Petrelis Files

SF Won't Fly NY Flag
This Weekend Honoring Gay Marriages

(The flag that will not fly on Saturday and Sunday in Harvey Milk Plaza.)

On Monday, Matthew Bajko of the Bay Area Reporter wrote a blog post about the unanimous approval by the Merchants of Upper Market/Castro to fly a New York flag donated by Sen. Tom Duane, the day before that state begins gay marriages.

The New York flag was to blow in the wind on the rainbow flagpole at Harvey Milk Plaza, which is public property but ruled over by MUMC, but the merchants didn't do a test run or check all the equipment needs before giving their approval.

After pushing MUMC to cooperate with activists on a test hoist, MUMC on Tuesday finally got around to looking at the pole's rope, without activists present, and discovered there supposedly were not enough grommets to fly the New York flag. Why they waited so long to do basic preparation is just one more instance of irresponsibility on MUMC's part.

I can no longer organize the action for Saturday because the unelected Mayor of Castro Street, Steve Adams, the president of MUMC, has used a political litmus test, communication restrictions, intransigence against cooperating on a test run, hindering and hampering activists at every step of the process.

If New York's extremely dysfunctional state government can legalize gay marriage, it should be a piece of cake for gays in the Castro to simply fly an Empire State flag at the public plaza named for the man from Woodmere, New York - Harvey Milk.

In heaven, Harvey weeps that his adopted hometown, thanks to the petty, vindictive, uncooperative control queens of the private MUMC group, won't be flying the New York flag this weekend in the heart of Gay Mecca.

Regrettably, I am abandoning plans for a noon action at Milk Plaza on Saturday because of myriad unnecessary barriers erected by Adams and MUMC. If they change their minds and attitude, and want to work together to honor New York starting gay marriages this weekend, I remain open to that slim possibility.

Let's hope the city of San Francisco one day soon retakes full possession of the flag pole and puts the control of it with people more responsible and flexible than the MUMC leaders.