..:. Cracking My Vainpot .:..

fitz simmons

Stonewall Riots 40 years

Drag queens & homosexuals vs the Police

June 28, 1969 NYC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots

"We all had a collective feeling like we'd had enough of this kind of shit."

"We weren't going to be walking meekly in the night and letting them shove us around."

"it's like standing your ground for the first time and in a really strong way, and that's what caught the police by surprise."

"There was something in the air, freedom a long time overdue, and we're going to fight for it.

"the bottom line was, we weren't going to go away. And we didn't."

- Michael Fader

The same state that rescued Obama in President 08' has done it again for Marriage Equality and Gay Rights :)

"Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain"

[Des Moines Register]Unanimous ruling: Iowa marriage no longer limited to one man, one woman

"A statute inconsistent with the Iowa Constitution must be declared void, even though it may be supported by strong and deep-seated traditional beliefs and popular opinion." - Cady, Justice

"...the very purpose of limiting the power of the elected branches of government by constitutional provisions like the Equal Protection Clause is “to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts." - Robert H Jackson, Justice

Thank you, Iowa~

Happy Valentine's Day indeed.

I breathe.

I bleed.

I'm made of flesh.

I'm made of bones.

I see.

I hear.

I feel.

I think.

I laugh.

I cry.

I scream.

I shout.

I fall.

I get back up.

I live.

I let live.

I love.

I let love.

I kiss the wrong person.

I kiss the right person.

I make friends.

I make love.

I dream of getting married one day,

... before I die.

When I'm alive, I deserve full equality.

(This is the 1st entry that travels the other way, from my facebook into the blog!)

Martin Luther King Day today. 

I still have his portrait up in my room back in my parents' house.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

But since America, even on the eve of inaugurating Obama, only thinks black & white are equal and that gays don't deserve all civil rights, I need another hero.

I need a gay hero!

What about Milk? Harvey Milk? 

One of the 1st openly gay elected officials in the world? 

The one who told you to come out and fight for your rights?

2008 Thanksgiving. Nationwide premiere of the movie "MILK" in San Francisco neighborhood, Castro, where it all began.

The biopic was released to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the double assassination of supervisor Harvey Milk and mayor George Moscone.

In San Francisco, "MILK" was as popular as "Brokeback Mountain". Go see it if you want to be proud.

It was all part of the the gay-rights movement, of course. Right in the heart of Castro, you'll find a small exhibition "Passionate Struggle" about it's history.

Amongst its exhibits, you'll find the sewing machine that made the first ever rainbow flag...

... and panthlets from early 80s, warning against the mysterious "gay cancer" that eventually wiped out a whole generation of homosexuals.

But the most important pieces, were items from the time of Harvey, like this 1978 slogan T-shirt against "Prop 6", which proposed to mandate the firing of all gay teachers from public schools.

How I wish we still have a figurehead like Harvey, canvassing up and down California to defeat Prop 8.

Harvey Milk's business card.

See the blood stain and bullet holes? Harvey was wearing this suit when he got murdered in the SF City Hall.

But all is not lost. Gay rights have continued to enter people's consciousness.

To commemorate Harvey Milk & George Moscone's assassination, SF Gay Men's Chorus once again sang at the steps of SF City Hall, where Milk famously said "I'm here to recruit you!". Milk's nephew was invited to address the crowd.

As a sign of growth in the LGBT political contingent, we now have more than one representatives running for major offices. 

Kudos to Rafael Mandelman of the Harvey Milk Club, organizer of those commemoration events.

Candle light vigil.

Marching the SF City Hall

down Market Street...

Those who don't need walking aids,

together with those who do...

Hundreds...

Thousands...

Back to Castro, back to Milk's old camera shop, back to where it was ok to be different,

to listen to Harvey, whose words still ring true today.

"Gay brothers and sisters, ...You must come out. 

Come out... to your parents... Come out to your relatives...

Come out to your friends...if indeed they are your friends... 

Come out to your neighbors...to your fellow workers...

But once and for all, break down the myths, destroy the lies and distortions."

If you don't change people you know, how can you change people you don't know?

Come out.

I need a hero, in you!

Yes You Can: BETRAY

[CNN: Choosing Pastor & Liar Rick Warren was a mistake]