I have never been so desperate to see a film as I was to see Milk. I remember first seeing the poster for it while going to see Choke and literally counting the days until it opened here.
Harvey Milk has been a personal hero of mine since first hearing about him in a Dead Kennedys song as a teenager and then further researching him. Harvey Milk "The Mayor of Castro Street" was the first openly gay politician to be elected to public office in the U.S. He served only 11 months before both he and San Francisco mayor George Moscone were assassinated by former City Supervisor Dan White, who later infamously claimed he had diminished mental capacity as a result of depression evidenced by his diet of Twinkies and sugary foods. According to his attorney this junk food diet actually worsen his depression leading him to commit the murders and in the process creating the biggest bullshit next to "Trickle Down Economics" also known as the "Twinkies Defense." So persuasive their argument was White's double homicide charge was reduced to mere manslaughter with him only serving five years in prison.
The film follows Milk's initially unsuccessful attempts running for city supervisor and also documents the cultural upheaval and fledgling gay rights movement in the late seventies. The film centers around Proposition 6, legislation that would have made the firing of gay teachers mandatory arguing they would sexually abuse children and/or recruit them into a deviant homosexual lifestyle. Harvey was instrumental in mobilizing the opposition against Prop 6. He gave a speech in 1978 on gay pride day urging others to come out saying:
I ask my gay sisters and brothers to make the commitment to fight. For themselves, for their freedom, for their country ... We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets ... We are coming out to fight the lies, the myths, the distortions. We are coming out to tell the truths about gays, for I am tired of the conspiracy of silence, so I'm going to talk about it. And I want you to talk about it. You must come out. Come out to your parents, your relatives
The passing of Prop 8 this year signifies to what an extent the fight continues. Whether it is called Prop 6 or 8 this type of discriminatory legislation serves no purpose other than to diminish the civil rights of a group based on bigotry, distortions, and ignorance. I have yet to hear a persuasive argument on how same sex marriage threatens the institution of marriage and society as a whole. I was really inspired by Milk's speech and couldn't agree more that visibility is essential in achieving equality and the first step to changing people's opinions. I have friends and family members who read this blog and make homophobic comments to me and have no idea that I experimented with my sexuality and am sickened by the things they say. I sit quietly listening, before quickly changing the subject feeling so hurt thinking this person who is part of my life wouldn't love me or view me the same if they knew one detail of who I am. I quit my last job, because a few of the people I thought I could confide in, including managers made jokes about me liking "the sausage and the taco" and when women would pass by would say things like "I bet you would probably have sex with her." I grew disgusted of my sexuality being a mockery. I no longer care about what anyone thinks of me and my choices. I truly believe the people who really love you will stand by you regardless. I am proud of my capacity to love people and not gender and will no longer be made to feel ashamed. It is not only time to come out of the closet, it's time to burn those bitches down.
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