This Week in the Mercury
Thursday, June 12, 2008
News Man/Woman Sues Women's Shelters for Discrimination
Posted by Matt Davis on Thu, Jun 12, 2008 at 8:50 AM
There's a story in this week's paper about Lee/Lisa Iacuzzi, a bi-gendered person who is suing one of Portland's women's shelters for gender discrimination. He/she has already won two claims with the bureau of labor and industries against Reach Community Development, and the Bradley-Angle House.
There's an online/bloggish aspect to this story. When Iacuzzi lived at the Rose Apartments in Southeast, s/he was running a blog called Not A Good Queer. Iacuzzi alleges Rose tenants began running a "hate blog" called Not A Good Queer Or Anything Else, which you'll find still online, calling him/her the Rose's "Problem Child" and a number of other things.
Rose tenants obtained a stalking order against Iacuzzi, which s/he eventually violated for being in the building where s/he lived. S/he stands trial for it on Monday morning. Iacuzzi alleges the arresting officer told her "all you want is money, you will never get any press, you're a nobody."
But we think there's merit to his/her story.
Commenting was not available when this article was originally published.
2
Bradley ANgle House has not been sued. What has hapened is the state of Oregon has proved their policies to be discriminatory. Yet, they have not changed their polocies.
So if you know history, most civil rights gains were made through civil rights law cases to force them through an order of a judge to pay.
I also think that these sheltors have a responsibilty to uphold diversity and protected classes of people. In both cases, the womens organization attacked, punished, stigmatized any male gender to the point where I had death threats.
So keep up the poor womens shelters until some trans folks get killed, then you might think!
Not a Good Queer on Google
4
I thought Bradley Angle House had a specific program for an all genders queer support group (among MANY other support groups). I'm wondering if when they gave her/him info for the male shelter, they were just trying to offer her/him as many options as possible. Every experience with women's shelters/crisis lines in the Portland area I've had have been extremely queer/transgender friendly.
5
Also, if the case has merit, then I'm glad Iacuzzi is pursuing it to the extent that discriminatory policies could be fixed. However, to try to get money from a shelter seems really wrong. You'll just be taking it away from other people in need. People donate to that shelter hoping to help families in need, not to pay for lawsuits.
6
It seems that HMMM the blogger does not have the courage to identify. I think this behavior is consistent with the womens community who throw rocks and then cry victim!
How about the resignation of OLive McCullen, Megan Lake who intentionally sexually harassed me and discriminated against my gender.
How about Bradley Angle House changing their programs to be EQUAL for trans folk and stop their discriminatory policies. This battle has been going on for almost two full years and yet they have not changed at all!
How about the 15 times I called the police for death threats and Bradley Angle house who works with the police never came to interfere or stop the abuse. They also case managed residents who I lived with who they did not stop but encouraged them for a "women" only environment.
Shame on Bradley and shame on all those who know and knew that they lied and covered up the truth!
Lisa/Lee Iacuzzi
Not a Good Queer on Google
8
Yowza! I can see that Lisa/Lee is angry.
"I think this behavior is consistent with the womens community who throw rocks and then cry victim!" - False generalization?
"How about Bradley Angle House changing their programs to be EQUAL for trans folk and stop their discriminatory policies." - I agree that they should stop discriminatory policies if those exist... but they are a 'women's' shelter who support women and children who are trying to escape from domestic abuse. Was their transgender/queer support group not in place when you were at their shelter?
"How about the 15 times I called the police for death threats and Bradley Angle house who works with the police never came to interfere or stop the abuse." It is awful that you have had to live through this, but is it the Bradley Angle's house's responsibility to come to your house? I think most advocates would leave that up to the police (even if just for liability reasons alone).
"They also case managed residents who I lived with who they did not stop but encouraged them for a "women" only environment." - I'm not entirely sure what this means, but I imagine that a lot of women who are escaping abusive situations feel safer in a shelter that consists of women. The fact that Lee/Lisa sometimes identifies as a man may have triggered fear in some of the women.
I was just voicing concerns over some issues I see rising out of Lee/Lisa's lawsuit. I was always willing to give
Lee/Lisa the benefit of the doubt...but maybe not anymore.
9
I am angry but I smiled through my mug shot because I knew what a big mistake the police and Reach made. It all has been hysterical from the beginning to the end.
If I go to JAIL on Monday, I will still be smiling, due to the fact that the damages will only increase and the press coverage will only increase.
Currently, Bradley offers 6 weeks in a hotel for a trans person while all other women get the same 6 weeks in shelter plus 9 months of transitional housing. This is discriminatory and easy to prove to the public and to the state.
The writer HMM only makes the point that men are to blame for abuse and a female with male gender are a threat to woman.
I have seen Olive McCullen with a shaved head and I thought, what a man! I bet she was not sent home from work.
Was Sojourner Truth a Man?
Hello, this is Portland, how long did Bradley think they were going to get away with discrimination?
Not a Good Queer on GOOgle
10
It is unfortunate to see that the Mercury is giving any time whatsoever to the Lee/Lisa story. While there is no question that discrimination of any type is a serious problem of society, what this article fails to realize, is that this person is certainly not a model citizen of Portland by any reasonable person's definition. While one wants to empathize with someone who feels they are being discrimated against, one should also consider the source. Lee/Lisa is well-knowned throughout this city as several of Portland's Finest put it "one of the biggest nuts on the streets." he/he has a long record of mental illness, arrests, restraining orders, and frivilous lawsuits. Just read the NOT A GOOD QUEER BLOG, to get a sense of how convuoleted his/her sense of reality really is. While there is not question that he/she may have to deal with a great amount of ignorance and most likely prejudice from the greater populace regarding his/her gender identification, it is asinine for him/her to sue places like the Bradley House, bc it takes $ from the very services that were there to help him/her in the first place.
If you get beyond his/her sanctimonious reheoric, you'll find that Lee/Lisa is nothing more than an bully that is trying to work the system under the guise of someone who is being oppressed.
11
The Mercury and specifically Matt Davis totally fucked this story up. "Crazy Lisa" (to those who know her well) is "clinically insane" (seriously no joke or exaggeration) and has even been on Judge Judy for punching a pacifist in the face. I worked with her directly and know for a fact that she has unprovoked attacked people (even challenged me to a fight) and has slashed many tires. To leave out the facts that- Lee/Lisa is well-known throughout this city as several of Portland's Finest put it "one of the biggest nuts on the streets." he/he has a long record of mental illness, arrests, restraining orders, and frivolous lawsuits is unconscionable journalism. All of these court cases are part of public record and journalists have tools beyond Google like LexisNexis to research stories like this, so if the Mercury wants any credibility at all it their reports should at least attempt to get their facts straight and present the full story.
This (the violence and unstability) is all part of public record so Matt Davis who wrote this article is either sloppy and does not know how to do basic journalistic research or deliberately misrepresented the facts for a better story, which amounts to either being stoopid or an asshole hack.
Now lets move on to "Crazy Lee/Lisa". Once again I worked with her directly and yes she was nuts. We actually had a goodbye, friendly party for her when she at one time decided to move away from Portland and moved to Boston, and many people where relieved that she was leaving because she was obviously nuts. But then she returned and renewed old acquaintances, and then for some reason declared war on everyone and started attacking people- physically and slashing tires. We wondered what set her off and to be truthful many believe that it's the whole bigendered thing. Now when I say "the whole bigendered thing" it's not the fact that Lee/Lisa has gender issues- it's more along the lines that she was seemingly chemically unbalanced to begin with and all of the hormones and testosterone that goes into a sex change set her over the edge. The next thing we knew she could be found daily with a bull horn shouting poorly contrived rants at passerbies walking on Hawthorne past the Baghdad Theater. Soon afterwards she went on her violent rampage of fist fighting and slashing tires. She is paranoid, violent, and crazy- need I say more?
Anyhow I would identify myself except I know that she will damn well be reading this and I do not want to be on her revenge list because she is dangerous and could potentially hurt people.
More...
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If you made it this far for those wondering the post #9 is the infamous Lee/Lisa [Posted by Not a Good Queer | June 12, 2008 10:40 PM.]
My advice is if you ever come across this person avoid eye contact, and for God's sakes do not let *her know where you live or what car you drive! And whether *she goes to jail for *her last escapade is not the issue- *she is mentally ill and needs treatment, or at least kept away form the public for being a threat to *herself and others.
*Sorry about referring to Lee/Lisa as she or herself instead of some convoluted she/he/it preface. But to reiterate Lee/Lisa should is a very poor choice for the abused transgender poster child- the only worst choice I could think of would be Buffalo Bill, the fictional transgender serial killer from Silence of the Lambs- the one who abducted women and skinned them.
So to end on a positive note I can say this about Lee/Lisa- she is very, very good at training dogs. Really amazing!
Also maybe we could help heal the transgender issue by thinking of some better role models. So maybe let us know who is your favorite transgender personality and why?
13
My apologies for some of my poorly worded entries above, but it's late night and my proof reading is off. Anyhow the fuse has been lit, so let’s watch the fireworks fly!
14
I just love all the above bloggers who just can not give their real name. It is comical at best. Yes, I do have my enemies in town. I could name them but really, who cares. They do not do anything valuable to society but just give outrageous statements with fake names.
I loved being on Judge Judy, getting arrested for Jay walking and calling the police on the police.
I also liked after serving as a manager of the Portland Hostel and receiving a gold pocket watch and an award for rescuing the organization, predatory boys managing the place.
I believe in Karma. I believe Karma will take care of their sorry asses.
Also, recently I have been diagnosed with POST Traumatic stress by one of the top pyschiatrist in town. SO yes, your oppression and hate has had a price on my life.
Also, get use to me getting press, because it is just the beginning. You can read about me in Just Out and then I am on KBOO. This is just the start. So I hope you all keep enjoying yourself and take your free shot with your fake names. Because you know, as well as I do, I will hold you accountable. I do this the best in Portland and I will take action.
We still rise, we will not apologize for anything!
Not a Good Queer on Google
16
Just for shits and giggles. John Smoak is Talbot Wallace. He is the manager at the Portland International Hostel. Talbot was just a hosteller when I met him and when he was homeless, I let him stay longer at the hostel. He eventually got on the board and bad mouthed me because I would not invite him to an event that many board members attended. I thought he was and still is a child. He obssessed about me like some many closet gays who get obssessed about people that they can not control. He was given the assistant managers job eventhough this was a clear violation of board ethics.
He then had hostellers cleaning his own private residence and then stay free at the hostel. Then having women from the hostel hot tub with him at his home. Poor Talbot has quite a labido problem and he just does not have any boundaries to his job. It is unfortunate that the Portland Hostel has allowed his behavior against me without holding him accountable. I did make a sexual harrassment complaint about him but Talbot kept trying to tell them that I was crazy to avoid the truth of his behavior.
But I still have a relationship with a board member who understands Queer oppression who will take care of poor Talbot Wallace's sorry ass.
Thanks for publically calling me crazy. When I was transitioning, Talbot took it upon himself to call me crazy. I was going to sue the organization but I figured Talbot would bury himself.
Thanks for the easy pay back!
Not a Good Queer on Google
17
Compassion automatically brings happiness and calmness. Then, even if you receive disturbing news, it will be easier to take, as your mind is still. But if you are agitated, even a minor happening will upset you greatly.
18
First off I am not Talbot, but I am friends with Talbot. Talbot is one of the people who has a restraining order against Lisa because she has slashed his tires multiply times, and threatened him. If you happen to be around Lisa she will accuse you of anything under the sun especially sexual harassment. Talbot and other people have told Lisa on many occasions basically:
1) I do not want any trouble.
2) Please just leave us alone.
3) What did we ever do to you?
4) If you persist in stalking and threatening me and my friends or slash my tires again we will be forced to call the police.
Once again this is not Talbot- Talbot is happily married with a wife and they are raising a little girl and they just want to be left alone. They would really prefer to be at the bottom of the list of "Lisa's enemies".
As far as who I am- let's just say that I am an immature jerk who enjoys pissing off bullies, and can not resist throwing rocks at a wasp's nest to watch them go into a buzzing frenzy.
On a serious note though- the Mercury really dropped the ball taking by taking Lisa's side, and some simple research would show that she has been committed to a loony bin and is prescribed serious medication for mental issues, has been arrested for acts of violence and stalking, has restraining orders against her, has sued many people for frivolous lawsuits and sexual harassment.
As far as Talbot goes nobody- especially Talbot has any understanding as to why Lisa suddenly started going after him. Lisa was once a hostel manager and moved away to Boston. Then after another manager stepped down Talbot became the manager. When Lisa moved back to town at first they where on good terms then she went on her rampage of attacking people and slashing tires. And doing a lot of ranting with a bull horn in front of the Baghdad Theater. She actually used the bull horn a lot and would stand out side court houses after she lost her lawsuits shouting nonsense.
As far as the trans or bi gender issue goes- nobody cares what sex Lisa is. Only Lisa wants to make her identity into an issue- people just want to go along peaceably and not be psychically threatened by a nutso menace.
People are concerned because she is a crazy, violent, stalking, tire slashing psycho who may turn on anyone at anytime, and she likes to make up bullshit lawsuits.
Finally I will not reveal myself because I do not want to have Lisa come and try kill me in my sleep.
Favorite line from Hitchhiker's Guide Series: "Zaphod did not want to tangle with them and, deciding that just as discretion was the better part of valor, so was cowardice the better part of discretion, he valiantly hid himself in a closet."
Lisa can come out of whatever closet she wants to but I am hiding in mine from she/he/it.
More...
19
First off I am not Talbot, but I am friends with Talbot. Talbot is one of the people who has a restraining order against Lisa because she has slashed his tires multiply times, and threatened him. If you happen to be around Lisa she will accuse you of anything under the sun especially sexual harassment. Talbot and other people have told Lisa on many occasions basically:
1) I do not want any trouble.
2) Please just leave us alone.
3) What did we ever do to you?
4) If you persist in stalking and threatening me and my friends or slash my tires again we will be forced to call the police.
Once again this is not Talbot- Talbot is happily married with a wife and they are raising a little girl and they just want to be left alone. They would really prefer to be at the bottom of the list of "Lisa's enemies".
As far as who I am- let's just say that I am an immature jerk who enjoys pissing off bullies, and can not resist throwing rocks at a wasp's nest to watch them go into a buzzing frenzy.
On a serious note though- the Mercury really dropped the ball taking by taking Lisa's side, and some simple research would show that she has been committed to a loony bin and is prescribed serious medication for mental issues, has been arrested for acts of violence and stalking, has restraining orders against her, has sued many people for frivolous lawsuits and sexual harassment.
As far as Talbot goes nobody- especially Talbot has any understanding as to why Lisa suddenly started going after him. Lisa was once a hostel manager and moved away to Boston. Then after another manager stepped down Talbot became the manager. When Lisa moved back to town at first they where on good terms then she went on her rampage of attacking people and slashing tires. And doing a lot of ranting with a bull horn in front of the Baghdad Theater. She actually used the bull horn a lot and would stand out side court houses after she lost her lawsuits shouting nonsense.
As far as the trans or bi gender issue goes- nobody cares what sex Lisa is. Only Lisa wants to make her identity into an issue- people just want to go along peaceably and not be psychically threatened by a nutso menace.
People are concerned because she is a crazy, violent, stalking, tire slashing psycho who may turn on anyone at anytime, and she likes to make up bullshit lawsuits.
Finally I will not reveal myself because I do not want to have Lisa come and try kill me in my sleep.
Favorite line from Hitchhiker's Guide Series: "Zaphod did not want to tangle with them and, deciding that just as discretion was the better part of valor, so was cowardice the better part of discretion, he valiantly hid himself in a closet."
Lisa can come out of whatever closet she wants to but I am hiding in mine from she/he/it.
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The real reason for posting on this blog is the next time Lee/Lisa goes after someone they will know who they are dealing with.
Here's a quote from her entry above #14:
"Also, get use to me getting press, because it is just the beginning."
This is actually the end. No more press for Lee/Lisa- this Mercury article is the most fame she will ever get or have, and it is already forgotten. She can have her MySpace page and her crazy ass blog, but that is about it. Her 15 minutes ia over- nobody is oppressing her, nobody is picking on her, and nobody is going after her. Mostly nobody cares. Her desperate need for attention will not get press again- that is unless she goes overboard and hurts someone.
Did anyone think it strange that a women's shelter would go out of their way to pick on a woman?
The fact of the matter is that the world is not out to get Lisa. Lisa may think that, since she has paranoid schizophrenic tendencies, but in reality the world would rather just go about its own business.
My work is now done here because the next time someone has to Google Lisa Iacuzzi because she is threatening them- this blog will pop up and they will know what they are dealing with.
PS Also when she goes to court on Monday her long record of arrests for violence, destruction, and stalking will weigh in on the court's decision, so at least for a while the world will be safe from Lee/Lisa. God help her cell mate!
21
Lisa, you are once again off your meds and totally insane. It's nice to see that you've taken libel to whole new level. Can't wait to see you in prison---again!
22
This has all been great fun. I think the story in Just Out talks about Bradley Angle and the trans community as a whole. Again, Bradley Angle has not been sued, my lawyers have shown an outrageous amount of work and dedication to trans rights. Matt Ellis is looking for a solution to end this problem so people like me will get safety. Letigation will take years which is not what the trans community needs.
Reach CDC is a huge organization with 988 units in the city and their womens' housing is only a small representation of their organization. Reach CDC has at least a three history with other gays in the building where they demonstrated severe negligence.
Lying in Court, and having someone deliberately arrested and harassed is over the top. Anytime that someone faces discrimination, their is a cost. Sometimes one does not live through it, it was close for me. Reach was hellish malicious expereince.
Lee
Not a Good Queer on google
23
Great fun? Really like the time your where in court and they played the tapes of the messages you left threatening a friend of mine repeatedly. (That was brilliant! and showed intelligence! Of course you denied ever threatening anyone but thankfully my friend had the foresight to save all your phone messages). Great fun? like when Judge Judy questioned you about your mental health and all the heavy meds you where on, and decided that you unprotected attacked another friend of mine? SURE! I would get SANCTIMONIOUS right about now. I also remember when you came over to a friend of mine's house and demanded that he give you a bag of weed or you would kick his ass. Of course he gave you the weed, so that you would leave, but you still returned the next day and punched him in the face. (We still joke about how he got beat up by a girl, but Lee/Lisa really does pack a wallop!!!(and to be fair he really is a pacifist))
By the way if you are following this flame war the above statements are true with the identities of Lisa's victims left out.
So I agree this is great fun! Hope you enjoy all the great fun in jail after Monday. Maybe one day you will follow your restraining orders, but to be fair you have so many of them it will be hard to be anywhere in Portland where you won't be bumping into someone you are courted order to stay 30 yards away from at all times.
24
O.K. I feel like a chicken not revealing my identity and even though I am being truthful- I feel like I am taking cheap shots by exposing true yet dirty laundry. So I have decided to reveal myself and face the consequences whatever they may be once Lee/Lisa is released from jail.
JOHN SMOAK is indeed just my moniker and my true identity and real name is: MATT DAVIS, Mercury writer. It was a slow week and I needed a story for my deadline- you can not believe the pressure we are under! I did what I did to keep my job and I am not proud of it. Yes! I know Lee/Lisa is crazy and does not have a leg to stand on, but I just had to have a story turned in or else!
25
Okay, first of all, fuck that Smoak guy. And second, and most important of all, LEE ROCKS THE HOUSE. Believe it.
26
My press has been huge. First in November 07, my blog and story was syndicated all over the world. This includes major US organizations like Pride Parenting, San Francisco Bay Times, etc.
I am in Just Out and will be on KBOO soon. It took two years to win this decision against Bradley which will change policies for people like me all over the country.
Of course, I did not do this alone. Their are many people to thank which includes BOLI, Matt Davis, and Jake from Transnation.
It is obvious to the readers that trans people are called crazy and sterotyped into male violence.
It is time for the gay community to rise and support trans people the way the mens community was helped during the AIDS crisis.
Over 50 percent of trans people attempt suicide when they come out of heterosexism.
I am only a blank on the boat that cannot sail, but it will sail someday.
We still rise, we will not apologize for anything!
Not A Good Queer on Google
27
Well I guess congratulations are in order! By the way have you been standing on any street corners lately shouting at people with your bull horn? Did the courts finally take it away from you? For a while you were a landmark- the crazy shouting lady in front of the Baghdad Theater.
Your one person movement is really amazing! Normally a movement is more than one person off there meds running around attacking people, but sure we will all go along with this one. It would be nice if your "movement" had other people in it, but then again you would most likely attack them sooner or later. Still you must be proud to bask in the glory of suing women's shelters and community non-profit groups- essentially anyone forced to deal with you.
The fact is your past is catching up to you. The court system is going to get tired of dealing with you- and if you want to be made a hero for your last escapade of breaking your restraining order go ahead!
I should not being jabbing at you right now- I should as others are doing encourage you to get back on your meds. The fact is sooner or later everyone will know your reputation and no one will want to have anything to do with Lee/Lisa Iacuzzi.
By the way it is really unclear just what these shelters are doing to you. Really just how are they discriminating against you- just seemed like they were trying to find a nice way to get rid of you without resorting to calling in the cops. You of course took their kindness and sued them for trying to be decent and give you a break. They obviously did not know who they were dealing with.
28
At the very top of the page Matt Davis asserts that Not A Good Queer Or Anything Else,is a hate blog run by Rose tenants,and he provides a link. If you take a look at the site you will see that is dedicated to how to deal with the menace that is Lee/Lisa Iacuzzi who was terrorising the inhabitants of the Rose. (All anyone has to do to get on Lisa's revenge list is to be perceived as friends of someone she has it in for.)
After taking a look at the site I now wonder why Matt Davis is getting involved and why he is misrepresenting Iacuzzi as a victim. Before I was wondering if Matt Davis did not have the facts because he did not do his research before he submitted this story, but it seems that he did in fact have an inkling of Lisa's past and deliberately left out obviously important facts like all of her previous court cases, arrests, and mental illness issues.
This is a clear case of trying to make a story out of nothing. Also using Lisa to represent the plight of transgendered people is really insulting. What minority wants to be linked associated with someone who has a history of violence and mental illness? Lisa does not want to work for change. She is just looking for a way to entrap an organization and sue for a quick buck.
If anyone is still reading this you can be the judge (Just seems everyone is just tired of living in terror of Lisa) Either go to http://notagoodqueer-oae.blogspot.com/ or you can read the following copied directly from Not A Good Queer Or Anything Else:
DO NOT approach Lisa Iacuzzi.
AVOID Lisa Iacuzzi. 29 days in the jail psycho ward should give you a clue why.
DO NOT show fear. Serial bullies like Lisa feed on fear; when you show it, it only encourages them to escalate their abuse. Don't feed the monkey; ignore Lisa as if she isn't there.
One tenant reports a face-to-face encounter in which Lisa castigated the tenant for signing a “document” (or “petition” -- Lisa is still vague as to what, exactly, a majority of Rose tenants signed. Lisa's claim that it was full of lies can be dismissed as the gibberish it is). To be sure, Lisa's threats were only of the vague “I'll get you!” variety, as opposed to the concrete “When I get out, I'm gonna kill you!” threat Lisa uttered during her arrest in November.
The tenant's calm response in this encounter caused the usual response in Lisa: she scuttled off. Of course, this calm response or no-response tactic falls flat, in the face of another person who encountered Lisa. When Lisa attempted to photograph her with her ubiquitous cell, that person grabbed the cell, told Lisa that if she took her picture again, she'd shove it up...... er, where the sun doesn't shine. Lisa's reaction was the same: she scuttled off. It's the usual response of a coward, which is what a bully is, and Lisa is nothing if not a bully. But that's not a response most of us would prefer to engage in.
If an encounter with Lisa is unavoidable, remain calm and DO NOT run. If Lisa taunts you and tries to provoke you, DO NOT react. Or, if you feel you must respond, either laugh her off, or tell her, kindly, “I'll be praying for you, Lisa.” But make sure you mean it.
Bear in mind that, despite her vicious antics, Lisa Iacuzzi is a human being, and a deeply disturbed one. It's possible she's menopausal, which would make it worse. Whatever hatred she has shown to others must be nowhere near as great as her hatred of herself. Considering the viciousness Lisa has shown to others, especially to African Americans and gay women, her self-hatred must be a terrible burden for her to bear. Lisa Iacuzzi is more to be pitied than anything else.
The best thing to do, if you encounter Lisa, can't avoid her, feel you can't ignore her harassment, feel you will burst if you don't respond, simply tell her as kindly as you can, “I'll be praying for you, Lisa.”
AGAIN SPECIAL THANKS TO MATT DAVIS
Thanks again Matt for inferring that this is a "hate" blog, and that the tenants that live at the Rose are a bunch of intolerant haters and gay bashers. Really- your best work yet!
So how are you going to top this? Are you going to start defending the person who puts poison meat in parks to kill dogs- you might as well if you are press and defending giving to Iacuzzi. Journalistic integrity must seem like an idealistic joke to you.
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29
I do appreciate Joan Smoak and Talbot Wallace comments. It is obvious to any reader the obsession that he has about me and my gender.
Unfortunately, the topic of gender is getting missed or clearly hit on by John Smoak and Talbot Wallce expressing their hate publicaly.
I won two BOLI cases due to this public behavior. So please keep going, I stopped reading and just saw your name like many other readers have done.
I think the Just Out article really told the story of the crisis in the transgendered community and how the discrimination is in our own community.
I have been asked what pronoun I indentify with male or female or he or she. I do not ask anyone to call me any pronoun. I have asked my 5 lawyers to call me Lee to avoid any confusion. When I am around the city, I get called He very often by others.
I usually continue the greetings with my female voice. Many times people will apologize to me and I say that we have nothing to apologize for. That you got it right the first time. I believe that I cannot change others perceptions on gender. Gender is so embedded in peoples minds. So If I am in a womens only environment, I do not mind being called she all day long. If I am in a group setting and talking about my Blog called Not a Good Queer, I like using the male pronoun. Nobody calls me Lisa. I say calling me Lisa and not by my gender name is transphobia. When people say Lisa, I correct them quickly. Lee can be both he and she. I do sign my name Lisa to my work for psychological purposes. I lived 39 years as Lisa and I think that giving this understanding to my life as a whole is healthy and brings understanding to others and myself.
We still rise, we will not apologize for anything!
Lisa/Lee Iacuzzi
Not a Good Queer
30
Talbot Wallace is a responsible, intelligent, caring, and civil person who would never have anything to do with anything this nasty and stupid. TO BE VERY CLEAR HE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS BLOG!
Furthermore Talbot Wallace is a great guy who is involved in many community projects and Portland is lucky to have him.
He and his family understandably want to be left out of this mess. They have really solid good priorities and causing trouble is not one of them.
So I really screwed up in inadvertently getting his name mentioned in this blog. Also it never occurred to me that I would be mistaken for him. He is an upstanding professional and would never stoop to anything this crass. I owe him his family and friends an apology.
So please leave him out of this discussion.
I feel that I have both very legitimate and illegitimate reasons for posting on this blog, but I would have forgoed it, if I thought that my friends or others would have been mentioned in the slightest.
Finally Lee I will address you directly (albeit anonymously) just this once- T.W. contacted me directly and asked me to make sure you knew that he knew nothing about this blog until after the fact and does not want to stir up any trouble.
I ACTED ALONE! MY BAD!!!
31
lee is an extremely negative individual who does nothing for the community. I am very disappointed that the Mercury gave lee a half of a page article. As someone who has been involved in the community for years, I have come in contact with Lee numerous times. He/She is one of the most abrasive, sick people I have come across. He/She is verbally abusive to numerous folks. I am really embarrassed for the Mercury. Is no one on your staff at all involved in the community? Lee is notorious for being an abusive, dangerous person. And i think you all should address that in your next issue. I, like numerous other folks who are active in the community, was disturbed by the press he/she recieved. It's wrong.
32
lee is an extremely negative individual who does nothing for the community. I am very disappointed that the Mercury gave lee a half of a page article. As someone who has been involved in the community for years, I have come in contact with Lee numerous times. He/She is one of the most abrasive, sick people I have come across. He/She is verbally abusive to numerous folks. I am really embarrassed for the Mercury. Is no one on your staff at all involved in the community? Lee is notorious for being an abusive, dangerous person. And i think you all should address that in your next issue. I, like numerous other folks who are active in the community, was disturbed by the press he/she recieved. It's wrong.
33
The reason Bradley Angle house never came to "stop the abuse" is because Lee/Lisa is an extremely abusive person him/herself. I have worked in the social services field for 8 years in Portland, and I know of numerous agencies who have had difficulties with this person. Lee/Lisa's problems are not just a result of their bigendered identification. It is a result of their abusive, manipulative behavior.
34
I just read some of Lee's comments. Lee says " He obssessed about me like some many closet gays who get obssessed about people that they can not control"
What are you talking about? You not only don't make any sense, but you are also are voicing some really negative stereotypes about "closet gays". You show a complete lack of sensitivity. You aren't doing this to help people. And you're not an ally at all. You say negative things about "closet gays" but expect people to side with you?
You aren't an ally. You're a very angry person with no positive outle. You feed off of fear and negativity, and that's extremely sad.
35
The Just Out article really told the story of the systemic abuse of Bradley Angle House. I worked with a PSU student and did a survey of all the womens shelters in the Portland area. The only shelter system that accepted trans people, was the YWCA. The YWCA, helped me win my two BOLI cases and I still have a professional relationship with them.
I stopped using social service agentcies in Portland due to the fact that everybody wanted to know about Bradley Angle. My response was that I can not talk about this due to an ongoing two year investigation. Because I said no, the allegations that Bradley made against me were seen as the truth. I held my ground but when I wanted to go and speak at public meetings about what was happening, I was silenced.
I have joined United Poor People where we have 140 members. Their is a strong sexually minority statement within UPP. We as a whole do not want any help social services but we are holding social services organizations accountable for their behavior. So now I am part of a whole group of people who care not to be in oppressive social service systems.
Bradley has not been sued. Reach CDC has been sued who is a huge nonprofit corporation in this city with 988 buildings. They have a full staff, more than any nonprofit in this city who lied to a judge, where I spent 29 days in jail. When are they going to be arrested?
Bradley is in the RECONCILIATION process where they have been given a chance to change their policies to include biological females with male genders. Right now, men who have male genders are accepted at Bradley Angle. This discrimination has been going on since September 2006, where they have turned away numerous people like me. Yet, they were told of their behavior but kept doing it anyway.
Bradley has less than 40 days to pay for damages and to change their policies. Bradley not paying any money tells other womens programs that they can continue their ways without any punishment. I have paved the way for my community throughout the Unites States. I called myself Not a Good Queer because so many lesbians were the ones creating this discrimination.
I am Not a Good Queer, I am not interested in being a role model for any community. I am not asking for your permission to exist and I do not care if your a closet gay or a homophobe. I cannot change who you are or the perceptions that you may have. All I know is that this discrimination is going to end and I was the one who took them on. Their were others who were discriminated against but I did not worry about being liked or even a good queer. Their are plenty of good queers who Just Out mostly writes about.
This is why their has been an outpouring from the community wanting a new newspaper that is not such a goody two shoes.
Queers still do not have equal rights, even here in Portland, so until this equality happens, I will be "bad", "very bad" because being "bad" is what is necessary for the movement. Do you really think that their just going to give us our rights with out a Fight?
We still rise, we will not apologize for anything!
Lisa/Lee Iacuzzi
Not a good queer on Google
More...
36
Lee is the best woman we have to fight for civil liberties and sexual right for all people. She/he is unstoppable. I will always stand by her and am proud to know her.
Hannah Shedrick
37
TIS BUT THY NAME THAT IS MY ENEMY
"Tis but thy name that is my enemy. What's in a name? That which we will call a rose. By any other word would smell as sweet."
Alas! Alas! if only Sir Shakespeare but knew of the tragedy of the star and gender crossed Lee/Lisa...
I would like to bury the hatchet on this one by addressing issues that LEEE has presented in this blog.
Evidentially by calling this person still legally named "Lisa Iacuzzi", Lisa I am being insensitive to a segment of society.
TO QUOTE LEEE: Nobody calls me Lisa. I say calling me Lisa and not by my gender name is transphobia. When people say Lisa, I correct them quickly. Lee can be both he and she. I do sign my name Lisa to my work for psychological purposes. I lived 39 years as Lisa.
Firstly LEEE infers that Lisa can only be she a she name and not a he name- I feel that this is untrue and a slap in the face to anyone who identifies as a male and wants to be "Lisa" for whatever reason. For example what of Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue" But she is right names are important.
Perhaps dialogue from the movie Airplane expresses it best:
TED STRIKER:
Surely you can't be serious.
RUMCAK(Leslie Nielsen):
I am serious... and don't call me Shirley.
The reason why I referred to her as Lisa is because in her own words "I lived 39 years as Lisa." I only knew her as "Lisa" and then a few restraining orders later more commonly "Crazy Lisa".
To the best of our knowledge the moment she decided to publicly announce that her preferred name was "Lee" was on the Judge Judy show, which came as news to us all! However, we thought at first it was just a publicity stunt and had no idea the name was supposed to stick for good. Also LEEE states that no pronoun can describe her, which does cause difficulties in referring to her in 2nd person. Matt Davis attempted the he/she vehicle; however it is not fully appropriate. The only known similar delihima was when Prince decided that he no longer had a name at all, so a perplexed media started to calling him "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince". With Lisa something in a similar vein may work like "the person who may no longer be referred to as he or she for being insentive for reasons that are to complicated to get into just now", which for convince sake may be shortened to the acronym: tpwmnlbrtahosfbifrtatctgijn which just sort of rolls of the tongue. This would avoid complications like when Judge Judy addressed LEEE "Ma'am, I mean Sir- whatever" if Judge Jude had instead just used the soon to be widespread word “tpwmnlbrtahosfbifrtatctgijn”.
By the way I am trade registering the word "tpwmnlbrtahosfbifrtatctgijn", so hands off Mercury!!!
A better word for referring to LEEE in 2nd person might be just to remove the / in he/she and just have a new pronoun "heshe" pronounced "Hee'-sheey" which can refer to someone who wants to claim either both genders or neither. And the posseive form could be "heher" pronounced "Hee'-hur" not to be confused with the similar sounding "Hee'-haw".
I am also patenting the word "heshe" and "heher", so hands off Matt Davis!!!
Also now that I know that Lisa's idea to call hesheself (it's mine!)Lee, and it was not just a stunt or a new fad she was trying out I will refer to her as Lee. The whole Lee/Lisa thing could be avoided if she would just legally change her name to what she wants to be called- I do not think it is fair to be accused of being obsessed by referring to someone by their legal name. By the way LEE sarcastic thanks for earlier referring to me as Joan instead of John- at first it hut but it has started to stir up the most curious feelings and I kinda like... ur, um, wait where am I going with this?
To mack a long story short what I just meant to say is Sure no problem!- Instead of referring to heher as "Crazy Lisa" heher estranged friends will just start calling heher "Crazy Lee" instead.
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38
To John Smoak:
Until, Mr. Smoake (sic) and Mirrors, you have your own objective study supporting your claims, we can safely ignore your comments - and move on to a productive discussion based on those issues that have been objectively verified.
Matt Davis's article is based on an objective investigation of Reach CDC by Kerry Johnson from the Bureau of Labor and Industry - who found that Lee's claim of discrimination was true.
How is it possible that an institution like The Bradley Angle House that is supposed to be protecting the most vulnerable people in our society - is given non-profit status by our government and is allowed free reign to discriminate against transgendered people?
Paul Hamilton
39
I agree!
Hopefully Lee wins and get the $350,000 that is rightfully hers, and then can go on to sue that other place.
YOU GO GIRL!!!
40
john smoak, you have displayed a sick obsession with yourself and your synthesis of this situation. if you have nothing better to do than smear the name of someone who is trying to survive in life, and make it better for others than you have nothing worth listening to.
lee is a good friend, with a history, as we all have--none of us are inocent, but your disturbing comments show your own unbalanced mental state and may unfortunately lead those you wish to evangelize with hate toward lee to become alies instead. insulting and obsessed opinions do not bolster your case for lee's "craziness," but definitely help me understand and sympathize with your state of existance.
i think we can all be better in this world personally, but we certainly don't make it easy when all we want to do to fight, always be right, and in doing so, stay just far enough away so we don't have to look each other in the eye and really know we are dealing with real people. please take a break from mudslinging and be kind to yourself, and while you're at it ask yourself if you were lee how would you want to be treated?
and no i'm not interested in using this forum to debate, just wanted to maybe set this blogline going in a more thoughtful, humane, and considerate direction from here.
peace.
41
lee sounds like an incredibly bright person...if not genius. it's too bad that it is being used to try and win money from non-profit organizations that are working to serve the community. it looks there is a history here of law suits like this.
42
There is no such thing as bi-gendered. There is such a thing as a hermaphrodite wherein someone possesses both types of sexual organs fully or vestigially. "Gender" is a psychological term, a social term and the "gender" wars are about power not a plea for understanding.
> >
> > No one is born with the "wrong gender" or with both "genders". It is not physically possible. The term "gender" is a social construct not a physical state of being. Sexual organs are a physical state of being. They have a limited use and do not make you buy shoes or like football.
> >
> > People are socialized to believe things about "gender" and make decisions to accept or deny social behaviors based on false concepts about how "gender" relates to behavior.
> >
> > There is power in stereotypes and "gender" is laden with them. The individuals who seek alternate gender recognition are doing so because they perceive a level of power available in the gender they do not possess. The desire for this social acceptance based on the general affirmation of a stereotype causes intellectual conflict within and without.
> >
> > The use of emotional and social manipulation to "prove" they have the "wrong gender" is driven by the need to gain the power that the stereotype they wish to embody will give them. Hiding behind "gender misidentification" allows them to demand that society help them to ignore their deeper psychological issues (all of which were created by social concepts which certain aspects of society benefit from by keeping in place)
> >
> > The "gender" wars are not helping anyone. They are not helping society. They are selfish and petty and further damage any ability for people to be human instead of characters.
> >
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