From: Jeffrey Sutter <jsutter@igc.org>
To: 'Accreditation Committee for the Green Party of the US' <accreditation@gp.org>
Subject: Resignation from this Committee, with comments
For some of you, the defeat of autocratic proposal 1064 is a bitter loss. The party failed to support censure of its five “principal transphobic organizers.” (tbh the premises of this are laughable). And we know how much scheming and how many threats were needed to achieve even this result!
For me, the actual bitter loss is of a Green Party with integrity, honesty, and decency that I could fully support. A true “federation” of state parties. Rather more importantly, a party with the political maturity to contest the political space with the needed urgency.
A Green I know has used the phrase "catastrophic dishonesty" with regard to the behavior of dozens of Green Party people. This tags the false connection between accusation and declaration of guilt. In other words: no presentation or evaluation of evidence (and here), no fair opportunity to address accusers, no decent due process, and a pre-determined declaration of guilt by self-appointed judges. A totalitarian mentality - we do this because we can. Because we can, we are right.
How did this start? It came about because the Georgia Green Party was accused and then demonized for saying that biological reality of a person's sex is not the same thing as the gender identity people may choose to exhibit. But rather than engage in a party-wide discussion, as Georgia and its supporters desired, they were immediately called (without any evidence) "hateful, bigoted, and transphobic." NONE of which had a shred of truth! Attending to the evidence available to this committee, I determined that the claims against Georgia were false. The crimes alleged in 1064 were simply responses to the dishonesty of the prosecution and censorship.
In contrast, we affirmed the right of people who identify as transgender to present as they wish and to retain all the legal and civil rights as anyone. But the trans activists would hear none of it. This mantra was repeated ad nauseum for two years, and Green Party members who should know better accepted it with no investigation at all. This represented a monumental failure of intellectual integrity by dozens in our party.
Acceptance by Majority
does not make truth
of a lie
The side that supported Georgia in its defense of feminist principles have tried to stay on the high road and not to slander those who were slandering us. Qui bono? Who benefits form this enormous and fully avoidable disarray within Green Party? It does not take a political genius to figure that out. And the party is full of activists who know how dishonest this fiasco has been, and how destructive of trust and energy.
Several AC people are leaders of this catastrophic dishonesty and epidemic of unwarranted hate speech. Thoughtless name-callers, all – and not even using the definition of their favorite slur. “Transphobic.” The definition never actually invoked, because the evidence betrays its use. Deploying the term was its own proof! I called this committee out for never producing evidence, and am vindicated by the continued failure to cite anything meaningful. Or have an honest discussion; there are people I’ve counted as allies who have never articulated their positions openly, and still reach easily for the slur (part of the catastrophic dishonesty). The Disaccreditation committee’s behavior in this regard is shameful; many made it clear they had no interest in the arguments or facts (or “could not read” them - - would be “triggered” - - what incompetence!). The Steering Committee and many members of the NC have been even more egregious in their intellectual dishonesty, and the Forum Managers have done their duty preventing anyone from dissenting or pointing out this discursive vacuity. I have run into a number of Greens who make clear by the way they express their distain regarding the “transphobes” that they do not understand even the basics of the conflict.
I’ve been a Green activist for forty some years, across three states and multiple projects and issues. There are some bright spots in the party and I support those. There are some other projects supporting feminists and women that I am involved with. I have long worked against violence against women, in many ways the greatest nexus of oppression.
But I am done with this committee.
I hereby resign.
With warm regards to most, and a nod to the rest,
//jeff
Jeff Sutter (Indiana delegate)
20 Sept 2021