Friday, March 02, 2007

More About Andrew Anthos

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007703020439

There was a vigil tonight, at Andrew's residence.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007703010319

This article has more to say about Andrew, himself, and his mission to have the Capitol dome lit up in red, white and blue once a year, in honour of veterans.

Veterans.

This man, a product of the foster care system, of mixed heritage, occasionally mentally disabled, openly gay (in other words, getting knocked around for most of his life), was trying to get the state of Michigan to express some patriotism. He had been working tirelessly to this end for years.

Read that article. Read where the Capitol Historian said the idea was not "practical," because it would cost $150,000 to install. $150,000? Excuse me? Surely that's pocket change for a state budget? I mean, I know Michigan is a bit strapped right now, but I'm betting donations will be found now to get it done. The historian also expressed concern that the red light would look pink and washed out. I got you some help on that one, Ms Chartkoff. Check this out: http://www.jasonboydlighting.com/. Trust me, this guy can light anything.

And do you see where Senator George, Republican from Kalamazoo, said: "What happens when MSU wins a championship? Will we light the dome green and white?"

With all due respect, Senator, that argument is just silly. There's a big difference in lighting a dome in honour of those who keep on fighting in the face of incredible odds, and lighting it in honour of a college sports team. Surely MSU has some edifice on their campus that they can light up when their team wins something. That's what we do in Austin.

Come on, Michigan! Set up a PayPal account to accept contributions. I know a lot of people who would kick in a few bucks.

How about it, Saffire? Lisa? Can we get the girls behind this?

7 comments:

  1. No arrests made in his murder yet? That says a lot about the cooperation of witnesses.

    May he rest in peace.

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  2. Andrew Anthos. I love that picture of him in the Free Press. Bless his heart.

    Kudos to Senator Clarke for supporting Andrew's effort and for introducing legislation that will expand Michigan's hate crime laws to include sexual orientation.

    I'm in for supporting Andrew's Light. I can't think of a better place to spread the gospel of tolerance. That's what this world needs... now.

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  3. I, too, would support such an endeavor! What a great idea!

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  4. I left a comment at the freep site, under the post about the vigil. I hope somebody good at organizing such things will step up.

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  5. Maybe I'll shoot a few emails to some other folks, too.

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  6. I suspect the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce could spearhead such an endeavor, since they graciously offered to fund any funeral expenses. I'm sure that all it would take would be for them to send out an email to their membership list. And if Human Rights Campaing joined in the fray they would have the money overnight.

    :)

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  7. Well, I try to stand up for what's right. Though I'm not sure, in the long run, that hate crime legislation is all that useful.

    It seems to me that it's one of those things that looks good on paper, but has little effect when it comes to preventing crimes.

    The idiot wo whacked Andrew Anthos upsied the head would probably not have been deterred by a stiffer sentence. He either didn't think he would be caught (so far, he's right), or wasn't thinking at all.

    I think there may be a bigger issue here.

    These crimes don't happen in a vacuum.

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