Harvey Milk’s what?
Dear Editor,
I must have been hungry today. First, I stopped by the Ronald Reagan drive-thru for a quick bite. Later on, I found myself at the Martin Luther King donut shop for a coffee and snack. Since we have an early morning meeting tomorrow, I headed to the John F. Kennedy bagel store to get something for the staff to eat.
I’m hoping to one day make it to the new “Harvey Milk American Diner;” however I know that will never happen.
Even though the Harvey Milk Foundation has granted permission for a diner to bear his name, and the diner has agreed to provide a 1 percent quarterly donation to the Foundation there is no way I would ever walk thru the doors.
Call me old fashioned, but political leaders who have fought for freedom in one way or another are deserving of appropriate public recognition. Naming a street, airport, building, highway, aircraft carrier, etc. seems suitable ways to honor those who brought about change that didn’t seem possible.
Attaching the name of someone like Harvey Milk to a restaurant, any restaurant, diminishes his legacy and makes it harder for us to place him in his rightful spot in history in the way he should be treated – like other leaders.
So, no matter how cold the Harvey “Chocolate” Milk is, how delicious the HM Breakfast Special is, or how charmingly decorated the restaurant is to honor Harvey, I can’t do it.
Then again, maybe eating a McMilk burger or a Harvey latte might be the best way to support an LGBT business and raise money for the Harvey Milk Foundation. No, I think I’ll write a check.
JOE REID
San Diego
Re: “Empire State Pride Agenda uncovers startling health disparities among LGBT New Yorkers”
(LGBTweekly.com Aug. 20 lgbtweekly.jeffjungblut.com/?p=40037)
Dear Editor,
It is no secret that Big Tobacco has their eye on young people as their new target audience, especially vulnerable populations like lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth. LGBTQ youth are disproportionately affected by tobacco use. The [New York] Center’s SmokeFree Project’s goal is to educate New Yorkers about the tobacco-related health disparities that the LGBTQ community faces. According to the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, in 2011, smoking rates among NYC lesbian and gay youth was over three times higher than their heterosexual counterparts. LGBTQ youth struggle with additional stressors – stigma and discrimination, bullying, homelessness and exacerbated peer pressure.
Tobacco companies have been targeting vulnerable communities for decades through aggressive tobacco marketing. Tobacco product advertising and displays in stores give youth the impression that tobacco products are easily accessible and cool. Kids who shop at stores with tobacco marketing two or more times a week are 64 percent more likely to start smoking than their peers who don’t. Unfortunately, people who become smokers before age 18 are more likely to become lifetime smokers.
One of the most effective ways to reduce youth smoking rates – especially among LGBT youth who are more vulnerable – is to limit their exposure to tobacco marketing and product displays in stores. We all have a responsibility to protect our youth and ensure they are not drawn into a lifetime of nicotine addiction by Big Tobacco.
Erin McCarron, LMSW
LGBT SmokeFree Project Coordinator
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
New York
646-556-9288
