Harvey Milk ist eine Ikone. Pete Hegseth ist ein Idiot. Sie können seinen Namen von einem Schiff nehmen, aber Milch ist immer noch weitaus ein „Krieger“ als der kleine Pete Hegseth, schreibt John Casey.
https://www.advocate.com/voices/harvey-milk-pete-hegseth
14 Kommentare
>Let’s talk about *real c*ourage. Harvey Milk was [a Navy veteran](https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2023/06/28/harvey-milk-veteran/), serving his country honorably for four years as a diving officer aboard the USS *Kittiwake* during the Korean War and after. He was discharged at a time when gay people were not even allowed to exist openly in the armed forces, let alone serve.
>He was given an „other than honorable“ discharge for being gay. He did not hide who he was, and that took *real* courage, particularly during that era. Milk would not cower.
>Still, Milk returned to civilian life not bitter but determined to fight, not with weapons but with words, ideals, and public service. He had fortitude.
>Milk had a good life in New York but moved to San Francisco and decided to run for public office, not once or twice, but three times before finally winning a seat on the Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk wasn’t a glutton for punishment. He was a picture of perseverance.
>He did it openly as a gay man, at a time when to do so meant enduring a barrage of threats, slurs, and very real danger. He didn’t have a corporate PAC or a media empire behind him. He didn’t have bodyguards. He had guts. And he won.
>[Pete Hegseth ](https://www.advocate.com/tag/pete-hegseth)likes to puff out his chest and wrap himself in the flag, replete with his eye-rolling star-spangled banner pocket square. His entire act is so phony, so immature, so beyond the realm of what gentlemen should be.
>He screams “warrior,” but in reality he is weak, and weak on innumerable levels.
>And his decision to remove [Harvey Milk’s](https://www.advocate.com/harvey-milk) name from a [U.S. Navy ship](https://www.advocate.com/politics/pete-hegseth-harvey-milk-ship), during Pride Month no less, proves it. This is a family-friendly media outlet, but you can only imagine the expletive I would like to use to describe the horrible Hegseth. Let’s just put it this way: How petty can you be to remove the name of someone from a ship because you don’t like the fact that he was gay?
>Hegseth’s name has been[ tied to allegations](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/14/us/politics/hegseth-confirmation-hearing-sexual-assault-drinking-disqualifying.html) of sexual harassment, infidelity, and alcohol-fueled misconduct. His [recent tirade at the Pentagon](https://www.advocate.com/news/pete-hegseth-pentagon-meltdown), where he lashed out at reporters for their coverage of the military operation in Iran, was pure theater, a hysterical hissy fit.
>This is not a man defending the troops. This is a man defending his ego. Can you imagine, for a moment, previous Defense secretaries, like Lloyd Austin, James Mattis, Leon Panetta, and Robert Gates doing something like that? Never! They were gentlemen with decorum. Hegseth is a rogue with indecorum.
>And now, to score cheap points with the [MAGA base](https://www.advocate.com/tag/maga), Hegseth has decided to erase the name USNS *Harvey Milk*. He says naming the ship after Milk was a “woke mistake.” But he’s lying. This is not about a name. It’s about Hegseth’s larger project to roll back LGBTQ+ inclusion in the military. And if you want my opinion, his goal to kick queers out for good!
>Hegseth’s move is also a gut punch to [every LGBTQ+ person ](https://www.advocate.com/tag/lgbtq-service-members)who has ever served or who is serving this country with dignity, integrity, and pride. What are they supposed to think now? That their service is less valuable? That their sacrifices mean less? That their lives don’t count?
>The truth is, Pete Hegseth could never hope to match the moral courage of Harvey Milk. Hegseth bullies from a podium. Milk stood his ground in the face of hate, knowing full well it might cost him his life. Hegseth panders to bigots, and the bigot in chief Donald Trump. Milk stood for the marginalized. Hegseth thinks valor is about bluster. Milk showed us it’s about conviction.
>You can take a name off a ship, but you can’t erase a legacy. Harvey Milk’s name is etched into the history of this nation. Into the hearts of millions of LGBTQ+ Americans. Into the minds of those who still believe public service is about lifting others, not tearing them down.
>Harvey Milk is an icon. Pete Hegseth is an idiot.
The ship has problems making it under the bridge in the Bosporus Strait. So renaming is less important than if it will be redesigned/remodeled to be able to fully accomplish its mission as a resupply ship.
I care less about the naming and renaming versus my money being spent for an asset that doesn’t fully operate.
I don’t know where to land on this one. Are the accusations against Milk pertaining to underage people true? I’ll read both responses. I’m really just struggling to find facts at this point.
Renaming a ship is bad karma. I definitely wouldn’t want to be on that.
Hegseth’s name will never adorn a warship.
Hegseth might take Milk off a Navy vessel, but that vessel has a canteen where little containers are all marked “MILK”
Hegseth couldn’t live with the stigma of being openly gay for 1 second. Pussy.
He’s not wrong…
Removing the name of a Gay icon, helps to erase LGBTQ history from any government controlled outlet. It’s also meant to hurt the queer community.
The U.S.S. Jimmy Carter will probably be next, unforunately. Hegseth is a shameful disgrace to our counry and servicemembers.
Trump and Republicans want the LGBTQ community back in the closet. They want us to shut up and not be seen.
The only way we can stop this is to VOTE in every election. It’s that important. The midterms are coming up and please, everyone go vote against all these republicans. They can not stay in power.
Every single one of these bases and ships needs to be renamed back when Democrats get power.
Let’s put Harvey Milk on Mount Rushmore