Thank you Andy. Community is the powerful tool and resource in our arsenal. Its time that we remembered that and here at Lady LiberTea we will be keeping those memories burning brightly.
Just getting caught up on my reading.... and, yes.
One of my favorite lines from this post, "We have to stop assuming bad faith. We must meet people where they are—and guide them where we need them to be."
With any social movement for progress, this is so important. Many "would be" supporters and advocates are in the learning process. Patience and kindness will help allies get to where they need to be.
Lady Libertea, your words sing with clarity, courage, and rhythm. Reading this felt less like an essay and more like stepping into a sacred procession—one that honors where we’ve come from and refuses to back down from where we still need to go.
What moved me especially was the invitation to reframe.
Sometimes it’s not about simplifying the message but returning it to its roots—to the truths that resonate across identity, across labels, across the exhaustion of debating our own existence. I’ve witnessed firsthand how the removal of compartmentalization and comparison can make entire systems of care suddenly accessible to those previously excluded. Not by creating new rights—but by restoring what should have always been shared.
When we stop asking who fits the category,
and start asking who needs care,
the world begins to open.
Your manifesto reminds me that messaging isn’t just strategy—it’s soul work. It’s choosing which words we build the next world with. And you’ve chosen with such grace.
Thank you for building an aviary large enough for all our firebirds.
Thank you for making space at the table without lowering the candlelight.
I’ll be there, wings singed yet lifted, listening.
An activist who inspires me greatly is Alexandra Billings. She was arrested for being trans, she saw most of her friends die from AIDS, and then she herself was diagnosed. 35 later she continues to use her platform and her voice even though it's shaking in the face of trans criminalization, hatred, and erasure. Her fierce courage and gentleness was a factor in my decision to finally bring my writing to Substack. Exactly as you said, I believe firmly that we have to be letting people know us in all our complexity; otherwise we are doomed. Thank you, as always, for your bold writing. Your presence here encourages me.
Thank you for your kind words and for pointing me toward another Firebird. Billings certainly deserves mention and I can't wait to raise her voice in writing. I am so glad she influenced you to write and to join this space. Thank you for using your voice to amplify my own.
Thank you for the challenge, I think I have one posted now that will work. I just tagged you in it so you can easily find it. Edit as you need, I also included a link to the original post. I so appreciate you reading my words today and throughout this series, and I am glad to know that this section spoke to you, it was one of the hardest to get the tone right for and hearing from a reader that they want to restack it makes me feel like I got it right.
I am honored truly. I had started this piece before I wrote the first tribute and have just slowly been editing and shifting. I knew I wanted it to fall on July 4th in part to commemorate some of those first Pride events. I am happy to know it resonated with you and I hope it was a worthy addition to that history.
The community lesson really is the one that resonated with me in this series. THANK YOU for sharing (and reminding).... *Onward.
Thank you Andy. Community is the powerful tool and resource in our arsenal. Its time that we remembered that and here at Lady LiberTea we will be keeping those memories burning brightly.
Onward ever onward
Thats the spirit Andrea! May you have a Happy Fourth and together may we keep the flames of our firebirds shining all year—high, proud, and fierce.
Just getting caught up on my reading.... and, yes.
One of my favorite lines from this post, "We have to stop assuming bad faith. We must meet people where they are—and guide them where we need them to be."
With any social movement for progress, this is so important. Many "would be" supporters and advocates are in the learning process. Patience and kindness will help allies get to where they need to be.
Lady Libertea, your words sing with clarity, courage, and rhythm. Reading this felt less like an essay and more like stepping into a sacred procession—one that honors where we’ve come from and refuses to back down from where we still need to go.
What moved me especially was the invitation to reframe.
Sometimes it’s not about simplifying the message but returning it to its roots—to the truths that resonate across identity, across labels, across the exhaustion of debating our own existence. I’ve witnessed firsthand how the removal of compartmentalization and comparison can make entire systems of care suddenly accessible to those previously excluded. Not by creating new rights—but by restoring what should have always been shared.
When we stop asking who fits the category,
and start asking who needs care,
the world begins to open.
Your manifesto reminds me that messaging isn’t just strategy—it’s soul work. It’s choosing which words we build the next world with. And you’ve chosen with such grace.
Thank you for building an aviary large enough for all our firebirds.
Thank you for making space at the table without lowering the candlelight.
I’ll be there, wings singed yet lifted, listening.
💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
I love this fire, and I'm with you.
An activist who inspires me greatly is Alexandra Billings. She was arrested for being trans, she saw most of her friends die from AIDS, and then she herself was diagnosed. 35 later she continues to use her platform and her voice even though it's shaking in the face of trans criminalization, hatred, and erasure. Her fierce courage and gentleness was a factor in my decision to finally bring my writing to Substack. Exactly as you said, I believe firmly that we have to be letting people know us in all our complexity; otherwise we are doomed. Thank you, as always, for your bold writing. Your presence here encourages me.
Thank you for your kind words and for pointing me toward another Firebird. Billings certainly deserves mention and I can't wait to raise her voice in writing. I am so glad she influenced you to write and to join this space. Thank you for using your voice to amplify my own.
Your reframed argument in the "Messaging" section is brilliant. Can you distill it into a note so we can restack?
Thank you for the challenge, I think I have one posted now that will work. I just tagged you in it so you can easily find it. Edit as you need, I also included a link to the original post. I so appreciate you reading my words today and throughout this series, and I am glad to know that this section spoke to you, it was one of the hardest to get the tone right for and hearing from a reader that they want to restack it makes me feel like I got it right.
This looks great- just restacked it! Your post really spoke to me. Thanks for doing this work!
I am honored truly. I had started this piece before I wrote the first tribute and have just slowly been editing and shifting. I knew I wanted it to fall on July 4th in part to commemorate some of those first Pride events. I am happy to know it resonated with you and I hope it was a worthy addition to that history.