Petrelis Files

Secret EQCA Site:
Pelosi's Milk Day Bash

[Update: Geoff Kors of EQCA has shared a reply in the comments section. Check it out below.]

There just is no pleasing that Patrick Connors, self-proclaimed uppity fag putting out damn excellent 411 on the inadequacy and endless money-grubbing of Gay Inc over at the SF Weekly's blog The Snitch.

Today Patrick is on a tear over the official whatevers and everythings in the next few days by Equality California and others, in Harvey's hometown for Milk Day. Take it away, fierce uppity fag! The floor is yours:

As you'd expect, there's lots of stuff happening in San Francisco commemorating the gay icon. What you might not expect is how tame San Francisco's events are compared to other cities in California and around the country.

Outside of S.F., Milk Day is commemorated with public demonstrations like those we watched (a bit too repetitively) in the 2008 film Milk. New York City is honoring Milk's activism by organizing a march to City Hall. Los Angeles will have a week of events touching on various topics as well as hosting a Town Hall meeting, a march, and two rallies. Hell, even in St. Louis, they're marching to City Hall.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco there are no marches planned. [...]

Not to be outdone, Equality California (EQCA) is also participating in the recognition of Harvey Milk Day by throwing a few events to help raise money. For at least $75 per ticket, you can hear Nancy Pelosi, Mark Leno, and Tom Ammiano speak in San Francisco. [...] EQCA is throwing parties all over the state this weekend. This Harvey Milk Day idea is a big opportunity to raise (read: make) money. [...]

Sure, it's about that, but it's also about keeping the gays pacified just enough with the Democrats, through restricted events with our elected officials and giving them photo-ops with EQCA leader Geoff Kors. He's the California version of HRC's Joe Solmonese and as beholden to Democrats first, gay second, as his counterpart at the national level.

I followed Patrick's link to the EQCA events page to get the location of the Pelosi party, and that is secret info, emphasis mine, unless you cough up some gay dollars first:

San Francisco Harvey Milk Celebration with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Kickoff the first annual Harvey Milk Day by helping to elect LGBT candidates and our allies to office. [...]

Location Provided Upon Ticket Purchase

There is no other EQCA listing hiding its location. Just the Pelosi event. I've emailed EQCA's leadership asking why this is so, and if I get a response, it will be posted here.

My activist nose smells something isn't right about all this. It smells of fear on EQCA's part to protect the Speaker of the House from coming under fire at home from her gay constituents. Pelosi has been the target of sit-ins and activists arrested in her Washington and San Francisco offices, and there was a rally and picket of 100 angry gay folks at her district office yesterday.

Frankly, I'm also over the ceaseless narrow EQCA/HRC/Gay Inc focus on electing Democrats who happen to be gay, and our allies who love our votes and dollars but never get around to enacting change for us. If the "elect gays and allies at all costs" strategy is so great, why is there such dissatisfaction in the community?

Those reasons, and a host of others illustrating growing gay community impatience with her and the Democratic Party that just ain't showing us the political capital they're willing to spend on our legislation, are what I believe are a few things keeping the EQCA event with Pelosi close to the vest.

Instead of shielding the Speaker from San Francisco gays, EQCA should be doing everything to use all tactics -- cocktail parties to loud protests -- to persuade our Congressional representative to get fierce for gays.

Finally, if GetEqual activists had no problem purchasing several tickets to a fundraiser in LA last month and zap President Obama, I sure hope they repeat their performance with Speaker Pelosi in her political backyard. EQCA and Pelosi need to hear this message: No more Democratic Party "screwing the gays" as usual business.