Who is Harvey Milk? And What Did Dan White Do?

As you have found out by now, I don’t like to write movie reviews. Movie Mondays are meant to be suggestions. From time to time, I do use the post to discuss a theme that the movie conjures. Or I might make a general comment on the film’s music or editing. I absolutely hate going into the film’s story structure. It just feels wrong to me, doing the film a dishonour. For the same reason, I don’t like telling people what books are about. Just READ it. Just WATCH it. Just FEEL!

That might sound like nonsense. Oh well!

Anyway, who is Harvey Milk? (1930-1978)

He was the first openly gay American politician.
He knew he wouldn’t make it to his 50th birthday.
He was like theatre. He was fabulous – shouting, raging, arms thrown up in ecstasy or anger.
Born Conservative, then melted into the 60s. He came out changed. He started believing that sexuality was to be expressed, and not repressed. He started believing that a person must be themselves genuinely. Hide nothing.
The Castro district, San Francisco, the LGBT community, and many individuals are what they are today in part because of him.
He was assassinated by Dan White, another city supervisor.
Dan White, arguably, had a part of himself that wanted to be like Milk. What about Dan White was suffocated? I’m not necessarily referring to his sexuality, though that may be an issue, too… I’m more referring to his stunted efforts at living as a whole human being. Or lack thereof. And so, whatever it was…something was not right. Dan White could not express himself. He may have felt, in his brokenness, that he was inferior. Not to Milk necessarily, but to everyone. He resorted to a terrible violence.
Milk was unabashedly himself. The fearful and the insecure target these types with their rage and hatred. They can only bear so much of their own self-loathing, until they are forced to push it outwards.
The ones who shine brightest are most often the victims.

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I thought a lot about Prop 8 while watching *Milk*. Prop 8 is a terrible regression. It regresses to a sick ideal of perfection, society, and family.
For shame.
It also relies on a Collective Inferiority Complex & Widespread Self-Loathing.

Keep on Loving. And fighting what hurts us and what keeps us down. Don’t hurt others along the way, if you can help it. Lift others up…the ones who need to be lifted.

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image from Reservoir Blogs.