Pidin ensimmäisen mielenosoituspuheeni 14.2. Yhdysvaltojen suurlähetystön edustalla järjestetyssä mielenosoituksessa sateenkaarioikeuksien puolesta ja Trumpin hallinnon ihmisoikeusvihamielistä politiikkaa vastaan. Tämän puheen tarkoituksena oli puhua sateenkaarisisaruksilleni ja kanssa-aktivisteilleni, levittää toivoa ja tuntea yhdessä voimaa dystooppisen maailmanpolitiikan edessä – poliittisten ratkaisujen tarjoamiselle on omat aikansa ja paikkansa mielenosoitusten ulkouolella. Jotta suurlähetystön virkahenkilöt ymmärtäisivät sanani, puheeni oli englanniksi:

“It was very hard to decide what to say today. The western world order, already based on white supremacy, capitalist imperialism and deep oppression seems to only slide deeper and deeper into outright fascism through the Trump administration, and we all know it, I’m sure. No need to warn you, my queer siblings, friend and allies. You, we, know the drill.

For a minute I considered focusing on the light and beauty in you, in us and in solidarity – everything in our communities and the collectivity that will get us through, that is the strength at the core of liberation, but it seemed superficial. You, we, know why we fight, what is important.

I could also center my speech around my experiences as a nonbinary activist, my ongoing process of breaking out of my uninformed backgroung in unquestioned white previlege and internalised white supremacy, finding myself and my meaning during recent years. But this struggle is not about me, it is you, it is us, it is the inevitable change of this rotten late stage capitalist world order, it is indigenous rights, it is decolonisation, queer liberation, smashing strict, narrow, eurocentric norms.

So I will address the US government, Finnish officials and the ruling class worldwide. I would love to believe that if we only make good enough arguments, make the case of why liberation is essential, why we are as worthy as any tech billionare oligarch you would switch to more humane politics. But even I am not that naive. You would have if you were going to.

So we will resist, we will organise, we will cultivate the humanity and tenderness you deem childish and “financially irresponsible”. We will not budge, we will join the struggle of out sibling in the global South. We are strong, we are tender and we will win.

Thank you, my friends, and Free Palestine, Free Congo, Free Sudan! Down with queerphobia, down with racism, down with islamophobia, down with antisemitism, misogyny and capitalism.

I love you all.”