got milk

Today I had a much needed day off at the end of a tumultuous month in which we saw the beginning of a much needed new day for the Presidency and our international reputation, a severe setback at the hands of the forces of bigotry and oppression, and a wave of optimism and power as our forces take to the streets and demand our civil rights.

On this World AIDS day, I took myself to see Milk, about the life and times of the greatest gay politician we have yet seen. And the parallels to our time are as stunning as the film itself. It is a must see for everyone who has a piece of this struggle.

A deeply moving and indescribably amazing film, we watch this seemingly irrepressible man try again and again to find a place at the table for his gay and lesbian people. We see a striking similarity with the utterly evil Proposition 6, which would have compelled school districts to fire gay teachers. In what could only be described as a triumph of common sense, Proposition 6 went down to defeat. And I strongly suspect that if we had a focused leader such as Harvey Milk in our presence today, Proposition 8 would have failed as well. In fact, if this film had opened a month before the election instead of a month after, it might have made the difference.

In his own words, spoken at his memorial by Anne Kronenberg:

I can be killed with ease.
I can be cut right down.
But I cannot fall back into my closet.
I have grown.
I am not myself.
I am too many.
I am all of us.

And here is a tribute by Sean Chapin to Harvey Milk and George Moscone on the thirtieth anniversary of their tragic loss:



Read more about Sean's tribute here.