Got Milk?

Yesterday I was basking in the glory of being alone with no one to interrupt my solitude when I decided I needed a good movie to complete the effect. I had watched a couple of fantasy and romantic comedies and was in the mood for something with a little more substance when I came across the movie Milk. It is the true story of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk who started off as a gay rights activist.

I love historically based movies; especially autobiographical movies. There is something about watching the past play out that give you a certain perspective. I know these movies are not always accurate, but it is that tone and the intent that opens your eyes and makes you want to learn more. Milk is no exception. This movie touched me. I think what struck me more than anything was the moment in the movie where Anita Bryant was talking to a group of her supporters and in this hate speech she made the comment that there are “evils in this world masquerading as something good…”

As A heterosexual Christian woman with a child there was nothing more asinine than that comment coming out of her mouth. All I could think was that she is exactly right, but she doesn’t realize the evil masquerading as good was her. I understand there is fundamental disagreement between the some Christians and the lifestyle of homosexuals, but I was under there impression that faith and relationship with God is personal. Maybe I was confused because I thought Jesus was love.

The older I get the less I understand intolerance. No one seems to understand when we make it easy to take the rights away from group the easier it becomes to decimate more and more groups until there is so much intolerance there is no one left. Evils like this create a hate that grows without bounds. God never meant for us to hate each other and he never made it our job to decide who got into heaven or was sent to hell. Oddly enough Ms. Bryant learned the hard way that bigotry and religious fanaticism comes back to bite you in the ass when life steps in. It seems she was in an abusive marriage and was all but disowned by the church she spent so much time protecting from gay people when she decided she needed to divorce her husband. Her endorsements dried up and she was uninvited from the Christian events she used to headline. Funny how hate works. (Read more here)

I know that sometimes I live in a world of idealistic utopia, but it is my sincere prayer that when someone like Mr. Milk is assassinated we learn to be more tolerant. Deaths like that should never be glossed over or discounted. He lived, he loved and he fought for tolerance. This is the definition of a hero. (Learn more about Harvey Milk here.)