Wake up about Project 2025
Those few remaining LGBTQ people who haven't already awakened need to look past their elitist class and ethnic anti-immigrant hostilities to realize that we may be the next ones headed to the camps if the Republicans take over the country.
It's all in Project 2025, the "final solution" to the non-Aryan immigrant, homosexual, and transgender "problem" ["Project 2025 should scare everyone," Editorial, July 11].
And to those Log Cabin-ites out there wherever you are: If they ever do come to take us away in boxcars, tell them you're a Republican.
Maybe they'll let you sit up front.
John Caton
Oakland, California
The pink triangle takes a village
Thank you to the nearly 900 people who signed up for at least one of the eight volunteer days to help with the 29th annual pink triangle. There were 630 people signed up for the main installation day alone. It was a foggy, drizzly day, but they showed up anyway, had fun, and installed the huge display in record time. San Francisco remains the only city in the world with a giant pink triangle hovering over its Pride celebration, but it takes a lot of enthusiastic volunteers to make that happen. Thank you Gay for Good and 50 others for helping with the take-down after the Pride parade on June 30, and to the Civic Joy Fund for helping with the initial site cleanup on Twin Peaks in early June.
Part of appreciating and celebrating any Pride is understanding where we have been — and the pink triangle is it. The display is a highly visible yet mute reminder and warning of inhumanity that occurred over 80 years ago, and could happen again if we aren't vigilant. The pink triangle display atop Twin Peaks each year is a giant in-your-face educational tool to teach where discrimination and hatred can lead and commemorates one of the darkest chapters in human history, the Holocaust. It was up over three weeks and was the perfect symbol when the U.S. Supreme Court released some of its disappointing rulings during the last few days of June.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the ceremony, including Mayor London Breed for speaking and declaring it "Pink Triangle Day in San Francisco." Thank you to drag icon, community activist, and Absolute Empress 56 Juanita MORE!, who told the history of the pink triangle and added some very pertinent observations to the topic relating to current-day discrimination. Each year it is important after the history portion to review current examples of hatred and persecution. Joseph Rodriguez of the Campaign — Americans for Afghans spoke of the plight of LGBTQ Afghans trapped in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Pride Executive Director Suzanne Ford gave additional history of the pink triangle and spoke about proposed anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ legislation. Honey Mahogany, executive director of the Office of Transgender Initiatives, gave a rousing speech on the difficulties our community currently faces. Donna Sachet, first lady of the Castro, discussed anti-drag legislation and then tied the pink triangle to the goals behind why the Imperial Court System was founded. Sachet then introduced the reigning Empress of San Francisco, Linda Summers, who also spoke. Other elected officials who made remarks were gay leaders state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), Treasurer José Cisneros, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman and Supervisor Matt Dorsey. Straight allies were City Attorney David Chiu, Supervisor (and mayoral candidate) Ahsha Safaí, and Assessor-Recorder Joaquin Torres, who spoke eloquently of his two dads and how his biological father came out to him.
Thank you to Jessica Borton, regional vice president of Starbucks, for speaking and the donations. SF Pride President Nguyen Pham introduced the grand marshals in attendance: Nicole Adler, Rebecca Rolfe, Tory Teasley, and representatives from Children's After School Arts, who all spoke and inspired the attendees. Mike Wong and the San Francisco Pride Band (the new name for the "Official Band of San Francisco") performed several times, along with the spectacular musical theater star Leanne Borghesi, who sang numerous songs as the band played.
Fiscal sponsors were appreciated and included Kaiser Permanente, Gilead Sciences, the Bob Ross Foundation (via Thomas E. Horn for the massive T-shirt order for all the volunteers); the Robert Holgate Foundation, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (who also "sainted" me during the ceremony — a big surprise!); Hodgkins Jewelers for 25 years of support; Brian Gerritsen; and Eye Gotcha Optometric on Castro. Thank you to Hot Cookie for the hundreds of delicious treats consumed during the take-down. Thank you to Katie Hickox for establishing the Pink Triangle website (www.thepinktriangle.com) in 1999 and keeping it up, even after moving to England.
Thank you to my husband, Hossein Carney, doctor of business administration; my sisters Colleen Hodgkins and Shannon Gorden; family friends Deborah Taylor and Sue Saiz; and longtime volunteers Joseph Mak and Chrissy Cronin. I couldn't still be producing this project for the 29th time without these dedicated people. Neal Strickberger, Mak, and my husband helped with the nighttime lighting of the pink triangle June 28, to coincide with the opening of the enormous 4.1-mile-long laser rainbow flag by Illuminate.
Thank you to SF Pride's board and staff; Martha Cohen in the mayor's office for lighting SF City Hall in pink; Mandelman's office; the San Francisco Department of Real Estate; San Francisco Public Works for trimming the hillside; Rec and Park rangers; and the San Francisco Police Department officers of Park Station for controlling traffic and watching over the display.
Thank you to all of those who helped in any way to make the 2024 pink triangle a successful display and event. See you next year on Twin Peaks for the 30th annual pink triangle.
Patrick Carney, Co-Founder
San Francisco
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