Oh. 'Milk' Writer Gets a Clue:
Solmonese Must Go
What a princess this Dustin Lance Black must be on a personal level. I can understand why an Oscar-winning gay writer and power-monger would look down her nose on those of us who have tried for decades to hold HRC to account.
She wants to be seen as the above-it-all artiste not willing to get down in the muck of putting a stop to the Human Rights Campaign money-sucking machine. Fine, there's a place for that b.s. kind of thinking. It's call the Democratic Party plantation.
Earlier this year Black had this to say, when asked by Metro Weekly if he wanted to call out specific leaders:
BLACK: No, not really, because I feel like everyone has their role and people are starting to push harder, so I think we're starting to do better. But I often think it is really dangerous for us to feed on each other. I've seen how [LGBT] people have attacked me, attacked Cleve Jones, attacked the [Prop 8] case -- and I'm not going to turn around and do the same thing to these other organizations. I want to support them. I want these other organizations to do well. I want HRC to succeed. I want Joe Solmonese to be the best leader we've got. I want Equality California to change and grow and do well. So I don't think it's wise to be attacking each other in any situation. We might get into some fights behind closed doors, but that's healthy. That's the way it should be.
Princess, take that damn statuette out of your Mormon butthole, and listen up. The fights we need to wage against HRC have to be waged out in the open, not in the closet. That elitist, save-face at all costs, Hollywood homo way of thinking is part of what drives the rancid HRC money train for Democrats.
Now, in response to HRC invading in on his Harvey territory, he tells the Bay Area Reporter he's seen the light:
The announcement, said Black, has caused him to reverse his policy of not publicly attacking HRC and to openly call for Solmonese's resignation. [...]
"We have got to figure out how to use this to create some sort of positive change. If we can't kick HRC out of Harvey's camera store then we need to change HRC so it is an organization we are proud to have in there. That is going to take a lot of change in leadership at the very top. I have never said that before, but now, it is clearer than ever," said Black. "HRC is not the gay and lesbian activist organization we need to win right now. Joe Solmonese is clearly no Harvey Milk."
And Lance, you did the movement no favors with your silence regarding Solmonese and his org. That positive change you want is ever farther from our reach because "good gays" like you remain mute and you think dealing with HRC behind closed is healthy. It's not. Welcome to the HRC Sucks Club.
Over the years, I have tried to join different gay non-profits... and found too many had hidden or not so hidden agendas. So I became a one man Army fighting for gay and equal rights. Ironically, I have been stung by gay organizations who used my Harvey Milk image without permission.Often I granted non- profits use without charge. A month ago, I received an email from the HRC asking if I would grant them permission to use my Iconic Milk image in their new Castro Street location. Right off the bat, I said I was disappointed in the HRC for many reasons, first for never
ReplyDeleteanswering my offer making available my images from the 1970's S.F early gay rights Movement.Then for having too many black tie events that priced out students and seniors, and of course when they did not include trans-gender in their campaign for rights. However, I really would like to see my image
in the old location of Harvey's store. It's better to have them, then a franchise coffee shop, or even an x-rated book store. I am in negotiations with them... and do not feel like I am a hypocrite by making my "Milk" image available to them. Over the years, I have not seen people take on the bar at 18th & Castro that call's it self Harvey's. The owner was Harvey Milk's landlord at the 575 landmark location, and raised Harvey's rent so high, he had to move to another location. That owner was also the landlord of the Elephant Walk Bar, and forced them out of business when they raised their rent from $6,000 to 12,000 a month. Paul Langley, the landlord took over the Elephant Walk, and had the Chutzpah to change the name to Harvey's in the early 1980s. Paul asked me to sell him some photos then, but I refused, because I knew the real story of him causing Harvey and the EW out of business. However, I prefer that the HRC move into 575 Castro, then just another retail outlet. I believe, by being associated with them... that I can
help them understand, that location was a vital link in the early gay rights movement, and I was part of it by osmosis. I used to display my images in a Castro St. bakery, that is located just steps away from today's Harvey Milk Plaza. My image is part of 7 images that celebrate Harvey's life, on display there. I have the feeling, in time that the HRC will create that old time feeling that came out of Harvey's store in the 1970's. Even with their mistakes, they can be important to the future, by being there. We all have made mistakes, and learned from them, and I believe that the HRC will atone for them. I support their new location
at 575 Castro Street.
I have been told that I was mistaken about Paul Langley. He was not Harvey's landlord, and it was Herth Reality. I apologize for that mistake. However, regarding the Elephant Walk Bar... that is fact.
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