Friends
of the
Pink Triangle
San Francisco,
California
Twin
Peaks - San Francisco
Saturday,
8:00 a.m., June 27, 1998
Introduction of the
Friends of the Pink Triangle
Good morning, I am
Patrick Carney, this is Tom Tremblay, and this is Michael Brown and we, as well as all of
you, are the Friends of the Pink Triangle.
The Friends
of the Pink Triangle started three years ago as a way of spreading the color
of the parade to new heights (literally), and as a way of trying to teach an important
historical lesson which had become lost to so many people. The lesson being what can
happen when hatred and bigotry become law as when the Hitler regime forced those that
didn’t fit their vision of a "Master Race" to go to concentration camps.
Recent comments by
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and House Majority Leader Dick Armey show that perhaps
some of the prejudices which influenced the Nazi’s half a century ago still influence
many people today.
The Friends
of the Pink Triangle is a group of friends who wish to bring the message of
the pink triangle to the world.
History of the Pink
Triangle
The pink triangle was
used by the Nazis in concentration camps to identify and shame gay men and lesbian
prisoners. This symbol, which was used as in an attempt to label and shame has been
embraced by the gay community as a symbol of pride.
However, in the
1930's there was nothing to celebrate concerning the pink triangle. Gays were forced to
wear the pink triangle on their pockets in the concentration camps to identify them as
homosexual to set them apart from other prisoners: the jews, the disabled, gypsies,
priests and others the Nazis deemed undesirable.
It is said that those
who wore the pink triangles were singled out by the guards to receive the harshest
treatment, and when the guards were finished with them the other inmates would brutalize
them, as well.
At the end of the war
when the allies finally liberated the concentration camps virtually all of the prisoners
were released except those who had to wear the pink triangle. Those with a pink triangle
on their pocket were put back in prison and the nightmare continued. It seems the allies
weren’t much better than the Nazi’s when it came to the treatment of gays.
It is the same kind
of senseless, irrational hatred that still haunts gays, Jews, blacks, and anyone else whom
the majority deems to be "different".
That is why this
display is so important. We must remind people of the hatred and prejudice of the past to
help educate people and prevent it from happening again. What happened in the Holocaust
must not be forgotten and must not be repeated.
Introduction
of Dignitaries
It is so exciting to
live in the city of San Francisco where not only are we allowed to get a city permit to
put a large pink triangle on a mountain in the middle of town, but a third of the Board of
Supervisors came to participate and the mayor is present to dedicate it with a bottle of
champagne. We are also thrilled by the Proclamation by the Board of Supervisors
proclaiming today officially as "Friends of the Pink Triangle Day" in San
Francisco.
We are honored by the
presence of all of you who are here so early in the morning and would like to introduce a
few members of the audience: Supervisor Tom Ammiano, Supervisor Sue Bierman, Supervisor
Mark Leno, Philip Diandrati, representing Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, and Mayor Willie
Brown.
We are pleased the
supervisors will be making remarks including a presentation by Supervisor Ammiano. This
will be followed by the christening of the pink triangle by Mayor Brown.
It is with great
pleasure that we introduce Mayor Brown who has come to dedicate the pink triangle. He has
been a friend of the community for his entire career and he is a champion of civil rights
and respect for all, so it should come as no surprise that he agreed to get up so early in
the morning and come here on a Saturday.
Thank you for coming.
Ladies and gentleman
- our mayor - the Honorable Willie Brown.
For
more information about
Friends of the Pink Triangle
contact
Patrick Carney at (415) 929-0250
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