Blog
Such a little oddball…
I got an autism diagnosis this spring – which offered me some much-needed clarity into many questions I’ve lived with my whole life.
Why was I so sensitive and easily overstimulated? Why did so many conversations with peers go badly when I was a kid? Why did so many adults in my life seem to think I was too “difficult” to work onstage?
I wrote “Play the Fool” (which will be on the EP I’m in the middle of making) about that weird little girl I was, crying and stimming at concerts, bursting into arias in the middle of art class, and longing to do something that so many other people seemed to think was not possible or wise.
That experience of being different planted the seeds of my investment in social justice, and – when combined with my lived experiences of Jewishness, Latinidad, and femmehood – created the framework through which I began to understand the concept of intersectionality.
This EP I’m going to make with your help is about looking at this period of my life through the lens of all the girls I’ve been, capturing how it feels both personally and politically, and giving it the feel of timelessness.
I’m so grateful for the opportunity to participate in this process. If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll consider joining my other wonderful backers on Kickstarter. 💖
Be Resilient. Be Ready. Be Brave.
I spent the first five weeks of 2020 in Washington, DC trying to get any Republican who would listen to understand that Donald Trump is a danger to us all. Only one (Mitt Romney of Utah) listened.
On February 5, 52 Republicans voted to let Trump off the hook, and look where we are less than two months later: an incompetent, willfully corrupt response to a pandemic that will kill hundreds of thousands if not millions of Americans and as many as 100 million people around the world.
This video is a bicoastal love letter from me and Dragon of The Resistance Company to all of America, especially those brave souls who uprooted our lives, went to DC, and did what we had to do.
I hope you enjoy it. I hope that you’ll share it.
On Twitter:
Republicans stay complicit, whether 45 is inviting foreign election interference or mismanaging a pandemic.
We stay brave.
I made this w/ @resistcompany with ❤️ for #SwarmtheSenate & @Remove_TrumpNow
Full video: https://t.co/PJ4obUO0UR#GeneralStrike #RentStrike #ShutItDown pic.twitter.com/t6GZbMiv4u
— Tae Phoenix 🐝 🔥🩸 🦷 🗽 (@TaePhoenix) April 1, 2020
On Facebook:
On Instagram:
We made musical visits to McConnell’s house and Romney’s office
Dear WordPress friends,
It’s been awhile since I posted on here about my activities in DC, and I apologize for the delay in sharing the news with you all. I update my Twitter feed most frequently, so if you use Twitter and you want to follow me, you can do so at @Taephoenix.
Tomorrow is going to be amazing
Tomorrow is a huge day of action organized by dozens of groups including the Poor People’s Campaign, MoveOn, Women’s March, and Center for Popular Democracy (Action) – as well as our original Remove Trump crew who have been making office visits and staging protests every day since January 6.
Program
9am Volunteer Training – St Mark’s Episcopal (301 A St SE, Washington, DC 20003)
10am Action Training – St Mark’s Episcopal (301 A St SE, Washington, DC 20003)
12pm Action – Hart Senate Office Building Atrium (120 Constitution Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002)
3pm Break
5:30pm – Poor People’s Campaign National Tour Meeting (Facebook event here)
If you want to help make it possible for folks to converge on the Capitol, donate to the Center for Popular Democracy here: http://bit.ly/cpdfightback
Musical visits
On Friday, we paid a visit to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s house. We wrapped his door in crime scene tape and sang to him.
🚨🚨@Remove_TrumpNow went to LEADER MCCONNELL'S home to sing about his CORRUPTION in the Senate. They also brought their CRIME scene tape! #AmericansWantWitnesses pic.twitter.com/wM6hOEqQUq
— Peter Morley (@morethanmySLE) January 25, 2020
🎶🎸
Every law you break
Every oath you fake
Every deal you make
Every step you take
We are watching you
Every single day
Every word you say
All these games you play
With the USA
We are watching you
And I can see your contempt for me
But I’m here to say this is not okay
🎶🎸
Melody & Chords: Sting
Lyrics: Me & The Resistance Company
Video credit: @ker_dc on Twitter – https://twitter.com/ker_dc/status/1220812410405126151
Yesterday, we visited the offices of Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) with a musical message: “we want to see you be brave“… and vote for witnesses and documents.
As we sang, the front office staffers were visibly touched, while Romney’s chief of staff and the rest of his aides stopped their daily all hands and came out into the hall to listen.
We’ve been to many offices in our time, but @TaePhoenix singing Brave in @MittRomney’s might be the all time best! His staff was (rightly) floored Cc: @Remove_TrumpNow @IndivisibleTeam @MarchForTruth17 @by_the_ppl @justinhendrix @ezralevin @Leahgreenb @es_indivisible pic.twitter.com/M2WFE3mJt3
— Indivisible NationBK (@bkindivisible) January 27, 2020
Afterwards, we had a very positive exchange, which you can watch below. Office visits are sometimes a frosty affair, but bringing music to the process has changed the atmosphere on more than one occasion. I’m so proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish with the power of music.
I also want to thank Mason, Khayah, Deanne, Laura, Kristen, Alison, Michael, Kevin, Susan, and Patricia for their financial support of my stay in DC. Their contributions have paid for four additional, much-needed nights in a hotel convenient to the Capitol, which has allowed me to have a place to rest between actions and conserve my limited energy for the work itself.
If you would like to join them in helping me pay for housing, groceries, and transportation, I would very much appreciate your support.
http://paypal.me/taephoenix
Venmo @TaeTaeTVK
CashApp $tvk47
Finally, I want to apologize for an incomplete version of this post that I mistakenly hit publish on before it was ready to go. It has been deleted and replaced with this one.
Love always,
Tae 💖