Protest in the alley

[none1]

Fyi...
Drove through there. The locals are out on the road with signs and probably cameras.

I did not see any police but about 15 people with signs "no sex on my street".

Where did the girls move to?

[Rockheart]

Fyi...
Drove through there. The locals are out on the road with signs and probably cameras.

I did not see any police but about 15 people with signs "no sex on my street".

Where did the girls move to?

Well i do not blame them.
It is a residential street with a public school on it.
There is plenty of other places that are better in that area.

The is always cameras rolling there whether you can see anyone or not.
Check YouTube for yourself.

I've noticed alot of nights the tgirls seem to have a stroll going across from Goodhandy's. I suspect if they get chased away from the current location, you will see them in the Goodhandy's area. It is better anyway, mostly businesses and no schools etc.
There's alreay hooker all over that area of Church street anyway, it will just be harder to differentiate the Shemales from the GG workers.

[tslisaparadise]

Well i do not blame them.
It is a residential street with a public school on it.
There is plenty of other places that are better in that area.

The is always cameras rolling there whether you can see anyone or not.
Check YouTube for yourself.

I've noticed alot of nights the tgirls seem to have a stroll going across from Goodhandy's. I suspect if they get chased away from the current location, you will see them in the Goodhandy's area. It is better anyway, mostly businesses and no schools etc.
There's alreay hooker all over that area of Church street anyway, it will just be harder to differentiate the Shemales from the GG workers.

co-sign id be the first one on the phone getting them outta my own nebourhood

[snoodle]

Not in my backyard. lol

[none1]

where did the action move to

[Foxy Basket]

Protest against transphobia and sex worker oppression

Time and Place
Start Time: Friday, August 15, 2008 at 11:00pm
End Time: Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 3:00am
Location: Homewood and Maitland
Street: Homewood and Maitland
City/Town: Toronto, ON

The Maitland Homewood Safety Association is waging a campaign to rid their neighbourhood of trans sex workers. Every Friday and Saturday starting at 11pm the Association goes out armed with flashlights to harrass the women working in the neighbourhood. There have been somereports that the members of the Association have physically assaulted transwomen.

If you care about the rights of trans and sex working women to be free of harassment and nimbyism and are free this Friday, then join us Friday August 15th at 11pm at Homewood and Maitland to show our support to the women in the neighbourhood, as well as to send a clear message to the Homewood-Maitland Safety Association that violence and harassment against trans women will not be tolerated.

PLEASE NOTE:
Organizers of this event are being targeted by this group, we need as many people there as possible to ensure our safety. For more info on the Associations transphobia please check out
http://splinterjete.livejournal.com/...36354#t1036354 and
http://spocgirl.braveblog.com/entry/27765

How about it? Are we going to sit by and let this keep happening to other people doing the same thing we're doing, just in a different way? Do they not deserve our support? Wouldn't there be a huge outcry on the forum if an organization went after all the girls with ads in the paper? Don't kid yourself - they don't like the rest of us, either. They'd be perfectly happy to put all of us out of business.

Sure, there's a school there, but the girls aren't walking the stroll when kids are around; it's August, and they don't work there during the day. It's one tiny pocket of the hedonistic centre of the city, and there are so many other issues that are much more important. I don't see them going after the gg's up at Carleton, and the pimps who beat the shit out of them; I don't see them going after the heroin users leaving needles on the ground; there's definitely an anti-trans hatred to their attitude. The girls working the stroll don't all do it because they love the lifestyle; this is their livelihood, whatever it may be.

It's fine and dandy for us to act superior to streetwalkers, but at the end of the day, a lot of people would rather see all of us out of their backyard; they would make prostitution illegal, and take away the best way for us to achieve our goals. If they succeed in driving these girls away, what's to stop them from mounting a campaign against Goodhandy's? What would happen if they went after those of us running ads and doing incalls? I don't like to use "slippery slope" arguments, but it really wouldn't take much for these things to happen. We need to stop the self-described Moral Majority from enforcing their will upon others, before they gain political momentum and genuine clout.

Like it or not, we're all in this together - the sex trade is vital to so many of our lives, and we need to stand up and be heard for once, instead of slicing each other's throats like we normally do. Think about it; if they succeed, they're coming after us next.

Does anyone else plan to attend the rally on Friday?

[Admin]

How about it? Are we going to sit by and let this keep happening to other people doing the same thing we're doing, just in a different way? Do they not deserve our support? Wouldn't there be a huge outcry on the forum if an organization went after all the girls with ads in the paper? Don't kid yourself - they don't like the rest of us, either. They'd be perfectly happy to put all of us out of business.

Sure, there's a school there, but the girls aren't walking the stroll when kids are around; it's August, and they don't work there during the day. It's one tiny pocket of the hedonistic centre of the city, and there are so many other issues that are much more important. I don't see them going after the gg's up at Carleton, and the pimps who beat the shit out of them; I don't see them going after the heroin users leaving needles on the ground; there's definitely an anti-trans hatred to their attitude. The girls working the stroll don't all do it because they love the lifestyle; this is their livelihood, whatever it may be.

It's fine and dandy for us to act superior to streetwalkers, but at the end of the day, a lot of people would rather see all of us out of their backyard; they would make prostitution illegal, and take away the best way for us to achieve our goals. If they succeed in driving these girls away, what's to stop them from mounting a campaign against Goodhandy's? What would happen if they went after those of us running ads and doing incalls? I don't like to use "slippery slope" arguments, but it really wouldn't take much for these things to happen. We need to stop the self-described Moral Majority from enforcing their will upon others, before they gain political momentum and genuine clout.

Like it or not, we're all in this together - the sex trade is vital to so many of our lives, and we need to stand up and be heard for once, instead of slicing each other's throats like we normally do. Think about it; if they succeed, they're coming after us next.

Does anyone else plan to attend the rally on Friday?

I cannot blame those people.
It is right beside and/or in front of their residences, they have every right to not want these workers there.

Yes I feel bad for the workers, but, there is a hundred better places they could work in that areas that is not near peoples homes.

As far as being a school, well no they don't usually work there in daylight hours but schools are not always closed during night time hour either. Just think it is a bad choice of location.

[tslisaparadise]

I cannot blame those people.
It is right beside and/or in front of their residences, they have every right to not want these workers there.

Yes I feel bad for the workers, but, there is a hundred better places they could work in that areas that is not near peoples homes.

As far as being a school, well no they don't usually work there in daylight hours but schools are not always closed during night time hour either. Just think it is a bad choice of location.

co-sign i just dont understand the concept of jumping in a vehicle for a quick truck fuck when you can do it in your apartment or goodhandys.....

[Admin]

The other thing is that there is nothing around the Goodhandy's area but businesses and they are all closed at night.

I see no reason why they can't move their business more down in that area. There is very few residences near there.

It does not make sense to me why the stroll "has" to be in that one spot.

[Foxy Basket]

I've been gathering information about this, though I think I still need more before I can fully form an opinion. . . but the main question seems to be, do these protesters have any legal right to do what they're doing? It's one thing if it's actually on their property, but another thing entirely if they're trying to regulate public space in their general vicinity.

I'll be attending the anti-protest for sure, but need more info before I weigh in on the situtation as a whole.

[Admin]

If the tgirls have a right to stand there, which i do not believe they do, then the residents of the area have every right to protest.

What gives you the right to protest them, if they don't have the right to protest you?

These people are loitering on public property which is illegal, they have no legal reason to be standing there.
They do not possess business licenses or pay taxes so they are not supposed to be there.

The home owners pay taxes and have every right to protest this activity in their neigbourhood. Physical harrassment etc. is not acceptable in any case tho.

As I have said, there is many other locations within blocks of there which wouldn't bother any residences, so it makes no sense to me that it has to be this particular spot.

[tslisaparadise]

If the tgirls have a right to stand there, which i do not believe they do, then the residents of the area have every right to protest.

What gives you the right to protest them, if they don't have the right to protest you?

These people are loitering on public property which is illegal, they have no legal reason to be standing there.
They do not possess business licenses or pay taxes so they are not supposed to be there.

The home owners pay taxes and have every right to protest this activity in their neigbourhood. Physical harrassment etc. is not acceptable in any case tho.

As I have said, there is many other locations within blocks of there which wouldn't bother any residences, so it makes no sense to me that it has to be this particular spot.

CO-SIGN- now ya see why you cant raise kids in toronto plain and simple

[cobbler]

While I support the rights of street walkers to ply their trade, I do wish there was a way to keep the activity from disturbing the residents who pay ridiculously high property taxes. What makes Toronto a unique major North American city is the fact that so many people choose to live downtown. I believe this contributes to the diversity and charm of the city. Until there is a concerted effort by the various powers that be to ensure the rights of everyone involved there will be conflict. There has always been prostitution and always will be, but how we live with it is a true test of our civic evolution.

[Nice_Eye_Guy]

I've been gathering information about this, though I think I still need more before I can fully form an opinion. . . but the main question seems to be, do these protesters have any legal right to do what they're doing? It's one thing if it's actually on their property, but another thing entirely if they're trying to regulate public space in their general vicinity.

I'll be attending the anti-protest for sure, but need more info before I weigh in on the situtation as a whole.

So, people are supposed to lock themselves in their own homes come nightfall?

They have the legal right to protest and stop traffic so long as they keep moving... I am sure the residents group is well versed on what they can and can't do. I'm not arguing the morality of prostitution (for OBVIOUS reasons) but keep in mind that the street scene is the illegal act, not the residents who protest.

I have friends that have lived in areas with similar problems. Not all the "dates" take place in cars... so take place in alleyways between homes, and the condoms are discarded left right and centre. Factor that in with the increased drug problem on the street scene, and you come up with a fairly disgusting clean up job for the residents in the morning.

If you want to argue legalization issues surrounding prostitution... that's a different matter.

There are PLENTY of non residential areas in this city for the girls to work.

I lived in an apartment building where there was an incall on my floor. Three or four girls worked there, and it was loud and extremely indiscreet. I helped get the tenants organized to get rid of it because of the noise issues, and the disgusting, loud, obnoxious behavior of many of the Johns who visited it.

I have also lived in condos where there were discreet in-calls. I only knew what they were because I'm observant that way. Since it was discreet, I just minded my own business.

[Foxy Basket]

Clarification

Just to make sure people understand what I mean:

Peaceful protest is an unalienable right, and I support that right, regardless of the cause. However, throwing half-full coffee cups and bags of garbage from balconies, as well as physically pushing them to the ground and screaming insults at them is NOT peaceful protest. That's assault. That's what's been happening lately, and it's getting worse.

Protecting your property against trespassing is your right, but using the above tactics to forcefully remove someone from public property is not equal to peaceful protest.

I don't see the "protesters" lobbying Toronto's City Council to create a "Red Light District," a move that might resol ve the issues; they've instead resorted to aggressive and violent tactics to purge the neighborhood of people they consider undesirable. It's more the method that I have a problem with, rather than the motive; I believe there are better ways to fix the situation, and also that the workers are being specifically targeted because they are trans-identified.

This is the reason I'm going to the anti-protest tomorrow night; although I do sympathize with the protesters, I can't condone their actions and allow them to continue unopposed.

I'm not expecting a response, but if anyone would like to join me tomorrow night, please send me a message and we can arrange to meet beforehand. Otherwise, I'll be there at 11pm sharp. I'll be the militant-but-still-very-cute one carrying the heavy, intimidating (but perfectly legal) police flashlight.