"I know that you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you... And you... And you... Gotta give em hope." Harvey Mil

Today has been very eventful. Brunch and free mimosas, shopping, Milk, Casey's, Wiseguys! Excellent! I am exhausted!

Like I said, we went to see Milk today (the third time seeing it for me) and you catch new things every time! Jen had not seen it and it wasn't showing in Boone so I thought it was the perfect opportunity! I think it is amazing that one person can do so much in only eight years with the support of his peers. Although we are still fighting for civil rights today, I do not feel there are any Harvey Milk's or Martin Luther King Jr.'s or Malcolm X's of our time. If there are, I am completely unaware of their existence. I guess a lot of people are not recognized for their achievements until after they are dead though, maybe that is the problem. I find the civil rights movement of the 1970's very intriguing. I am also very intrigued by the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, perhaps I am just interested in the experiences of persecuted people, who knows. Anyway, I admire his courage to get up and speak to his followers seconds after receiving an assassination threat, his desire to reach out and do something to make a change for his supporters, and his belief in equality. I think one of my favorite parts of the movie is the very end, when they show the actual footage of the candlelight march through the Castro. I think it is unbelievable for that many people to come out to show their condolences for a man many of them probably never actually met. Even though San Francisco is a large city, that is a whole lot of people.

I really like the line that is quoted during that scene as well, "I know that you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you... And you... And you... Gotta give em hope." This not only applies to civil rights, but to a variety of situations. I have hope for success in NYC for example. Hope is not all it takes to be successful, but why would I want to make such a huge life change without it? Without hope, why would I want to be doing what I am doing now? It sure as hell isn't because selling people t-shirts in a tourist hot spot makes me feel better about my life.(Don't get me wrong, my job can be a lot of fun!)

I find it unbelievable that the intolerance shown in the movie still exists 30 years later. We call ourselves a progressive country. How can this be true when people are shunned by their families, friends, coworkers, peers, fellow students, etc. for being gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, black, Asian, Latin, a woman, Jewish, Atheist, Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, etc etc etc. It makes no sense!