Tyronne
Tash Jayasinghe
Cibbuano
Harvey Milk – A Candidate Ahead of the Curve
September 4th 2008 06:59
Harvey Milk - A Brief Encounter
Harvey Milk for his community
Born in 1930 Harvey Milk was the first openly homosexual politician to be elected to any “substantial” office in the United States. Both Milk and the open minded Mayor of San Francisco George Moscone were assassinated in 1978 by a disgruntled former city supervisor named Dan White. In a much debated taped confession White tearfully said his motivation for the shooting was that both the Mayor and Harvey refused to take him back after his resignation.
Harvey Milk plays the game
Dan White’s trial was highly publicised and the subsequent verdict of manslaughter instead of murder was reached amongst other things because the defence argued that White had been gorging on junk food before the incident. (Known as the “Twinkie Defence) The controversial sentence of less than 8 years in prison triggered public riots and also a redefining of the diminished capacity plea.
The time seems appropriate to revisit this often dismissed slice of vintage culture that began a civil rights movement that is still battling for recognition to this day. Why? Because ever since his death Milk has become a gay icon who died for his lifestyle choice and now the former Navy Man, turned teacher come Wall Street Entrepreneur has a film coming out.
Harvey Milk as leader
A compendium to go along with the 1984 Oscar winning documentary “The Times of Harvey Milk” this latest effort titled “Milk” stars Sean Penn as Milk and former Goonie Josh Brolin as the man who kills him.
Sean Penn as Milk
Director Gus Van Sant’s movie traces his rising presence in the gay community of San Francisco where he became known as the “Mayor of Castro Street” through to his failed attempts at running for office and his high profile fights for gay rights.
Click HERE to watch the first 10 minutes of the Academy Award winning Documentary “The Times of Harvey Milk” narrated by Harvey Firestein.
Here is the trailer for Gus Van Sant’s Milk
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