- by A personal account by Harper
- The Guardian
- Issue #2203
In early July some comrades and I went to the Transgender Rights Counter-Protest in Brisbane, where over 1,000 people showed up to protest One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson’s anti-trans rights rally.
About 400 people attended Hanson’s event.
Shockingly for someone of her Senate attendance record, Hanson was far too busy meeting celebrity UK fascist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon in Britain to attend her own rally.
Before the march commenced, speeches were made by Dr Fiona Bisshop, president of AusPATH (Australian Professional Association for Trans Health) and Greens State MP Michael Berkman.
Politicians like Hanson and Roberts have exploited the current capitalist crisis to move Australia to an increasingly fascist position. The only solution must be the workers and progressive forces uniting and opposing fascism. We must stand against the rightward turn, support trans rights and the rights of all marginalised groups targeted by fascism and its cronies.
A One Nation government would mean the imposition of US-style anti-trans laws and the entrenchment of US-style fascism at home and abroad. I fear under Pauline, trans hate-crimes will only increase, and more of the most vulnerable will be driven to suicide.
As a trans woman myself, the rising tide of bigotry and hatred has become swiftly overwhelming. It becomes easy to buy into the lies of your oppressors, you can start to believe that there must be something wrong with you. However this protest, being my first large protest has helped me to realise that there is nothing wrong with me, there is love and support for the marginalised and there is a real movement to oppose Hanson’s hateful vision of the future.
