker. I don't care if the person is L, G, B, T, or Q... sexual relations with a patient (and a patient in the ICU, no less!) is not appropriate anytime, anywhere, for any reason, even if it is consensual. Aside from the poor reporting, it is completely appropriate to fire and charge Ms. Thrasher with whatever they are going for (so long as it is not false inflated to reflect her gender identity). Ms. Thrasher, your behavior was wrong and reflects more on your personal ethical standard than anything else. It's true. We have professional ethics for this sort of thing; they were clearly broken in this situation.

Meanwhile, the University Hospital has an excellent protections policy, and, in my two years of working there, I have never seen discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. There may have been jokes occasionally, but the people who made them were willing to correct their behavior and apologize when confronted.

Media Round-Up of the Tabby's Event

Update: Apparently the video players that Local 12 and WCPO use are the same and I can't post two videos on the same page with that same player? So... I believe you're seeing the Local12 video below, but I could be wrong, click on the links to go to the actual websites.

I heard it was a great time had by all, and there was a hugely positive response, but I'll let the people that were there tell the story.

From WCPO Channel 9, video:
Local 12, video:

Update: I hear there have been some crazy things popping up on y'all's screens with these videos. They're awesome. Click on the links above.

Story by WLWT, Channel 5, which has some amazing comments from highly educated and informed people like this one below:

DUH Go to a bar where you can be yourself then. Does that sound like a simple solution or is it that these people want everything and not expect people to tell them no. Go be yourself where you can openly express that not somewhere you're not wanted or accepted because otherwise all you're doing is opening up a can of Wh**p A** on yourself. You can't force people to accept this lifestyle so stop it!

So, "Come to our bar and we'll beat the shit out of you." Thanks. You're awesome.

And, of course, the Cincinnati Enquirer, which focused on the Guerrilla Queer Bar aspect of the invasion... which also has some amazing comments, like this:

I don't mind if you're gay, and I don't mind if you go to a "straight" bar because really you're just segregating it yourself. It's not the 60's and 70's anymore, anyplace is open to anyone. It's just when you get 200 or so people together in a small bar such as Tabby's, tempers are going to flair even if you're all straight or all gay. Now I'm sure something was said or done to spark this, and I'm sure even the gays were involved in it as well. I've seen this group out before, and trust me, the way they conduct themselves isn't normal. You don't have to round up a bunch of gays and lesbians to go have a good time at a "straight" bar, just go out with a smaller group and hang out, no one is going to bother you. If I have 200 gays sitting around me staring and talking about me, then of course I'm either going to say something or leave the bar...

To give you an idea of how heated this particular story, I would say a good 70% of the comments are being removed for violation of terms of service, which I believe include the threatening of violence against people. EEP!

*Sigh* So much education to do, so little time.

On the Ronald McDonald House

I don't get the opportunity to talk about the other job much, except to say that I'm there on Twitter. But, seeing as how it appeared on the front page of the Cincinnati Enquirer today, I thought I could take a moment to say some words about this amazing place I call "my part time job."



Ronald McDonald House's 'front' entrance -- that window on the door is filled with prisms, so that when the light is shining just right, the entire lobby is filled with rainbows.
I applied to work at the Ronald McDonald House (RMDH) in June for a full time, overnight manager position. It was the perfect fit -- night work with some responsibility and plenty of time to study. I didn't get the job, but I was impressed that they wrote me back when I emailed a follow up.

In September, we did a drag show in Oxford to benefit RMDH and they called me in for an interview for a part-time position... which I got but did not actually start until January.

When you enter the Ronald McDonald House, you are simply amazed. It is a beautiful building with an amazing layout and just a feeling of love that you can't stand but to think, "Yea, I can see people calling this place home." There are couches and tables around, along with big TVs, a library, and porches, and a huge kitchen with playroom adjacent (so parents can watch the kids while they cook). Simply put: a lot of thought and care was put into the design so that it could be a comfortable place for families.



The entrance on Erckenbrecher and Burnet -- the scupture you see on the top is known as the Angel, which was donated and placed there and should always be lit. Why? Children's is right across at that point... and it was placed there so that, at night, the kids can look across and see where their parents are staying.
I never expected to like it as much as I do. I'm not much of a person for children, but I told people that I needed to believe in humanity before I became a nurse... so I went ot RMDH to find the humanity you sometimes feel is lacking when you spend too much time in the Emergency Department.

And I did.

I tell people that I want to spend every waking moment there, find a room and curl up when I'm tired, to wake up and work again. In my five months there, I have been overwhelmed by the splendor. The staff -- who, unexpectedly, gave me a welcome basket upon my starting -- has been kind, supportive, and loving; the volunteers -- all 300+ of them -- are some of the hardest working and dedicated individuals I have ever met -- even the troupe of high school boys that volunteer work harder than most adults I know; and the families! Oh, the families!

With almost no exceptions, the families are beautiful people.

We are located next door to Children's Hospital, less than a five minute walk from the front entrance of Children's to the gate at RMDH. Every day, these families go to the hospital to sit with their kids... kids ranging from newborns to teenagers, with issues ranging from bone marrow transplantation to colorectal surgery. Some of these kids don't just spend a few days in the hospital, some of them are there for months or years, and the families stay with us for those months and years.

Imagine yourself with your child, who is near death for a hundred different reasons, and you can do nothing but sit there and hope and wait and watch. It's enough to drive a parent mad.

That's where we step in, at RMDH. We fill in the gaps of care. The families support each other, talk to each other, share tips and tricks to stay sane, and become friends... become each other's families. Volunteers bring meals -- lots of meals, and lots of baked goods -- so that the families never have to think about cooking or what crap they will buy out of the vending machine that day. A lot of siblings are running around the building -- some sick, some healthy -- and people come as entertainment (I've seen everything from the Blues Brothers to clowns from Cirque de Soleil), or they bring activities, or they bring dogs... so that the non-hospitalized kid does not feel left out or any less special. My coworkers and I, well, we don't do enough.

I suppose there is an argument to be made that we coordinate the days and make sure the trains run on time, but there's never enough time in the day, and there's never enough hands, to make sure that everything that should be done, has been.

I have made it a habit to only smoke on the designated smoking porch when there are families out there. That way, they know who I am, and I get a few moments to hear what's going on.

I wish I could tell you how beautiful it is there. I wish I was a better writer so that you could see in your mind what it's like, and how it is, and how much it means.


The bridge to the new addition is there on the left, the West Wing is the building on the right (with Cincinnati Children's in the background). The new wing boasts a new kitchen addition, a meditation/wellness room, a family room, a small stage, plenty of new seating, and a play area for the kids.
This week, we will be opening a brand-spanking new wing, with money generously donated by Children's Hospital. Our little house will grow from 48 rooms to 78, with a whole host of what we call "long-term suites," which are special rooms for the families that have to stay with us for months or years at a time. They are bigger, and they have more amenities.

We have a waiting list, on any given day, of between 15-35 families waiting to become our guests. The first people to move will be the long term families who have been cramped in our one-bed options, or in the slightly larger two-bed rooms. They will finally get the opportunity to spread out and find some comfort there. Then, we start making calls... tons and tons and tons of them. We are going to start inviting people into our workplace, our sometimes home, and we will get to take care of them.

We will get the opportunity to feed them, we will get the opportunity to listen to their stories, and we will get the opportunity to relieve some of the burden.

When I first applied, I, like I'm sure so many people out there, believed RMDH was a home for the kids. It is, for some. But it's a home for the families, which include the children. Perhaps the greatest lesson I will take away from this whole experience is that complete care does not always just involve the patient ... it involves this extended, intertwining, convoluted meshwork of people that the patient calls their own. And, so that your patient gets better, the family needs to be better, too.

And I'm glad I've had the opportunity to take care of them. It's taught me more than I thought I would ever learn, and it's brought me more joy than I thought I could have.

If you have a moment, or some extra cash, it's one of the most amazing places in the city. Stop by with a check, or books, or give them a call and ask them, What can I do? See, here, at RMDH, providing care for someone help really does bring peace to you.

I guess, in this, I am truly lucky.

Know Theatre Announces LGBT Theatre Series

In wake of the demise of the New Stage Collective -- something that I still see as one of the great losses to the city out of the economic recession -- the Know Theatre has announced its "ambitious" 2009-2010 series... including the creation of an LGBT Theatre Series.

From the Enquirer:

Know Theatre is in the early planning stages of a biennial, national LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) theatre festival, with events scheduled during the run of "Angels in America."

Bruffy says the closing of Columbus' LGBT performing arts festival, which went dark two years ago, gave Know management the idea of "filling the void."

Bruffy says Know will meet with leaders in the LGBT community later this month to assemble a steering committee to help define the parameters and style of the festival.

He adds that Know will reach out to local troupes like Cincinnati Men's Chorus and MUSE, and put out a national call inviting artists with performances and productions in the realm of LGBT themed works, pending funding.

"Know Theatre is known for giving voice to a diverse spectrum of performers and audiences," Bruffy says. "It is entirely in our mission, and we feel a sense of duty toward giving this community a chance to express themselves and be entertained by a festival created for LGBT works."

The 2009-2010 series will also include a showing (possibly the first professional regional premiere of) Angels in America, which was recently shown here in town by the Xavier Players.

As of right now, there has been no announcement about what will be part of the LGBT Theatre series, but you better believe I've got an email into them to ask for more information -- how exciting!!! I don't know if OUTReels is still around (Cincinnati's LGBT movie festival -- another email to write!), but I definitely think having both in town will be great. Any opportunity to showcase the amazing talents and new views on the queer experience is a great boon for this city.

Thanks to @KnowTheatre for the heads up on Twitter!!!!

The Know is also currently showing Vigils, which is a show I meant to go see but ended up getting called into work for. I haven't had a chance to look into reviews, but, if I get a chance to go, I'll be sure to keep you updated!!! Check out their webpage for more information -- and check out their YouTube preview of the show! If you would like free tickets, their Twitterite has announced that they are hosting a free giveaway contest. Click here for "the rules." :-)

Christopher Smitherman: Warns us Queers

From Christopher Smitherman's show this weekend:

Cincinnati NAACP president warns GLBT community about criticizing appointment of anti-gay rights activist Chris Finney, 3/28/09 from Funky Broadway on Vimeo.
The information also appears in the latest CityBeat blog post:

“I think you should be very, very cautious LGBT community,” Smitherman said. “I think you should be very cautious moving forward. I don't think this is a tree you want to bark up. But if you want to go there, if this is what you want to do, we can go there.

“But the bottom line is your community as it deals with racism in the African-American community, you’re not there,” he continued. “You're absent. And then when it's convenient for you, you start evoking (sic) Dr. Martin Luther King. Proposition 8 lost in California because the (gay) community isn't properly engaging the African-American community. And you're showin' up at the last minute trying to build bridges and have relationships, and it doesn't work that way.”

I do like his point: "It's not enough to just talk about Martin Luther King."

Meanwhile, he makes an interesting point: "How can you be racist and be gay? It's an oxymoron to me." In the end, I think, racist pervades regardless of other minority indicators. But, then again, so does homophobia and heterosexism.

More Updates: the Enquirer picked it up, as did GoMagazine and the Democratic Underground.

Update: I just cut a lot out of this blog post. I'll let you guys do the talking. Tell me what you think. Also, if you decide to repost, just give us a heads up so we can track it across the world-wide-weirdness known as teh interweb. Like this post from the Lavender Newswire, which is about to be blogrolled here at QueerCincinnati.com, and the ever angry :-) Wolfie at Back2Stonewall.com,, and don't forget the Cincinnati Black Blog's reaction, as well as Cincinnati blog.

Click here for the whole series on the Chris Finney debacle on QueerCincinnati.com.

Cincy Dems and Other Bits on Election 2010

I've been really lax this week -- it's been crazy, crazy, crazy in my life here in Queer-world. I apologize for not keeping up with the world... but I promise I've got a couple coming through. Including, but not limited to, the follow-ups on the Chris Finney situation.

The Election itself for 2010 is awfully quiet. I got to meet a possible City Council nominee for the Dem's this past weekend -- he was making the rounds at a few gay meetings to introduce himself and shake hands -- and he was cute enough. Seemed supportive, overall, but I didn't get a chance to really ask him a lot of detailed questions. I'll be sure to talk more about him once the Dems, Reps, and Charterites give their nods.

The biggest thing out there is an interesting article from the Cincinnati Enquirer on State Rep. Tyrone Yates and (possibly) Commissioner Todd Portune entering the Senate race for Ohio, against the growing field that already included Jennifer Brunner (D), Lee Fisher (D), and Rob Portman (R). It's starting to look like an all-out brawl, though the Dems are looking nicely to pick it up.

However, sadly enough for Yates/Portune is that Cincy Dems do not have a strong history on the state-wide scale, from the Enquirer:

There just haven't been many in the past 40 years, as Democratic primary elections have been dominated by northeast Ohio where the highest concentration of Democratic voters lives.

The last Cincinnatian to win one of the major state offices was John Gilligan who won the governor's office 39 years ago. Even after he won it, he couldn't keep it - he lost his bid for re-election four years later.

Jerry Springer, fresh off his stint as Cincinnati mayor and council, ran in the Democratic primary for governor 1982, but came in third in a field of three.

Cincinnati-area Republicans have never had that problem - the region has produced plenty of GOP statewide candidates, from former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft and former secretary of state J. Kenneth Blackwell to former state treasurer Joe Deters.

For decades now, Democratic candidates for any of the state's constitutional offices - governor, secretary of state, auditor and treasurer - and the state's two U.S. Senate seats tend to be from parts of the state other than Cincinnati and southwest Ohio.

But there are some signs that may change soon.

"I'm not saying we have gone completely blue in Hamilton County, but everything has been moving in our direction in the last few elections,'' said Hamilton County Democratic Party chairman Tim Burke, pointing to Barack Obama's win over John McCain in Hamilton County and Steve Driehaus' ousting Republican incumbent Steve Chabot in the 1st Congressional District last fall.

A lot of the outcome is hinging on the economy -- and once very popular Gov. Strickland is starting to sink in the polls because of it (threatening his cozy position, but no one has really stepped up yet to take it on, except for a minor State Senator from Cuyahoga Falls -- please don't let me eat those words).

And all of this matters, of course, because 2011 is the redistricting year -- EEP! This is the year to be in control.

Oh, and the other big news is that Jim Bunning in Kentucky continues to plug on. I'm actually starting to respect the old curmudgeon, going up against the establishment and all that. I'm impressed. But, of course, anyone who takes on Mitch McConnell in a nasty, to-the-political-death fight very much in public is my hero. You know what the respectability of McConnell becomes should Bunning win the election.

Media Round Up

Picture from the Enquirer Story
So far, I've only hunted down a few bits, but I'll add to this as more become available. Tell me if you see anything else:

• Pre Protest: WCPO Video and Story
• Pre Protest: Enquirer
• Post Protest: Enquirer

Also, check out Bilerico.com -- JereKeys and I guest blogged the build up and the event. Thanks much to Bil for letting us write!!!!

The whole point was to draw attention to the crime, so let's see how far we got with this!!! I'm glad to see that both WCPO and the Enquirer are talking it for what it was -- a hate crime. Media was our goal, and, by golly, I think the Cincinnati organizers did a damn good job.

Social media, meet the print media

Kudos to the excellent women over at Cincinnati Women Bloggers for the excellent coverage they received this week in the Enquirer. 

You ladies deserve the great attention. These blogs are written by some of the most amazing women you will ever meet, and I consider it an honor to know y'all. 

Although I'm totally getting tired of all the attention you're getting. HA!

Make sure you follow all the wonderful work these ladies are doing over at thir central blogsite.

Butler County homo-sex assault

Yet another example of the excellence of commentary on news stories.

Read the comments on this Enquirer story (Man admits sex assault on another man). The story itself makes me feel weird, reading it. There's something I don't like about it, especially since it seems they changed one of the quotes based on the comments.

Oh those Christians and their gay sex!!!!

I have to giggle a little bit at this bit from the Enquirer a few days ago...

Cincinnati Christian University’s chief financial officer entered a written plea of not guilty Monday after he was arrested Saturday in Mount Airy Forest and charged with sexual imposition.

Robert Williams, 52, of Independence, was arrested at 9:23 a.m., accused of getting into a man’s car and touching his genitals. The man was an undercover officer.

The university placed Williams on administrative leave while officials there assess the facts of the case, according to a statement from the university.

“We are shocked and dismayed by the news,” Cincinnati Christian University President David Faust said in the statement. “This is a personal tragedy for him and for his family, and we lift them up in our prayers.”

A couple of things: 1) I hate these stings. They are morally reprehensible. I think it's called entrapment, but I could be wrong. 2) There were two other guys picked up that day -- poor guys -- no one would have cared otherwise. 3) I feel bad for men who feel like that this is the only way they can express their homosexuality. I really do.

But, the reason I giggle, is for defeated hubris that leads to all this.

But it's always nice to know where I can go to pick up men, if I ever get in a spot.

LAW: Importuning

For non-locals, we have a really interesting law here in the area known as "importuning." This was an old law that, apparently, was struck down by the Ohio Supreme Court as being unconstitutional as it was only applied to homosexuals and not to heterosexuals. Under the importuning law, it was illegal to request sex from someone of the same sex if they may find it offensive to be asked.

Now, apparently, it only applies to requesting sex from someone 13 years old or younger (there are articles about some other implications here and here).

Now, the law just seems to protect the cops, mostly, who want to go online and find "sexual predators." We should call it the "Perverted Justice Law..." or the "To Catch A Predator Law (as sponsored by MSNBC)." (I am really critical of that group and that television show, and I am not alone in my criticism -- see Corrupted Justice and Operation Awareness. Perverted Justice has now posted a list of stories of internet predators actually getting to children and are fairly loud against their naysayers -- which, to me, is kinda like saying "if you're not doing anything wrong, then you have nothing to worry about" when it comes to the PATRIOT Act.)

There are, apparently, though, real live situations this is used in, and I was shocked to read about it on the Enquirer.

(I assume the man, Benjamin Price, is white or else we'd see a picture of him.)

OHIO/CINNKY: Random inappropriate comments about the snow...

(No names are used as not implicate the people I love.)

"I heard 12 inches were coming and I thought I'd give you a call."

----

"That don't look like 12 inches to me."
"Oh, honey, how many times has someone told you they were bringing 12 only to have five or six show up at your door?"

----

And from the front page of the Cincinnati Enquirer:
"It was how deep?

"Whether you got 9 inches or 15, it was still fun out there"

OHIO/CINNKY: Penis Enlargement

This requires no comment. Thanks to the Cincinnati Dealer for this breaking story (oh, and the Enquirer, I guess lol)

Apparently, the maker of Enzyte, Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, is based out of Cincinnati. Well, a judge found the CEO, Steve Warshak, guilty of a short list of stuff. And guess what? The product doesn't work.

Is anyone really surprised???

What's funny are the strange double entendres in the Enquirer article -- his company's "rapid growth," for example.

POLITICS: We just might win???

A little bit of a shocker in the morning paper... We just might finally be winning in Iraq.

Usually, I am critical of any information coming from the Editorial page of the Cincinnati Enquirer, as it tilts conservative. However, the basis of the editorial column comes from a new source... the Brookings Institute. (Link here)

Brookings has been historically critical of the war. In fact, the two authors, Kenneth Pollack and Michael O'Hanlon, have been outspoken critics of the war. They say, however, they found something completely different on their last trip:

Today, morale is high. The soldiers and marines told us they feel that they now have a superb commander in Gen. David Petraeus; they are confident in his strategy, they see real results, and they feel now they have the numbers needed to make a real difference.

They continue to describe successes in training Iraqi forces, reconstruction efforts, and removal of corruption in the army; though they are quick to point out more work needs to be done, including providing jobs, centralizing the government, and reducing civilian casualties.

So now we have an interesting dilemma for the anti-war folks, which includes me: the surge worked (depsite our concerns) and things are getting better.

I'm not going to spin it; I'm glad for the improving situation. I don't think anyone wanted to leave Iraq a mess, but, at the time, it felt almost inevitable that they only way out at this point was to let it go into civil war (leading to outsider invasions due to the power vacuum, potentially culminating in a new war on a regional scale). The sense of doom is receding. I'm glad the people of Ramadi and even some of the rural provinces can now feel safe in their neighborhoods, and I'm glad we're seeing ethnic integration. Thank jeebus... ahem, I mean, Muhammed.

Is this a success for President Shrub? In a way, yes... though I hate to admit it. When he first came to office, I often said that he had some of the best appointments ever. He surrounded himself with brilliant people (though corrupt, money hungry, and entrenched in the military-industrial complex). I think this, really, seems to be a success for General Petraeus. It seems Bush has put the proper person in place to deal with the mess that we created.

And, even if this does work out for the best, our reasons for going in and the last five years of failure, loss, and pain remain inexcusable. Your right, Saddam was a bad bad bad man... but the doctrine of prophylactic warfare should not be the corner stone of our foreign policy.

It should be, as always, a last resort.