ME IN NOVEMBER 2008

It
is rare that I don't know what title I am giving a post but I thought
of a few for this one: "If the shoe fits wear it", "Do you really need
Milk?", "Does growing older make one more emotional" and so on, finally
deciding on the title I posted above.

The
first and last time I saw the Oscar award winning--for best actor (Sean
Penn) and best original screenplay (Dustin Lance Black)  was back in
November, 2008, when it opened in theatres. I know I wrote, and posted, a
review of the film giving it a 'must see' rating and I will check that
review out before I post this.

The
movie was on USA Cable  as the start of the celebration of Gay Pride
month. Okay, okay, Right Wingers 'christians' don't leave yet! You will
have plenty of reason to leave in a few minutes! I don't remember being
so emotional watching this film the first time but I certainly went
through a roller coaster of emotions watching it last night. Tears went
running down my face when Milk finds Jack and before when he spoke to
the young man in the wheelchair in Minnesota. I, literally, jumped out
of my chair and yelled "Yeah" when he became the first gay elected
official in San Fransisco! (Now remember I have seen this movie before
and I had seen the award winning documentary "The Times Of Harvey Milk"
and I had read Randy Shilt's book "The Mayor of Castro Street" so I was
familiar with all of this.)

And
then there were the scenes with Anita Bryant and her "Save Our
Children" campaign in Miami to repeal the discrimination against gays
law and  State legislator John Briggs put up Proposition 6 to ban
gays and lesbians (in addition to anyone who supports them) from
working in California's public schools. I just shook my head at the
nonsense they spouted. "Homosexuals have to recruit our children because
they can't reproduce on their own" which has to be one of the stupidest
things EVER said by a politician and people still believe that today!
As Harvey said to Briggs in a televised debate, "I was born to and
raised by heterosexual parents as were all gays. Besides even if a gay
man and a lesbian had a baby---yes, both are capable of having sex
together!--there is no certainty their child will be gay." I cringed at
the words that came out of Bryant's and Briggs' mouths but sadly
reminded myself that there are people whostillsay those things today.

Harvey
believed it was very important for gays to come out and preached it to
gays, begged gays, pointed fingers at gays to come out of the closet so
their parents, friends, relatives, co-workers, everybody would know a
gay person and see who they really are and headway would be made. When
he thanked Bryant for bringing the gays together in order to fight her I
knew just what he meant.

I
didn't recall the subtle conversation where Milk thought Dan White was a
closet case. Ah yes--Dan White--the "Twinkie theory"--wonder if that
has been used since? As Dan killed Harvey Milk, execution style, I
couldn't breathe.  During the last scene when a candlelight vigil held
by thousands for Milk and Moscone throughout the streets of the city
showing some of the actual scenes my tears flowed again for the loss.
Pictures of the actual people depicted in the film along with brief
summaries of their lives ended the movie with actual scenes of Harvey
laughing and enjoying life.

Now
35-40 years later we still have Right Wingers,  'christians', Tea
Partiers, Republicans, etc. babbling the same lies, same
stupidity---just read why they don't want gay boy scout leaders and why
churches are throwing out the BSA organizations and want to start their
own organizations--it is no different than what Briggs and Bryant said
in the 1970s.

I
WISH EVERY YOUNG PERSON, BUT ESPECIALLY TEENAGE GAY PEOPLE, WOULD SEE
THIS FILM AS "MILK" TELLS THEM IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS THAT THERE IS
NOTHING WRONG WITH THEM AND THERE ISN'T!

For those who
might be interested in reading my original review---I just looked it
up--you can see it here!  
https://www.blogster.com/greatmartin/milk-movie-review-a-must-see-movie---and
I still believe it is a must see movie.