#tfss

Kathie Moehlig (Executive Director of TFSS) invited all of the organizers to a thank you dinner at a local brewery. Somehow the two people she removed from the project (myself and the ex committee chair) also ended up invited. We decided to go as moral support for Máni, who was planning on confronting Kathie about how planning this year had gone.

The dinner is tense and awkward for the most part. After an hour or so Kathie makes a small speech thanking everyone for their hard work and that TFSS is excited to start working on next year's pride event.

When she finished, Máni took that as an opportunity to segue into what he needed to say. He had it written down, because his anxiety would have made it difficult to say what he needed to say off the cuff.

He planned to bring up their lack of transparency, communication, and ability to listen to the local community, and tell them that he had no plans to work with TFSS ever again.

It very quickly devolved into Kathie cutting him off and speaking over him once he started bringing up his employment with TFSS (he was fired from the organization back in April). She said that she could not legally respond to anything he had to say about it and Máni, myself, and multiple other people at the table told her she didn't need to respond, she just needed to listen.

She refused, and continued speaking over Máni. He finally called her out on being a cishet white woman speaking over a trans person on trans affairs, and Aspen Everheart (Director of Operations for TFSS) got up, leaned over the table in a quick and aggressive manner as though he were going to punch Máni, and then threw a glass of water all over him and stormed out.

The situation devolved further and all members of TFSS left the dinner after saying we were inappropriate and this was not the place to have this discussion.

Some context for why Máni chose to speak then and not in private. Kathie repeatedly, in private conversations with Máni regarding these things, has spoken over him and twisted the conversation away from any critique of her organization. Máni felt he had no choice but to speak in a more public setting for her to listen.

We were all shocked that they would react that way to this criticism, accusing us of attacking Kathie and being aggressive. And even going so far as to accuse Máni, myself, and a few others as trying to be the sole voices of the trans community here in Huntsville.

I can say, for myself, that I will not be working with TFSS in the future. I will be working with my local community to make Trans Pride next year an event of community pride, love, and effort.