Dave Chappelle tells students "I'm better than all of you" during surprise visit to his old high school

 

Dave Chappelle / Instagram

A NOT-SO WELCOME HOMECOMING — DAVE CHAPPELLE made a surprise stop by D.C.’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts on Tuesday in the latest chapter of the running saga with his alma mater.

sure glad Dave Chappelle can defend himself from being cancelled by the all-powerful (checks notes) high school student cabal https://t.co/4AvhdIBeS8

— Terra Field (@RainofTerra) November 25, 2021

A NOT-SO WELCOME HOMECOMING — DAVE CHAPPELLE made a surprise stop by D.C.’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts on Tuesday in the latest chapter of the running saga with his alma mater, as retold by Politico Playbook

But if the self-proclaimed GOAT hoped to smooth things over amid the backlash over his jokes about transgender people, he was in for a surprise of his own.

Some 580 students packed into an auditorium to hear their school’s most famous alumnus discuss the uproar triggered by his Netflix special “The Closer.” With a camera crew in tow, Chappelle took the stage to a raucous reception of cheers and some boos — and the hourlong session went south from there, we’re told.

During a Q&A session, one student stepped to the mic and called Chappelle a “bigot,” adding, “I’m 16 and I think you’re childish, you handled it like a child,” according to two students present. The comments were confirmed by Chappelle’s spokesperson CARLA SIMS.

NO APOLOGIES: Chappelle responded, as recalled the next day by the students, “My friend, with all due respect, I don’t believe you could make one of the decisions I have to make on a given day.” That peeved some students who were hoping for an apology or some semblance of one from Chappelle.

In response to another antagonistic question, Chappelle roughly told the student body of artists: “I’m better than every instrumentalist, artist, no matter what art you do in this school, right now, I’m better than all of you. I’m sure that will change. I’m sure you’ll be household names soon.”

The students recalled that another student in the audience shouted at him, “Your comedy kills,” and Chappelle shot back, “N------ are killed every day.” He then asked, “The media’s not here, right?”

ONE DISTURBED PARENT: The two students we spoke to declined to go on the record out of fear of retribution from the school. The father of one of the students, who also declined to speak publicly to protect the identity of his daughter, said, “As a parent, I have to say I have a real problem. … He was being dead serious and using the n-word on the record. What kind of judgment is the school showing to allow that?”

Sims, the Chappelle spokesperson, responded: “They are complaining that he talked and said the n-word. If anything, Dave is putting the school on the map.” Chappelle has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Duke Ellington and brought A-list celebrities such as BRADLEY COOPER and CHRIS TUCKER to its campus.

The two students who spoke to Playbook said they were afraid to speak up at the assembly because Chappelle often laughed at students’ questions or responded with jokes. At one point, after a student left the assembly room, Chappelle singled her out by saying, “Of course she left early.”

Sims said that person “couldn’t even entertain the idea of a conversation.”

Some students were equally put off by Chappelle.

“He could tell we were nervous,” said one of the students we spoke with. “It was a huge power imbalance of this grown man and his camera crew — and these 14- to 18 year-olds without their phones, just high school kids.” Students had to lock their phones in special pouches beforehand to prevent recordings.

A spokesperson for the school said that about eight students came forward to ask questions.

“During the conversation with students and staff, Chappelle specifically invited the voices of discontent to ask questions, however as a result, the supporters of Chappelle became the silent majority,” said Duke Ellington spokesperson SAVANNAH OVERTON.

“Our principal was approached by several students after the assembly who were disappointed that they were not able to voice their support for Chappelle in this forum.”

NO HARD FEELINGS: According to the students, Chappelle seemed to soften up as he wound down. Turning to the camera, he spoke out against death threats some students have received since protesting him. The school has responded by increasing security and barring students from leaving campus for lunch.

“His whole tone changed,” one of the students said. “He said, ‘This is my family and whether they know it or not I love these kids. … I don’t want to hear about any threats to these kids. These kids don’t deserve that.’”

“He was really kind,” the student added. “If [only] he [had] acted that way the whole time. … There was no reason to be mean to us. He was just laughing at kids.”

A PARTING GIFT: Sims said Chappelle was expecting forgiveness from students, not to offer an apology of his own. The school postponed an event to name its theater after him amid concern about student reactions to his special.

“He said these kids deserve an F for forgiveness,” Sims said. But, “Give them some space to grow. They are going to say things that are immature.”

On his way out, Chappelle gave three tickets to each of the students for the screening of his documentary “Untitled” at Capital One Arena that night and 600 Thanksgiving meals for students and staff.

Correction: This item has been updated to reflect new information regarding the status of an event for Duke Ellington with Chappelle to raise money and rename the school’s theater.

Stand with Secular Woman in Asking SPLC to Monitor Gender Identity Watch as a Hate Group

Secular Woman is a organization which amplifies the voice of non religious woman. Being humanists they also considers" the term woman to apply to anyone who presents herself as a woman or says she is one.

 They also prescribe to many of the tenets of feminism and as such, abhor discrimination against womankind regardless of its origins.

Secular woman have become increasingly incensed over the vehemently transphobic feminist splinter group's TERF website "Gender Identity Watch". They have just begun the petition "Southern Poverty Law Center: Monitor Gender Identity Watch as a Hate Group" which has garnered a thousand signatures in the first day.

Almost as if on cue Gender Identity Watch responded to the petition further validating its purpose:

"Men’s Rights Activists and Gender Identity Watch"

"Calling political speech that does not toe the liberal line “hate speech” is a common tactic of Queer and Liberal organizations. Rather than free and open debate, such MRAs want you to embrace thought-terminating cliches like  ”Transwomen are Women.” These MRAs – who are invariably White Males who “identify” as Women or heterosexual “Queer” Women who have no investment in Lesbian community – continually harass the Southern Poverty Law Center, which actually has its hands full tracking racist hate groups across the country."

TERF's attack trans people and gender non conforming people not for the sake of feminism but out of pure unadulterated hate. This group of people have done as much to damage transgender peoples acceptance as other groups identified as hate groups by the SPLC.

.

Screen grab of the Gender Identity Watch
post by Cathy Brennan with the only
known video copy of mainstream
 media's outing of Jane Doe by name. 

In fact TERF Attorney Cathy Brennan author of GID Watch and central TERF ideologue recently publicly stood with the Pacific Justice Institute, an organization affiliated with groups already designated as hate groups by the SPLC to unmercifully bully Jane Doe, a Colorado transgender teenager.

Fact. Googling the transgender student by her name returns only one result. The main stream media article, the only article calling her by name, has been edited and the accompanying video deleted.

The only place you will now that you will find that video is a shaky recording of the channel 5's report saved on Vimeo by Cathy Brennan who then posted it on Gender Identity Watch

That is not the first time Brennan has stooped so low. In 2012 she outed a transgender student  to his school and mocked him as he attempted to apologize for a ill advised joke made after she provoked him on twitter. Then she did it again in 2013 to Jane Doe by publishing her birth name.

This sort of behaviour is unequivocally unjustifiable malicious hate. and I implore the SPLC to monitor GID Watch and there accompanying TERF antagonists.

Cathy Brennan, attorney, OUTS yet another Transgender High School Student

There have been many articles published about the Florence Colorado student who is being attacked by the right wing conservatives. There have been many intentional breaches of journalistic protocol along the way but only one that clearly endangered the youth at the center of this manufactured 'controversy'.

NBC KOAA in Colorado Springs published a very biased video "Transgender Student Causing Controversy" early on naming the transgender student. To date no other media, mainstream, or social has parroted that story or stooped that low to endanger this vulnerable young person's life.

All including the most vehement of anti transgender pundits have at least used a misgendered pseudonym when talking about our transgender student "Jane Doe".

Except one.

Cathy Brennan a TERF (Trans Exclusionaly Radical Feminist) on her Wordpress blog Gender Identity Watch". Brennan has posted her picture and republished the NBC video on Vimeo undoubtedly aware that if she put it on You Tube it would have violated terms of service.

But this isn't the first time Brennan has outed a transgender student.

Cathy Brennan, Lawyer, Maliciously OUTed a 17 Y.O. Transgender Youth To His High School June of 2012, then laughed at his attempts to apologize for making an unacceptable rape joke on twitter in his youthful zeal after being baited into it by? Yes Cathy Brennan.

Brennan tweeting as "GID watch":

Transgender Bathroom Law Creates Controversy http://t.co/hcnYWLE0ot
— Gender IdentityWatch (@GIDWatch) October 20, 2013

You can help put a stop to Brennan's amplification outing of yet another transgender student by reporting her blog to wordpress.com/abuse. I reported Brennan for "content (that) promotes self-harm/suicide.

Transgender youth are especially vulnerable. The Youth Suicide Prevention Program reports that "More than 50% of Transgender youth will have had at least one suicide attempt by their 20th birthday.*.

Report Brennan. Save a transgender youth's life.

PGN! TERF Victoria Brownworth Teaches Us About Transphobia?! What, Julie Bindel wasn't Available?

Having read The Philadelphia Gay News (PGN) article by Victoria A. Brownworth titled "Victims of the night: Stories of trans sex workers"  I was very impressed by the authors personal investment in her neighbors well being. Her writing indicates a deep compassion for the most marginalized of our community, Tiffani, a black transgender working woman and offered many teaching moments. I was totally cool with her piece until I read the comments and began wondering why trans people were so upset with her writing this article.

Brownworth's article was quick to point out she is a white middle class woman who sometimes feels extremely vulnerable in this prevalently black part of Philadelphia.

It's from her life experiences living their that she feels validates her latest metaphor explaining why she is a Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF).  June 5th 2013, just prior to the PGN publishing Brownworth's latest article she explains why, in her opinion, trans woman have no right to be at the Michigan womyns music fest. She believes trans people aren't real woman the same as she can empathize with black peoples plights, but she could never be, well, black. *Facepalm*

"MWMF is about women who are oppressed by men every minute of every day being free of that oppression for one week of their year or possibly their lives and reveling in that and celebrating each other, just like the Greek picnic is about solidarity among African-Americans who are oppressed by racism every day of their lives being free of that in all-black space.

SLAP!....she asks would it be appropriate for white people to have a 'camp Caucasian' outside of the Greek picnic...?

But if you can’t leave your male privilege there, as well as your penis, then MWMF is not the place for you and your presence will harm other women who, like me, have been brutalized by men. It will also alter the atmosphere for every woman who has come specifically to be in women-only space because they will feel just as constrained as they feel in straight society."

 Brownworth has a long history of helping to create the social economic conditions that put Tiffani on the street.  In fact it stretches back until at least 1981. TS Roadmap reports:

Victoria Brownworth was on the 2003 selection committee for the Lambda Literary Awards. This committee voted to honor The Man Who Would Be Queen by J. Michael Bailey as a finalist for an award in the trans category in February 2004.

On 24 February 2004, the selection committee inlcuding Victoria Brownworth voted to retain the nomination of this book over the objections of the trans community and other concerned parties around the world.

In March 2004, the committee reconsidered and withdrew this nomination.

"When we talk about the role of male-to-female transsexuals in the women’s movement as a whole and the lesbian movement in particular I feel we are talking about the ultimate in male power-tripping."-Victoria Brownworth, Philadelphia Gay News - May 29, 1981, pp, 22, 27

To put this into context, her first anti trans article published by PGN  was three years BEFORE Gendernet, the first ever online group for the betterment of trans people.

Brownworth's latest story offered what appears to be a personal narrative recounting encounters with transgender sex workers. It's graphic, without being sensationalistic. All in all a great article, except that one little TERF detail. Has Victoria Brownworth had an epiphany and now understands genitals does not a person make? This was Brownworth's first installment so maybe she will reveal a revelation later.

Or maybe not.

Brownworth just commented on the PGN article in response to the trans commenter's outrage:

The "Segment"? Going for the victimization meme already? Typical TERF MO. It would be totally inappropriate and disingenuous for Brownsworth to to give us lessons about the hardships she is at least partially responsible for creating and doubly so in a gay publication.

I don't know if PGN has a trans contributor but from my observations I would say it's focus is gay issues, not transgender concerns. And for the record trans sex workers of color are not 'with out a voice'. There are many transgender people and allies who strive to lift up our sisters and brothers who have no history of slamming them back down with sledge hammer force.

It wouldn't be unreasonable to wonder if this wasn't just another instance of the gay media manipulating transgender people's sensitivities for a cheap shot at notoriety.

But in all fairness we shouldn't jump to conclusions.

I messaged PGN publisher Mark Segal with whom I had made personal acquaintance with this year at the Philly LGBT convo for a statement. The facebook message was read but as of this writing I have not received a response.

*Update after mentioning Brownworth in a tweet she responded with this tweet, then blocked me:

This article does express my appreciation for your present effort and my hope that you would stop promoting TERF transphobia in the future.

And just so you know, as most of my friends and readers already know, I am a former addicted sex worker who is trans. Back in the 80's after nearly being beaten to death on the street twice I got clean and began the long journey to lucidity. I did that IN SPITE of TERF's like yourself who were at that same time using the power of the word to dehumanize, marginalize and disempower  us.

You don't get to judge me Brownworth.

Kelli Anne Busey
Transgender activist blogger, journalist,
former sex worker, recovering addict.

A Challenge to @GallusMag Editor of GenderTrender

By Cristain Williams cross posted with permission in full from Ehipassiko. I felt it was important to cross post this to make sure the TERFs were aware of this challenge. Given that one of them hijacked this blogs .com address and misdirected people to GenderTrender back a bit I'm sure they will read this challenge here, if they haven't already. No excuses GallusMag. I know you have seen this.

Cristain Williams writes:

Apparently I’ve made the big time. I discovered that GallusMag, self-identified RadFem (TERF), RadFem opinion leader and co-founder of RadFemHub, has attempted to troll me on her infamous TERF blog, GenderTrender. According to GallusMag, I have huge sweaty balls, I’m a man, I hate lesbians and gays, I hate feminists most of all, I have a sexualized image of myself as a woman, that I’m known for my advocacy for men’s rights, that my greatest desire is to be a sexy lady, that I’ve spent years blogging about how women, gay people and feminists deprive me of an entitlement to womanhood, that I’m a sexual fetishist and that I’m mean-spirited. She goes on to make up quotes to attribute to me. She claims that I assert that the definition of a woman is “a person who embodies sexualized porn stereotypes of females.“

GallusMag’s MO is to rely upon insults while making ad hominem attacks as a puerile substitution for actual debate. Instead of thoughtfully responding to specific criticism I’ve made of TERF ideology she, of course, held true to her demonstrable abilities.

According to GallusMag I, in addition to my actual Reddit account, troll reddit under various names including GroovemasterGeneral and I’mNotanMRAbut. Does she cite any evidence to support her fact assertion? Nope. All the world is apparently expected to accept her fact assertion of on faith alone.

For the record, my Reddit account is Two- and it’s not like I’ve made that a secret. Are the other two accounts mine? Nope. Can I prove that they’re not? Nope. I could suggest that rational folks look up the accounts and compare writing styles, but is that enough to definitively disprove her fact assertion? Nope. I could point out that I have a long history of being direct about my opinions while having the courage to own them without hiding behind a fake identity GallusMag-style. However, that’s not enough to definitively disprove her fact assertion either, is it? Nope – and I’m sure that she knows it.

the ol’ disproving a negative routine

That GallusMag’s evidence-free fact assertions can’t be disproven is useful to her narrative. Should someone on Reddit say something about TERFs, GallusMag can simply attribute those posts to me and never have to deal with any criticism I actually make. Not only does she get to pretend that she has awesome investigative skills which exposed me with laser-like precision, she gets to do it in such a way that can never be definitively disproved.

It came out of GM’s head so it must be true!

GallusMag seems to think that strawman arguments, misrepresentations of fact and strongly made assertions makes her right. If I had to guess, I’d bet that GallusMag thinks that’s how normal people behave. I’d also guess that GallusMag thinks that making baseless accusations is the way reasonable adults support their debate positions in the marketplace of ideas.

Personally, I think it’s cowardly and dishonest. I think it’s what simple people do when they don’t possess the ability to rationally respond. Moreover, I think this is probably why GallusMag’s opinions don’t get to count to anyone of consequence – not even to the likes of TERF-extraordinaire, Cathy Brennan:

Recently, in a fit of whatever rageful demons motivate her, the pseudoanonymous blogger Gallus Mag ad hominemed me relentlessly on Twitter (“coincidentally” after my lawyer sent her a letter telling her never to contact me again)… Haters hate, trollers troll, Gallus galls… So thanks Gallus! You are a bona fide lunatic, but you have inspired hours of LOLs. - Cathy Brennan

As for me and MRAs, I’ve made my thoughts about them clear and MRAs don’t seem to like what I have to say about them.

My Challenge to GallusMag:

If you actually possesses the courage of your convictions, I’ll gladly public debate you live on a Google Hangout so that everyone can enjoy watching you display your own special view of reality. Let’s debate the criticisms that you’ve failed to actually address. If you feel that you need to advantage yourself by publicly hiding during the debate, you could always use an avatar on camera while I own my public words with my real identity. Debate me live so that all your supporters can watch you articulate your points in that very special way you’re known for. Be their champion, GallusMag.

Let us be free to debate transgenderism without being accused of ‘hate speech’ - GallusMag’s Blog in 2012

So far, GallusMag has been ducking an honest debate about transgenderism for 2 days 18 hours 34 minutes 6 seconds.

Yes, let us be free to debate transgenderism. I’ll agree to not refer to your debate rhetoric as hate speech, you’ll get to continue to hide while spewing whatever foulness you like and I will debate you honestly and openly. I know that you must be really busy, so I’ll be happy to move my schedule around to accommodate yours.

Will you fail to live up to your supposed convictions and if so, I wonder what excuse you’ll use that will be most pleasing to your audience. Will you pretend that rejecting my challenge is the radically feminist to do because debates are somehow male-centric? Maybe you’ll say that you’re too offended by my open challenge. Maybe you’ll pretend that the reason you’re backing out is a lack of trust, logistics or any other reason you can think of that will allow you to save face while you abandon your supposed convictions. Maybe you’ll just pretend to ignore this debate challenge.

My debate invitation will remain open to you. If at some point you work up the courage to stand firm upon your convictions and face me live (even if you have to hide behind an avatar to do it), I’ll be happy to allow you to prove just how clever you believe yourself to be. Think of it. You’ll get to hide behind a fake face and fake identity while publicly putting me in my place in front of a live audience – all while I’m forced to own my words, actions and views by publicly debating you live.

What have you got to lose, GallusMag? So, how about it?

A Challenge to @gallusmag Editor of GenderTrender planetransgender.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-chal… #TERF #RadFem2013
— planetransgender (@kellibusey) May 28, 2013

A couple hours ago GullusMag finally responded saying she'd debate for money

@autumnsandeen @transgriot @cristanwilliams Show me the money! Yah big weirdos
— Gallus Mag (@GallusMag) May 28, 2013

As expected GullusMag won't be a participant in a debate. But still, it's hard to tell if she's serious about demanding cash in return for honesty, but in any case that's something that would be morally wrong to do.

@autumnsandeen @transgriot @cristanwilliamsIt appears @gallusmag expects cash to be forthcoming! Nope, that would be prostitution.

— planetransgender (@kellibusey) May 28, 2013