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“If a Bullet Should Enter My Brain,
Let That Bullet Destroy Every Closet Door in the Country.”
So, a bunch of our gay OC citizens have been trying to get the Board of Supervisors to declare May 20 Harvey Milk Day in this county – something that wouldn’t cost us anything but would mean a lot to our gay OC citizens (and the rest of us who care about equality and diversity.) They’re not getting much response though – these five bozos on the Board seem to generally subscribe, or pretend to subscribe, to some sort of outdated school of Christianity – the stick-up-the-ass kind which condemns homosexuality as both icky and damnable. You might think Shawn would be a little hipper, but I haven’t really noticed my cousin get near to any sort of controversy since joining the Board.
But the question, as posed in the title, should be addressed: Why did Janet Nguyen leave the dais so abruptly for twenty minutes in the midst of these comments? Was it a gesture of homophobic disgust, as was the impression of the Weekly‘s Matt Coker, as well as the gay blog Queerty, which went on to theorize that she was phoning her girlfriend or something? Not at all, according to my good friend, Huntington Beach Councilman Joe Shaw, who is the county’s only openly gay elected official, it wasn’t quite that bad. Janet, who’s recently given birth, just had to go breast-feed her baby. And that seems entirely appropriate, as – alone among the surly supes – she had Milk on her Mind.
God, did I write that? I’d better leave you with a grownup: Here are Joe’s comments to the Board –
Good morning supervisors,
My name is Joe Shaw and I am a Huntington Beach city Councilman. I come to speak to you today about Harvey Milk Day, celebrated on May 20.
When I first moved to Huntington Beach with my partner eight years ago, we opened a business downtown and at once we were warmly embraced by the people of downtown Huntington Beach, our customers and people from all over the city. I have always been grateful for the friendly people in Huntington Beach and how they accepted my partner and I unconditionally and without judgment. I looked at my beautiful city and its wonderful people and knew I had found a new home.
In November, it didn’t matter to the voters of Huntington Beach that I am openly gay, because they know I share their values: hard work, a sense of community and the spirit of involvement that have built our great city.
Now I’m the only openly gay elected official in Orange County, and I acknowledge that because I know it makes a difference in many people’s lives to know that this is possible in Huntington Beach and in Orange County. LGBT families share the same values as the rest of the families in our city and county.
40 years ago, that’s how Harvey Milk lived his life: he believed that if LGBT people would simply proclaim their identity to their family, friends and neighbors, it would cause a sea change in the way people perceive us. And he was right.
That’s why I’m here today. I ask you to officially recognize Harvey Milk Day. In a county so beautiful and diverse, please let our LGBT families know that we appreciate and support their presence in our communities. It will mean a lot to the thousands of LGBT people who, like many of us, volunteer in their schools and community and who give so much back to the county they live in.
Thanks so much for your consideration.
Anyways, as Coker wrote last week, “With or without the official blessing of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, a Harvey Milk Day celebration will he held Friday, May 20, at French Plaza in downtown Santa Ana. A pre-show begins at 5 p.m., the main event starts at 7 p.m. and birthday cake will be shared at 8:30 p.m. The committee claims 24 organizations and businesses are sponsoring the event.”
Bravo Joe Shaw!
Wow Vern, this is pretty bad. You have an innocent account of why Janet left the dais from someone who appears to be on your side, yet you still use that headline to make it seem like she couldn’t even sit in the room while discussing the proposal. So, the information about Janet was totally irrelevant to the article and, even though the milk quip is good, it has no business in the article (I hope that’s not the reason you put it in there). Lame attempt to attack Janet. Doesn’t she do enough you don’t like that you don’t have to make stuff up?
Janet did NOT get attacked in my piece, we still hope she might do the right thing. The question in the title was obviously answered NEGATIVELY, and was a question that the OC Weekly and Queerty already posed to thousands of readers, some of whom contacted me asking why we didn’t look into it … so I did Janet a favor here, AND made a lactation joke, AND provided a forum for all of you to read Joe Shaw’s eloquent speech!
Meanwhile the French Plaza celebration this Friday mentioned in the final paragraph above has blossomed into a full-fledged Street Fair, I quote from one of the organizers:
“20 hours agoArcher Boinkevents
This Friday!I can’t believe how OC Harvey Milk Day has grown into a street fair! The entertainment line-up is great and Downtown Inc. has restaurants, shops and parking ready to for us.
We (the volunteers that got together and created this) are proud of the celebration and extremely proud that it is FREE to everyone. Be sure to support our sponsors. They are supporting the LGBT community and continueing Harvey’s message of HOPE!
INVITES YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY and COWORKERS!
See You Friday!
Archer
Co-cChair, OC Harvey Milk Celebration”
My job done well here, I am moving on… see you Friday! – Vern
I think it’s funny everyone with sticks up their ass are so ready to take offense for Janet’s “milk run”. Maybe this once her behavior wasn’t calculated and biased. The letdown reflex is a normal human function and she had to follow what Mother Nature dictated. Good job Vern, for finding out about this story from a reliable source. The irony was not lost on ME!
Again – too much time on the the Editor’s hands – of all the economic troubles the left wing has got us into he has to be worried about and continually espousing and attacking people who are trying to bring us out of this conditlon. This is all part and parcel of left-wing bs. Vern Nelson Sr.
Dad, I often wonder how carefully you read, or if you ever get past the first sentence or two when you read my articles. That’s the only way to know what someone’s really saying. And there’s nothing left-wing or right-wing about this issue.