you're a ghost of me

"The 'God Made Trans People' billboard is stupid! God didn't make me! I'm an atheist!" Okay. The billboard sits along a major highway in Kansas. We can deduce that the target audience is not you—it's the centrist evangelical Christians driving along that road who could probably be persuaded to become allies as long as we choose our words carefully and don't make them feel attacked for not already knowing everything about trans rights issues. Another one I see a lot is, "We shouldn't be talking about how right-wing legislation catches [privileged in-group] in the crossfire when [marginalized out-group] suffers far more!" I know. I agree with you. Which is why you and I are not the intended audience of this argument!

The entire point of rhetoric is to win over someone who doesn't already fully agree with you. In this case, let's say that someone is Jennifer, the moderate center-right mom in your neighborhood who doesn't really know or care about transgender issues but would be absolutely horrified by the idea of her teenage daughter having to submit to an invasive inspection of her body just to be allowed to play soccer. Tell her, "Banning trans students from sports will inevitably subject all student athletes to invasive gender-policing," or "Legal restrictions on gender-affirming care will make it harder for you to access the hormone replacement therapy you take to treat menopause symptoms," and she is more likely to question her existing beliefs and listen to the rest of what you have to say than if you lead with leftist talking points that she already has a calcified opinion about or which she thinks do not personally affect her.

But brushing your teeth for 30 seconds is better than not brushing them at all when that 2 minutes seems exhausting.  Doing ten minutes of yoga is better than 10 minutes of sitting when 30 minutes of cardio sounds impossible.  Changing my clothes is good when a whole shower is impossible.  Standing on the porch for a few minutes is worth it after being in the house for three straight days because I don’t have the energy to go anywhere.

Wally Dion, born 1976, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Fabric Star Quilts.

Wally (Walter) Dion is a Canadian artist of Saulteaux ancestry living and working in Upstate New York. Working in a number of media including painting, drawing and sculpture.

Wally explains:

"The first fabric star quilt was made as part of a 2022 residency at Wanuskewin Park. It was my way of reflecting upon prairie tall grass and the reintroduction of bison into the Great Plaines. I wanted to make several transparent quilts and superimpose them; one in front another... a quilt for the microbiome, another for the bison, their manure & hooves, another for the summer fires that scorch the ground and a final quilt for the sweetgrass braid.

I was considering how all of these things worked together for thousands of years to create what is known as the 'prairie tall grass ecosystem'. A vast and fertile expanse of land stretching from the foothills of Alberta to the banks of the Mississippi. I wanted to highlight the invisibility of systems when everything is working well, as it should be.

I started with the green quilt because it is the colour of the sweet grass braid that is exchanged in ceremony and relationship building. I considered the nature and tradition of quilting; impoverished craftspeople using tiny scraps of fabric. I considered the act of offering fabric and adherence to tradition. I thought of a thousand tiny prayers and how that might look; invisible acts of respect and adherence to protocols spanning decades. My thoughts travelled across the land, imagining the trees and rocks collecting these prayers like a bush of cloth, or an etched boulders."

Image 1: A starburst with a deep red center, that radiates out into lighter pinks, purples, into almost-whites. The quilt is being shaken out over the camera against a cloudy sky, showing off the iridescence in the lighter colors.

Image 2: This quilt has a darker center and edges, with a lighter middle of the starburst pattern. The colors are greys with purple and pinkish tints, like storm clouds. A person on a ladder tosses it over the camera and the sunlight highlights gold and silver shine on the edges.

Image 3: Four quilts hung in a series, indoors. In the foreground is I believe the previously described quilt. Behind it hangs a brilliant orange and yellow quilt. Next is a green quilt with hints of yellow. The last quit is brilliant blue and nearly transparent silver. The quilts are lit in such a way that they shine almost like metal, and you can see through each quilt to the colors behind it.

Image 4: A quilt half in pinkish-reds, half in yellows and whites being spread in the wind. On the yellow-and-white side there is more shine.

Image 5: A quilt that appears to be black and white, the white nearly transparent, being spread over a sunset sky.

Image 6: The green and yellow quilt from image 3 hung from a wooden structure outdoors. This quilt has many transparent areas that the blue sky shows through, and the sunlight shows off the iridescence to the point some of the fabric looks metallic.

Image 7: A quilt in black of various transparencies, with neon pink outlining of the starburst pattern and the straight border at either side of the quilt. A person is holding the quilt so it is spread over the sky and the blue shows through areas of the quilt; some of the black shines.

Image 8: A person on horseback carrying a quilt in white, grey, and gold. The center of the starburst is gold. The sky behind is cloudy and the quilt almost seems to blend into the sky a little.