Corrupt Dyke Cop Controls SF
Prop 8 Street Demonstration
(Lt. Lea Militello co-opting Kip Williams and his group, One Struggle One Fight.)As the highly controlled oh-so-civil and obedient disobedience sit-in wore on, and on, it was very obvious the organizers of the action were tightly under the thumbs of the SF police force. According to a Twitter post:
"Every officer here is LGBT, says Lt. Lea Militello. Also folks in crowd are buying and bringing us water. This is community."No, to me, it is most certainly not community when a corrupt SF police officer, who just happens to be a dyke, has co-opted the anger and a lot of the political will of LGBT persons hitting the streets for liberation.
Lt. Militello ran the entire show at Van Ness and Grove, probably letting the protesters sit for almost ninety-minutes on the hot pavement, to drive down the numbers of people risking arrest, and standing on the sidelines.
At 11:30 AM, an old buddy from ACT UP/NYC days, Steven Crouch, along with some Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and others, all of us not-sitting-in in the street, starting chanting: "Let's go to Market Street!"
We were scratching heads wondering why the hell the folks risking arrest, were complacent and just, um, sitting there. The non-action before us, was bad political masturbation. If they were so committed to getting arrested, why didn't they get off their scorched butts and march elsewhere, and engage in civic disobedience?
Worse, it was with the consent of the cops. Ugh. I prefer my queer liberation un-coopted and un-controlled by the police, and especially by a corrupt dyke officer.
Sure, make plans, at arms-length, with the law enforcement officials, but don't let them control any queer street activism, and there is no doubt today's SF action was in the vise-grip of the cops.
As a former member of ACT UP/Golden Gate who was there but not arrested, I also wondered why the protest stopped on Van Ness Avenue. It was too easy for the police to reroute traffic around us. I think the SFPD simply gave us our photo-op and let everyone wear themselves out.
ReplyDeleteI had an interesting encounter with Lea Militello during the protest. After she overheard me describing her to my partner as the lesbian cop who helped prosecute Queer Nation members during the early 1990s, she came over, touched me on the shoulder, and tried to get my partner to identify herself. After that, I got a lot more attention from the SFPD. As I my appearance (and gender) are markedly different from when I was with ACT UP/GG, I'm unsure whether she recognized me or merely resented having her past vis-a-vis Queer Nation and the (pre-Bellefountaine/Pasquerelli/Peterelis) ACT UP/SF pointed out.
I heard you were being an obnoxious pain in the ass down at Grove and Van Ness this morning. Good for you. The "civil disobedience" there was fairly absurd.
ReplyDeletethanks, anonymous, for reminding us of how lea militello has used her links in the community to destroy activism and those who practice it.
ReplyDeletevery disturbing to see the younger generation like kip williams already co-opted by corrupt lea. kip and crew really need a history lesson on SF PD putting their needs first.
and SFMIKE, yeah, i was over the performance art of the protest at van ness and grove. it was so orchestrated it was like a symphony.
thanks for speaking up.
Ok so I am just a gay friendly mother of 3 in the burbs and I was scratching my head over the "protests" too and now I am getting a clearer picture. This is bullshit! If somebody took away my right to marry the father of my children I would not sit calmy on a hot sidewalk. I am extremely disappointed.
ReplyDelete