NO CLUE I was in high school when Harvey Milk was assassinated. I have a basic recollection of the story of his death but no vivid vignette to relay, no poignant memory of some profound teenage epiphany relating to my eventual enlightenment or acceptance of my sexuality. I do remember Anita Bryant, Miami connection and all …. I remember my lip curled at the thought of how she was terribly uncool and so out of touch but nevertheless oddly – disturbingly – attractive. Sigh. Such is a budding lesbo’s curse (you know, that one where you’re terminally hooked on the fundamentalist preacher’s daughter or the uptight accounting major whose mother is active in all your small town’s pro-life causes). I was so clueless as to the politics of the life that was freight-training toward me no matter how I dodged. When the recent Sean Penn portrayal of Milk filled me in on how much I had missed, even after my ensuing years of queer-cred catch-up, I was ashamed to know so little of my own history. And it gets me pondering the nature of how info and context have changed so drastically just one generation later. Hey kids, Harvey Milk was really, really important. He was really, really vital to our survival, our sheer existence, truly. And straight allies, please know how much easier your lives have been made by the sacrifices of political martyrs like Mr. Milk. Let’s commemorate the day of his landing on this planet. Baby Harvey! Hi! This weekend there’s a conference named for him, and Sunday there’s a march from Austin City Hall to the Texas Capitol. The magnanimous gathering is nestled within a weekend of events dedicated to the man. Come celebrate our lives. (See Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.)
LIGHT YOUR OWN FUSE There are but few precious weeks to pull together this year’s QueerBomb. Who’s badass enough to work on both QB and this fall’s mainstream Austin Pride? Come to the QueerBomb planning meeting this Saturday at noon at the Cepeda Branch Library. Both festivals belong to all of us. Be a spark. (See Saturday.)
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This article appears in May 20 • 2011.