Being Thankful

Today is Thanksgiving Day.

Many of us wonder what we have to be thankful for. We are at war, despite what our President says. American lives are being lost everyday in Iraq. We are spending money and running up a deficit like there's no tomorrow without regard to how this will effect the next generation.

Instead of building bridges and coalitions to bring people together, our current government will take whatever side will win the most votes, no matter what the cost. We are an unpopular minority, and they are using that against us. But time is not on their side.

This has been an incredible year for gay, lesbian, and transgendered individuals. We have had more favorable media attention paid to our population than any other time in U.S. history. We have seen more gay programming being presented on pay cable channels for the first time. Last night, I noticed that channel 4 had Queer Eye for the Straight Guy on. This is a non-paid channel that anyone can get. There were no announcements of it and no fanfare. It was completely uncensored. Although I have my own feelings about the show, it is a statement of accomplishment that mainstream media is showing five openly gay people doing what they do. This is huge.

We have seen the appointment of the first openly gay Episcopal Bishop, who openly embraces the love he has for his partner. The church claims to be in a state of destruction. They too will go on and in time, will realize that so much more can be gained by embracing diversity rather than adversity.

With the rise of all of this attention, we have brought attention to ourselves. This is good and bad.

The good is that people will see that we are just like they are. We pay taxes, we have children, we fear the same things, we want to be safe in our neighborhoods, we want to have equality in our relationships, and we want the same legal protections that others enjoy. Eventually, this will happen.

The bad is being a target for those who would hurt us; politically, emotionally, and physically. We have seen violence against our community rise at an alarming rate. We have seen the escalation of violence against gay youth in our schools.

But we have also seen an increased effort to counter the hate and violence against our community with the arrests and prosecution of those who commit violence against us. More and more these crimes are being taken seriously by law enforcement and not being swept under the carpet. We are seeing more communities adopt hate crime legislation and using it whenever possible.

I am thankful for a lot of things. I am thankful that through everything that I've seen and experienced, I'm here, and I'm still alive to talk about life. Today marks the 25th anniversary of the assassination of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone.

I remember crying when I heard the news. I remember marching with thousands of people from Castro Street in San Francisco to City Hall, in total silence. We were all holding candles. Dan White had been charged with the crime and had been arrested. Once we got to City Hall, there were speakers one after the other. I don't remember all that was said. I remember a lot of tears. It was surreal. I remember crying once again when I saw the San Francisco Chronicle the next day. In very large letters, were the words, "THE CITY WEEPS". Under it was a large picture of the march to City Hall. I'll never forget that. It's still etched in my mind.

I remember thinking, we've got to remember this and never forget it. It saddens me that so many young gay people don't even know who Harvey Milk was. They've probably heard of the Harvey Milk High School, through the media coverage, but they have no idea the part he played in the freedom they have today. So, I take this opportunity to remember Harvey Milk and George Moscone.

San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk

Mayor George Moscone (right) and Supervisor Harvey Milk (left) in the mayor's office during the signing of San Francisco's gay rights bill. Associated Press Photo, 1977

San Francisco remembers...
Gay community reflects on anniversary of official's murder