Love At First Sight
In the words of Harvey Milk……
It takes no compromise to give people their rights…it takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression.
I think it’s important to remember why we celebrate pride month. In so many ways it’s become a marketing tool for businesses small and large. You can literally find anything from rainbow print mouse pads and ear buds to pink glitter Frappaccinos all on the name of Pride. On one hand I think it’s great to companies support Pride but, it also begs the question are they putting any of that profit into LGBTQ organizations? Are they truly supporting the community or just using it to make more money?
I've been blessed to know so many people in the community much older then me that lived in through the times that led up to pride existed. Listening to their experiences first hand of having to hide in the shadows. People being beaten and harassed by police for sitting in a restaurant, bar, or simply walking down the street.
In August of 1966 three years before the world famous Stonewall riots in New York, a group of trans women in San Francisco stood up to police in Gene Compton’s Cafeteria, a 24 hour restaurant in the Tenderloin.
It was a popular queer gathering place where ladies of the night would come into eat, get coffee and connect with each other. It provided a well-lit and comfortable haven for trans women performing in clubs or walking the streets. A trans woman police tried to drag out of the restaurant fed up with the bullying and harassment decided to fight back by throwing a cup of coffee at his face sparking the riot. Chairs, dishes, and sugar shakers went airborne and the restaurant's dirty windows were smashed; outside, queers broke the windows of a squad car and lit a newsstand on fire.
San Francisco police were well known for their harassment and abuse of the city’s transgender residents, targeting and harassing gay men, drag queens, lesbians, and trans folks. Which had been happening for decades, a systematic persecution of people.
If you want to learn more about the Compton Cafeteria riot the documentary Screaming Queens is a must watch.