The Voice of OC’s Adam Elmarek’s story on the Anaheim Gay Pride flag issue, agendized by Anaheim Council member Jordan Brandman and passed on a 4-0 vote, is an excellent example of fair reporting. It’s too bad other progressives can’t give credit where it’s due.
From Adam’s story:
In a show of solidarity with the victims of the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando earlier this month, the Anaheim City Council Tuesday night decided to fly the rainbow-colored LGBT flag at City Hall for the remainder of the month.
And from now on, according to the proposal by Councilman Jordan Brandman that the council passed unanimously, it will be raised starting every May 22, which is Harvey Milk Day, through the end of every June, which is LGBT Pride Month. It will fly along with the flag bearing the city seal.
…
Most of those in the nightclub were LGBT and Latino, and the shootings have become a painful reminder that, despite the recent progress made for LGBT rights, homophobia remains a powerful and even lethal force.
Flying the rainbow-colored flag is seen by advocates as a direct way to combat homophobia. Brandman read a letter from Laura Kanter, a policy, advocacy and youth director at the LGBT Center OC, who put some of the blame for the shootings on political and religious leaders who demonize LGBT people.
“Orlando was a grotesque reminder of the venom we experience on a smaller scale over and over again, and a reminder of that venom’s power,” Brandman said, reading aloud from Kanter’s letter. “I know that positive change can come from this, and I want to be excited and supportive…. but I am having a hard time not feeling cynical when political will is generated by tragic events.”
Other members of the LGBT community and their supporters also spoke out in favor of the move. Platinum Triangle resident and Brandman ally D.R. Heywood said that, when he was a teenager in the 1980s, he was told being gay would lead to eternal damnation.
Heywood said he felt he had no future until he read an article in the Orange County Register about a few gay men who were out of the closet, and he realized that he wasn’t alone or an “aberration.”
“The flying of the pride flag at city hall, if it can provide hope and support for just one person, then this will all have been worth it,” Heywood said.
Our “progressive”pals at the Orange Juice blog, the one’s who worship at the alter of Conservative Mayor Tom Tait daily, were not so fast. Greg Diamond published a lengthy diatribe about Brandman politicizing tragedy (will he write that Dr. Jose Moreno will politicize a tragedy in the wake of the next gang shooting in Anaheim? We’ll see). My friends at the meeting tell me Diamond had some sort of mini meltdown over this issue, but I haven’t had the chance to follow up. Vern Nelson suggested in a comment that Tait and Vanderbilt were reluctant to support Brandman’s motion and Tait struggled with the issue before voting yes. Nelson wrote this after the meeting:
Well, that was one dramatic meeting! Long story short, Mayor Tait, after long visible struggle with his scrupulous sense of logic, joined the other three in a unanimous City of Kindness vote, yes on Jordan’s motion. (Vanderbilt, of the reserves, joined the meeting by very caterwampus teleconference, and had to “go into formation” right when it was time to speak on the motion, and so didn’t have to vote either… or did he just not want to go on record against it?)
Both Mayor Tait and Lucille Kring gave Jeff Le Tourneau credit for changing their minds with his simple “What’s different about this issue, this community? 49 dead bodies.” Speaking of the 49, their faces were prominently placed up and down the walls of the chambers on huge posters, which I just found out was partly the handiwork of Latino Oak View activists from my hometown of HB!
Jordan looked happier than he has in months, and got praise from all sides.
So now the Rainbow Flag, or Pride Flag, will fly over Anaheim every month for years to come.
And it’s Tait vote, not Brandman’s motion, that earned the praise from leading OC LGBTQ activist Jeff LeTourneau in this comment to the Voice of OC story:
A great week for Anaheim indeed. In addition to Jordan’s motion, the city has another reason to celebrate: Vanessa Janine Duran will be released from FELONY PROBATION TODAY! Hurrah ‘Nessa!
In case you forgot Vanessa was the “wheel woman” in the crime spree that led to the police shooting of Joel Acevedo in 2012 (OC COURTS CASE # 12NF2871). After pleading guilty, she famously walked back her admission and claimed Joel was executed. The DA found NO WRONG DOING.
From the looks of her FB page, ‘Nessa has begun to celebrate early with a cross chest tattoo:
“GUINDA LANE”
Now that’s community dedication!
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009792285814&fref=ts
Unfortunately, her remaining co-conspirator Jose Gaudencio Hernandez won’t be celebrating with her, because he is currently in custody for CA Penal Code 187. For the uninformed that’s MURDER. Yep, this “good” kid that was rolling around (I think Greg Diamond called a joy ride) in a stolen vehicle on a hot summer night was charged with MURDER, with special enhancements for using a gun (.40 cal.sound familiar) and being part of a street gang (AVLS). (SEE OC COURTS CASE 13NF2969. Now, Jose is doubly in trouble, because while awaiting trial for MURDER, with a handgun, during the commission of a GANG ACTIVITY, he attacked a sheriff’s deputy (OC COURTS CASE # 15CF2710), These should not be confused with last year’s charges of aggravated battery.
So Jose will be skipping ‘Nessa’s “release party”, but I heard Anna drive is going to party BIG TIME. Maybe we’ll even get to hear a couple of words from the mayor about our city of kindness. Of Course Dr. Moreno will be there to share his views on these poor oppressed young people that were forced into this life because Disney, did not give them more money, and he does really have a point here, you can’t really blame the parents when their kid comes home with a neck tattoo, drops out of school at 15, becomes a Father himself at 17, is completely unemployable because of his gang tattoos rap sheet and inability to read or write, that is the fault of these multi-national corporations.
Congratulations Anaheim, now we have “Business Democrats”, like Jordan passing measures to celebrate pride and equality, the self proclaimed “progressive Democrats” who refuse to acknowledge the former and now the “Gang Banger Democrats”, I wonder which ones will come out for Dr. Moreno this fall (remember felons can’t vote).
I guess what actually happens at meetings, in public, doesn’t matter to you, only what’s written on blogs and Facebook.
Do you want to know what happened at the meeting? Jordan was showered with praise by LeTourneau and Moreno both.
And that was bizarre, your visions of Jose making a big deal about every gang shooting. That very rarely happens, and what it shows is that you get too much of your world view from Matt Cunningham.
Newsflash: Matt is a right-wing propagandist … or more accurately a klepto propagandist who jumps to easy right-wing bugaboos and clichés to manipulate his readers.
So few people attend meetings. Many more read blog posts. Delighted Jeff gave Jordan props at the meeting but Anaheim is hardly a city of kindness
Well, that first statement isn’t necessarily true; for example many more people go to Anaheim or Santa Ana council meetings than generally read a post on this blog.
As far as the crack about Anaheim not being a city of kindness … who knows what you mean, except I imagine it was a clumsy way to try to insult Tait as usual so never mind.
Vern: Why do you think Dan has turned into such a giant douche in recent years? He wasn’t always this way…
Actually, that first statement is true. Lots of working families are putting dinner on the table, running to pick up kids from practice, getting homework going. That’s why they read what happens in the newspaper, blogs, social media.
Re. numbers of meeting viewers vs blog readers. First I was gonna be snarky and say, “How many people are reading this post for example? There are WAY more than twenty people at an average council meeting.”
But then I remembered how these meetings are televised, and replayed throughout the week, and I’ve seen regular folks just have them on in the background in their living rooms, and when you think of all those thousands of viewers, it’s even more than the average Orange Juice post.
Plus the whole thing about it’s REAl LIFE and not a buncha invisible anonymous keyboard commandos, that counts for a lot too.
‘Tavo, I wish I’da known him in the pre-douche days. Had to have been before 2008, when I entered the ring.
Not my fault you went to jail for an extended period of time in 2009. Sorry to disappoint fellas, I haven’t changed.
Our numbers are fine thank you. I don’t think televised council meetings draw that many viewers but that’s an interesting detail to look up.
And our comments automatically closed on the Lenore Albert thread Vern, so let me say this. You don’t seem to understand how attribution works and you accused me of either not getting it or lying about it. I did neither. You lied in public on video when you said you lived on Anna Drive when you were still renting a room in HB…paying some utility bills in your name didn’t establish residence. You’re new voter registration did. Sure hope you registered and voted in Anaheim and not HB for the primary.
As for Ms. Albert’s residency and voter registration, the ROV allowed her to use her HB address to protect her from the many folks who stalk her in Westminster. Same exemption “Henry Lipton” claims for his voter registration.
Gustavo, keep demonstrating how little you truly know about me. OC Weekly must be glad to be able to afford Savage Love again. Next time you guys are for sale, I just might pull some partners together and buy you since I had no idea the price was so cheap.
Gustavo,
Good point. Kinda like a guy who deperately tries to be upward mobile by basing gentrifacation, but has his wife open a place in the WHITEST scam in town.
Hows the apartment life Gus
Gustubby Arellano. Why don’t you waddle down to the nearest hipster bar in your Chuck Taylors and Chinese made Guayabera shirt and suck down a few more gin and tonics. Maybe sell a few more ads in your free smut rag peddling weed and 17 year olds working in full nude joints. Delilah must be so proud.
I think Gustavois a whiskey drinker
No. Gin and tonic. Try to keep up.
And any old hootch will do for you. Gustavo did an entire piece months ago or a couple years ago about some fine whiskey pilfered from the office. I bought him a whiskey once at Drinking Liberally at Memphis; it was what he was already drinking.
I continue to be mightily gobsmacked at the lack of basic human decency displayed on this page. I am glad you are all broadly on the same side?
I can not for the life of me understand why Vern Nelson, a seemingly smart man doesn’t grab his wife and children (grandkids too) and get the hell out of Anna Drive, this NO PLACE to raise kids.
At least Greg Diamond is smart enough (albeit HYPOCRITICAL) to throw his stones from the Rose Bushes in Brea (thought you’d like that play on words loser).
Get a life did all these people you say came to America for a better life, imagine the WAR ZONE that is Anna Drive? Methinks not.
Yesina uses her plight as a prop. That is disgusting. Not as disgusting as railing on about “corprate greed” while your children kill one another.
Anybody happen to see Disney giving $60k to one of yhe BEST charities in OC?
I wonder what the race huckster Moreno’s VIG would be on that, had it been one of “his” programs?
“I’m gonna stay in the city
Even when the house falls down:
I don’t dream of a holiday
When hate & war come around!”
– The Clash.
Anyway you vastly exaggerate, I haven’t seen much bad here at all in two years except poor people working hard. And if you insult Yesenia (learn to spell her name) you are not my friend, no matter if you say I’m smart, cop.
I agree with you Vern. Folks in the Anna Drive are hardworking. They need help keep kids away from gangs they also voted for Lou Correa by more than 50% in the primary. Look it up