California lawmakers pass bill to teach gay history

[Ed Anger]

Nobody cares about Harvey Milk here either.

[Neil]

The problem with America is that it is a world's only dominant culture. So why a person like MLK, or Harvey Milk or Rosa Parks had only a national impact in a direct sense, people all over the world (or at least in Europe and America) continue to be inspired by their examples. This may not be fair but this is reality.

Harvey Milk had a national impact?  I wager that most people in the US had never heard of him until the movie came out.  Sort of like you, I suppose.

[garbon]

The problem with America is that it is a world's only dominant culture. So why a person like MLK, or Harvey Milk or Rosa Parks had only a national impact in a direct sense, people all over the world (or at least in Europe and America) continue to be inspired by their examples. This may not be fair but this is reality.

Harvey Milk had a national impact?  I wager that most people in the US had never heard of him until the movie came out.  Sort of like you, I suppose.

I'd agree that the Twinkie defense had more impact than Harvey Milk.

[Martinus]

CC, you are right about noone knowing about Milk before the movie - but that's my point. They know now. An openly gay politician was elected to the Warsaw city council during the elections last year - and of course everybody called him the "Polish Milk". All I'm saying is that American history has an over-exposure due to American culture (mainly, movies) being dominant.

[Neil]

So you're not really talking about Milk's impact, but Sean Penn's impact.

[Martinus]

The problem with America is that it is a world's only dominant culture. So why a person like MLK, or Harvey Milk or Rosa Parks had only a national impact in a direct sense, people all over the world (or at least in Europe and America) continue to be inspired by their examples. This may not be fair but this is reality.

Harvey Milk had a national impact?  I wager that most people in the US had never heard of him until the movie came out.  Sort of like you, I suppose.

No disagreement there. That's the beauty of the collective consciousness. Once you put something in it, it seems as if it has always been there. And history can only be appreciate as a cohesive narrative in retrospect. Milk is now a part of the same narrative as Stonewall, the AIDS crisis, prop eight and New York gay marriage. And it is inspiring people around the world.

[Martinus]

So you're not really talking about Milk's impact, but Sean Penn's impact.

Does it matter anymore?

[The Brain]

But Milk wasn't heroic which makes it a moot point.

[garbon]

But Milk wasn't heroic which makes it a moot point.

But was he inspirational?  He did give his life in the course of his duties.

[The Brain]

But Milk wasn't heroic which makes it a moot point.

But was he inspirational?  He did give his life in the course of his duties.

I don't know. I never got Milk.

[garbon]

But Milk wasn't heroic which makes it a moot point.

But was he inspirational?  He did give his life in the course of his duties.

I don't know. I never got Milk.

I drink milk almost every day.

[Neil]

The problem with America is that it is a world's only dominant culture. So why a person like MLK, or Harvey Milk or Rosa Parks had only a national impact in a direct sense, people all over the world (or at least in Europe and America) continue to be inspired by their examples. This may not be fair but this is reality.

Harvey Milk had a national impact?  I wager that most people in the US had never heard of him until the movie came out.  Sort of like you, I suppose.

No disagreement there. That's the beauty of the collective consciousness. Once you put something in it, it seems as if it has always been there. And history can only be appreciate as a cohesive narrative in retrospect. Milk is now a part of the same narrative as Stonewall, the AIDS crisis, prop eight and New York gay marriage. And it is inspiring people around the world.

But it's not really there, is my point.  If you're not a heterophobe, you're not really paying attention to the narrative, and things like Milk and Stonewall remain minor events that gay people talk about, but you don't really pay attention to.

As for AIDS, well that was bigger than gays, and really still is.

[derspiess]

The problem with America is that it is a world's only dominant culture. So why a person like MLK, or Harvey Milk or Rosa Parks had only a national impact in a direct sense, people all over the world (or at least in Europe and America) continue to be inspired by their examples. This may not be fair but this is reality.

Harvey Milk had a national impact?  I wager that most people in the US had never heard of him until the movie came out.  Sort of like you, I suppose.

I never heard of him until NYC opened that school for 'gay children' and named it after him. 

[The Brain]

The only thing I know about Milk is that he's an annoying holier-than-thou douche.

[garbon]

But it's not really there, is my point.  If you're not a heterophobe, you're not really paying attention to the narrative, and things like Milk and Stonewall remain minor events that gay people talk about, but you don't really pay attention to.

I'm not a heterophobe but I think Stonewall was a landmark event for gays and somewhat for straights as that marks when you had to start dealing with gays all unfettered and out & about.

As for AIDS, well that was bigger than gays, and really still is.