Mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk signing the first ever Gay Rights Law in California
|
THE BALLAD OF DAN WHITE
Dan White was an Irish/Italian Catholic who sserved as Supervisor of San Francisco during George Moscone's term as mayor. White had a fluctuating personality and was mentally unstable for much of his life. Before running for Supervisor, for example, he had suffered through a tour of Vietnam, returning in 1969 to join the San Francisco Police Force. He then quit the force and relocated to Alaska, trying his hand at being a writer (he idolized Jack London). Soon enough, he returned to California and the police department, eventually quitting again to become a fireman. After this, he decided to run for Supervisor, and won the position.
During his Supervisor stint, White started out believing that his beliefs were shared by all and that was the reason for his election. But some disagreements did surface, causing White much inner turmoil and confusion. He knew that he had to get people on his side to support the issues that he himself supported. This caused him to join the committee that created the first Gay Rights Law in order to gain the support of the known gay politician, Harvey Milk, even though White was dreadfully homophobic (b/c of his strict, Catholic upbringing). His plan did not work, because Milk voted for a law that White had denounced, and the law had been passed.
Feeling betrayed, White withdrew from his job as much as possible, until finally resigning on November 10, 1978. White's aid, Ray Sloan was shocked, and all of the people who had financially supported White were vehemently angry--their puppet in the government had backed down, leaving them with no voice in political issues. So, Sloan convinced White to ask Mayor Moscone for his job back. Moscone was initially willing, but the Board of Directors had already stamped the letter of resignation, making his submssion legal and disabling the mayor from giving White his job back.
White returned to City Hall a few days later, armed. He snuck into the building through an open window, in order to elude the metal detectors. He walked into Mayor Moscone's office and shot him to death. Then, he went down the hall and killed Harvey Milk as well. At the news of these deaths, the San Francisco Police force outwardly rejoiced.
Later on during the trial, White claimed that he had eaten too many twinkies, causing him to suffer temporary insanity, causing him to assassinate Moscone and Milk. His lawyer also used the "victim" ploy, saying that people had mistreated White and taken adavantage of him. Well, this bullshit worked, and not only did White escape the death penalty, but he was only found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. So, even though he had packed a gun, and not to mention extra bullets, had snuck into City Hall through an open window, this means that he had not planned to kill anybody, despite the seeming preparation. He recieved only five to seven years for the murder of 2 prominent politicians. Many believe that the police department had driven White to do it, and that they also influenced the jury's decision.
GO back to JELLO'S CAMPAIGN
|