Dan Rather's Defense Of A Gay Rights Icon Against Pete Hegseth Is Going Viral
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told the Navy to rename a ship named after iconic civil rights leader Harvey Milk.
For those who don't know, Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay elected officials in US history and a pioneering gay rights activist. In 1977, he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, where he promoted anti-discrimination laws/LGBTQ rights before being assassinated in 1978.
Harvey served as an officer in the US Navy during the Korean War before being forced to leave the military because of suspicions about his sexual orientation.
A ship was named after him in 2016.
Now, ABC news reports an official told them the renaming of the ship during Pride Month was intentional.
Veteran journalist Dan Rather posted a response on Facebook, and it's going mega viral.
Here it is:
The comments are one of the rare areas online lately not full of garbage: "Kind of a backhanded compliment! Now I know who he is and why the Navy honored him in the first place," one person commented.
"They say they want to promote a 'warrior culture.' Milk was most definitely a warrior, as well as a decorated Navy veteran," another person said.
And this person joked, "Could we then rename the Titanic the Hegseth?"
Then there are a bunch of people who said the post caused them to look up Harvey Milk for the first time.
"I never knew of Harvey Milk. Thank you, Hegseth for educating me about this great American hero," one person wrote.
"I didn't know that the U.S. Navy had a ship named after Milk. Now I do," another person commented.
And this person said, "I didn't even know that Mr. Milk was a veteran, but now I do!"
I guess it's working!
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