Taking a Stand Against the Transphobic TERF Conference in SF, Part 2: Direct Action Street Party

[Video of anti-fascists taking Kearny Street in front of the Hilton, 21 seconds]


In a good example of the separation of protest tactics by time and/or space (see St. Paul Principles), there were actually two separate demonstrations held in front the the Hilton San Francisco on Kearny. The first began at noon and featured a picket line and several speakers addressing transgender rights and transphobia. The second, at 2pm, was a direct action street party that took over the intersection of Kearny and Washington.

As the first protest was wrapping up, masked anti-fascists set up their own sound system and moved into Kearny Street, blocking traffic. It quickly became a street party with music and dancing.

About 45 minutes into the demo, things got tense quickly when a number of police ran in and chased a protester through the crowd after someone hit the main Hilton sign with a hammer a few times. One protester was tackled and arrested. Cops dragged and walked the person a full two blocks away before a cruiser raced up to remove them. It took a line of nearly ten cops to keep back maybe 20 or 30 protesters who followed the arrestee and arresting cops through the streets.

Worth noting that two men who protesters identified as Proud Boys were seen leaving the Hilton. One was wearing their signature black and yellow. The crowd yelled, "Go home, nazis," as they walked away. There was a 1-2pm TERF panel on the supposed "Debate Over Working with the Right," and those two were seen leaving the hotel around 3pm.

The Proud Boys expressed hostility toward the trans rights protesters on their way out, so it's highly unlikely they were rando SF tourists, because not one of the other regular hotel guests did so. The TERFs explicitly said their conference was "women only," so why were two white nationalist men there? Checking out the right-wing panel? Speaking at it? Generally connecting with Kara Dansky and other allies? Perhaps they were providing security for Meghan Murphy and Mary Lou Singleton, two of the "working with the right" panelists, as right-wing men have previously in Austin and elsewhere.

Part 3 of the anti-TERF resistance, at some point between Saturday evening and Sunday morning, was the defacing of a nearby gallery calling itself Acceleration Space, which was hosting a transphobic fake-feminist show timed to open during the WDI conference. Ridiculously, those featured in the show fashion themselves as rebels, "a group of heretical & outspoken artists unbowed by demands to adhere the orthodoxy of the day," as if transphobia is a novel or bold concept. Ever the aggrieved victims as they wage their war on trans folks, Kara Dansky promoted the gallery as "an art space dedicated to exhibiting the work of cancelled female artists." Pity the bigots.

WDI promoted the show on their FAQ page and even scheduled it as an official conference event on Saturday evening. It's unknown whether the show will actually continue to run through October 16 as announced. The location is a "secret" and viewings are invite-only, because these TURDs (er, TERFs) know their hateful ways are worthy of scorn. Effectively, for TERFs, "accelerating the women's liberation movement" means pulling it hard right and aligning with genocidal accelerationists.

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Taking a Stand Against the Transphobic TERF Conference in SF, Part 1: Picket Line and Speakers
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2023/09/22/18859084.php

Taking a Stand Against the Transphobic TERF Conference in SF, Part 1: Video of Speakers
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2023/09/25/18859167.php

TERF Show Vandalized: Trans Autonomy Forever, Part 3
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2023/09/17/18858974.php

Taking a Stand Against the Transphobic TERF Conference in SF, Part 4: City Hall Counter-Protest
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2023/09/24/18859146.php


More about these TERFs:

Warning: Transphobes Kara Dansky and Lierre Keith hosting TERF conference in SF
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2023/08/29/18858594.php

TERFs Told to "Get Out of Oakland!"
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2022/12/07/18853317.php

San Francisco Hits the Streets to Oppose Far-Right Anti-Trans Conference
https://itsgoingdown.org/san-francisco-hits-the-streets-to-oppose-far-right-anti-trans-conference/