Comments on: Harvey Milk controversy

By: FUSD board rejects Harvey Milk Day resolution | Tri-City Beat

FUSD board rejects Harvey Milk Day resolution | Tri-City Beat — Thu, 27 May 2010 04:27:46 +0000

[...] board was supposed to vote on the resolution two weeks ago, but the issue was tabled, an action which in and of itself upset many in the [...]

By: Harvey Milk continues to make headlines | Tri-City Beat

Harvey Milk continues to make headlines | Tri-City Beat — Fri, 21 May 2010 17:19:49 +0000

[...] week, the Fremont school board tabled a resolution recognizing tomorrow as Harvey Milk Day, in honor of the state’s first [...]

By: Gautam

Gautam — Tue, 18 May 2010 08:11:54 +0000

Very cowardly decision. It is stunning that these board members could not even bring themselves to symbolically support and recognize a civil rights leader. What happens when they are called upon to do something substantive?

By: Jon Simon

Jon Simon — Mon, 17 May 2010 01:36:32 +0000

Marty,

I called nobody a homophobe, racist, or anything else. Nor did I claim to be offended. Reread my posts.

And controversy makes a poor reason for avoiding a vote. They took office to make decisions, not dodge them.

By: VOR

VOR — Sun, 16 May 2010 20:05:24 +0000

Say “Harvey Milk” and do you form a mental picture of Harvey Milk or Sean Penn?

The period of time to be recognized with a movie about your life and your own day of recognition seems to be quite condensed now. Or, maybe that’s just my perception.

By: Marty

Marty — Sun, 16 May 2010 17:14:33 +0000

I think Jon and Mark’s rhetoric is the exact reason the members tabled the symbolic acknowledgement. Too many people treat this issue as you either agreeing with them, or your a bad person, a homophobe, racist, etc.

There are 365 days in a year, and I am not sure Milk is even one of the 365 most significant people in the history of California. I think that if you are offended by this decision, you are choosing to be.

By: Jon Simon

Jon Simon — Sun, 16 May 2010 16:22:21 +0000

Harvey Milk Day has meaning to many people. He is important to California and Bay Area history. Fremont recognizing the day costs pretty much nothing and makes a significant portion (somewhere between 1/10th and 1/20th and their friends and family) of the population feel more included. Now they feel even more excluded. The negative view also harms heterosexuals, from gender role constraints to bullying.

And if you want to get down to the nitty gritty, it’s more about disrespecting women than anything else. Why can a girl wear pants and wrestle but a boy can’t, without social consequences, wear a dress and do color guard?

By: Andrew Cavette

Andrew Cavette — Sun, 16 May 2010 16:07:46 +0000

Only 8 posts until Godwin’s law… well done.

By: Fremont Resident

Fremont Resident — Sun, 16 May 2010 14:43:48 +0000

That’s the way to go Mark, by calling people names, (i.e. ‘homophopes’, ‘Nazi’ [you didn't do that, but same tactic])you are not addressing the issue of a meaningless day. Hell we don’t even think about Lincoln, Washington, Columbus, King on their holidays. Adding one more holiday will not make us suddenly start singing ‘kum bay ya’
You might be right, there could be some resistance because he was gay, but by name calling you short-circuit the real conversation that we are rearranging the deck chairs while our schools sink. It just might be a matter of priorities and the other 90% who are not gay really don’t have time to waste placating those who are easily upset. Thus it might not be ‘homophopes’ but ‘waste of time and money phobes’ who have a more practical agenda.

By: Billy Bob

Billy Bob — Sun, 16 May 2010 05:55:12 +0000

Mei, Wu and Sweeney . Thank you for having the guts to stand up in the face of pink power. Lara was grand standing and Brian um well… I thought so.