"If a bullet should enter my brain,
let that bullet destroy every closet door."
Listen up, all you little baby queers. There is a history lesson to be learned. Sit down & watch the remarkable Oscar winning- The Times Of Harvey Milk (1984) & the powerful Oscar winning- Milk (2008) from my good close personal friend- Gus Van Sant.
People told him no openly gay man could win political office. Fortunately, he ignored them. Harvey Milk suspected that emotional trauma was gays' worst enemy, especially for all those in the closet. That made the election of an openly gay person crucial as a symbol. "You gotta give them hope," Milk always said. There was a time when it was impossible for people to imagine a Harvey Milk. Most people, straight & gay, had to adjust to what Harvey Milk epitomized: a gay person can live an honest life & succeed. That revelation continues as the rights of gay people move baby steps forward & then a step backward, with every gay character on TV & film, & with every time the President mentions us, the eventual outcome of full, unequivocal equality becomes unquestionable & necessary .
Harvey Milk would have celebrated his 80th birthday today.
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